Tajikistan Sees Surge in Independent Gold and Gem Prospectors

Tajikistan Sees Surge in Independent Gold and Gem Prospectors

The Tajik Finance Ministry has issued licenses to 261 individuals for the extraction of alluvial minerals in the first half of 2025, marking a notable increase from 223 licenses issued during the same period last year.

The total number of registered prospectors in the country has surpassed 7,500, The Caspian Post reports via Tajik media.

The Khatlon region accounted for the largest share of new licenses with 104 - nearly triple last year’s figure of 36. In Dushanbe, 39 licenses were granted, up from 16, while the districts under republican subordination received 97 licenses, a decrease of 47 compared to the previous year. In the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region, 11 licenses were issued, down from 18 in 2024, and Sughd Region saw a slight increase to 10 licenses from 9.

Licenses are granted under a government decree adopted on November 27, 2019, which regulates individual mining activities. Eligible individuals may work on sites with uncalculated and unrecorded reserves, provided the land has not been previously used for similar purposes and environmental considerations are met.

Permitted resources for extraction include precious and semi-precious metals - such as gold, silver, platinum, tin, tungsten, titanium, and rare-earth elements like loparite and monazite - as well as gemstones, including rubies, sapphires, chrysolites, topazes, garnets, jade, agate, and rock crystal.

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The Tajik Finance Ministry has issued licenses to 261 individuals for the extraction of alluvial minerals in the first half of 2025, marking a notable increase from 223 licenses issued during the same period last year.