Amur Region's gold output expected to fall 10% in 2018
BLAGOVESHENSK. Oct 19 (Interfax) - Gold output in 2018 in the Amur Region is expected to fall by 2.5 tonnes or 10% year-on-year, regional governor Vasily Orlov said in a meeting chaired by Russian Deputy Prime Minister and presidential envoy in the Far Eastern Federal District Yury Trutnev.
"Mineral resource extraction represents 14% of the regions gross [regional] product. 25.8 tonnes of gold was mined [in the Amur Region] last year. This year, we expect a reduction of 2.5 tonnes. This is prompted by the fact that non-refractory ore supplies in the region are running dry but large reserves of refractory ores remain which can be produced with the help of an auto-clave," Orlov said.
There are around 70 organizations in the region involved in illegal gold production, but the municipal authorities often lack the technical means to combat this illegal activity.
"We're asking for support in terms of strengthening the role of law enforcement and oversight agencies via drones, photo and video traps, and mobile laboratories," the governor said.
The Amur regional authorities intend to initiate amendments to legislation which will allow tougher penalties for illegal gold production and simplify the process of detaining violators.
This fall, gold producers in the Amur Region joined forces to combat illegal gold miners, creating an association of gold miners.
The Amur Region is among Russia's principal gold producing regions. Local enterprises produced 25.77 tonnes of gold in 2017, up 15.6% compared with the previous year's figure of 22.3 tonnes.