Cabinet of Ministers Increases Starting Prices for Subsoil Usage Rights
The Cabinet of Ministers of Uzbekistan has raised the minimum starting prices for subsoil usage rights submitted to online auctions.
Uzbekistan's Cabinet of Ministers has endorsed elevated minimum starting prices for subsoil usage rights, which are to be auctioned online. This decision, outlined in a resolution dated July 30, has been made public on the Lex.uz legal information portal.
The resolution details an upward revision of starting prices across multiple categories of subsoil usage. These adjustments are intended to enhance the effectiveness of online auctions for mineral resource plots.
Specifically, the initial price for rights pertaining to artisanal gold and precious metal extraction has climbed from 35 to 100 Base Calculation Quantities (BCQ) per hectare. This translates to 41.2 million soums presently, and will rise to 44 million soums after the BCQ increases on September 1. Previously, this fee was 14.42 million soums.
Significant increases have also been applied to the starting prices for geological exploration of subsoil plots. For hydrocarbon and gold exploration, the minimum starting cost has been elevated from 6,500 and 2,600 BCQ, respectively, to 10,001 BCQ.
For plots containing other precious and non-ferrous metals, the starting price has moved from 1,300 to 5,000 BCQ. For other ore minerals, it has gone from 650 to 2,500 BCQ, and for non-metallic minerals, from 36 to 300 BCQ.
Furthermore, the resolution has modified the starting rates for mineral extraction rights. For gold, other ore minerals, and hydrocarbons, the fee rate has been raised from 0.15% to 0.6% of the value of the extracted resources. For non-metallic mineral extraction, a new fee of 0.3% has been implemented, tied to the volume of resources extracted.