Subsoil Law

This law aims to ensure the rational, comprehensive use of subsoil to meet the needs for raw mineral materials, the protection of subsoil, the environment, and work safety. It states that the subsoil is the property of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

 

Thus, mineral deposits can undergo industrial development only after due approval (Art. 14). The approval of exploration conditions, mineral reserves and state examination of geological materials shall be carried out by the State Commission on Mineral Reserves under the State Committee of the Republic of Uzbekistan on Geology and Mineral Resources (Art. 44). 

 

The basis for subsoil use, be that for mining or other purposes, is a license. The license certifies the right of its owner to use the subsoil within specific boundaries and a specified period, determining pertaining conditions (Art. 14).

 

Landowners and land users have the right, without obtaining a license, to carry out, within the limits of the their land plots, the extraction of common minerals, if the reserves of which are not accounted for by the state balance of mineral reserves, and to construct underground structures for their own economic and domestic needs if that does not involve blasting operations (Art. 15).

Subsoil users are obliged to ensure:
- rational, integrated use and protection of subsoil;
- prevention of excess losses of minerals during the extraction and processing of mineral raw materials;
- accounting for the state and movement of reserves, losses and impoverishment of minerals;
- preservation and accounting of incidentally mined but temporarily unused minerals (Art. 18);

Article 29 provides mandatory requirements for the development of undertakings associated with the use of subsoil. Thus, in projects for the extraction of minerals and processing of mineral raw materials, the following should be envisaged: 
·       storage, accounting and preservation of incidentally mined, but temporarily unused minerals and technogenic formations;

·       geological study of the subsoil, opened during the construction and operation of underground structures;

·       environmental impact assessment;

·       the best use of processing waste.
 

This regulation also requires systematic monitoring of the state of the mine atmosphere, including the content of oxygen, harmful and explosive gases and dust in it. It also has provisions on recordkeeping and required safety and environmental measures (Art. 33).

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