1 Legal and regulatory framework
1.1 Which legislative and regulatory provisions govern mining in your jurisdiction?
Legislation: The principal statute governing mining activities in Kazakhstan is the Code on Subsoil and Subsoil Use, dated 27 December 2017 (‘Subsoil Code'), which came into force on 29 June 2018.
It replaced the similarly named Kazakhstan Law on Subsoil and Subsoil Use, dated 24 June 2010 (‘Subsoil Law'), save for certain provisions that remain effective for entities whose subsoil use contracts (SUCs) were concluded before 29 June 2018.
Some specific issues relating to precious metals are governed by the Law on Precious Metals and Precious Stones, dated 14 January 2016.
There are also numerous decrees of the Kazakhstan government and orders of the head of the competent authority for solid minerals (currently the Ministry of Industry and Infrastructural Development (MIID)), which regulate mining issues set out by the Subsoil Code in more detail.
