What the mineral rights regime covers
Acquiring rights over mineral resources in Georgia rests on the institution of the use licence, regulated by the Law on Licences and Permits. The three central themes of this page are: how an application for issuance by auction is handled, when a licence may be issued directly, and how an obtained licence is transferred to another person. Together these three instruments form the legal framework through which a mineral asset moves on the market.
The auction application and documentation
When a licence is issued by auction, the seeker submits a written application, which must indicate which type of use licence the seeker requests. The application must be accompanied by extracts from the state registry for private law legal persons and individual entrepreneurs, copies of identification documents for natural persons, and certified copies of founding documents for public law legal persons. A document confirming payment of the licence fee must also be submitted; the amount of the fee, the procedure for its payment to the budget and the procedure for refunding overpaid amounts are determined by the Law on Licence and Permit Fees.
An application for participation in the auction is accepted for no less than 15 days from the announcement of the auction; the final deadline for accepting applications is set in each case by the licensing authority. If the seeker withdraws from participation before the deadline expires, the fee paid is subject to refund — a guarantee that reduces the seeker's risk. The documentation rules thus create a special balance: the list of documents is precisely determined according to the seeker's legal form, and the refund procedure is established by law itself.
Cases of direct issuance
With the consent of the Government of Georgia, the mineral extraction licence is issued directly to a holder of a water supply licence — for the extraction of underground fresh water for supplying consumers with drinking water — and for tourism and recreation purposes, for the extraction of underground mineral waters for medicinal mud and/or medicinal baths. The private property case deserves particular emphasis: on a privately owned land plot, a licence for the extraction of underground fresh water for commercial purposes is issued directly, with the right to extract no more than 5 000 (five thousand) cubic metres per year.
An interested seeker submits a written application to the licensing authority on the volume, location and purpose of extraction; it is accompanied by the document corresponding to the legal form (a registry extract, a copy of an identification document or founding documents), in the respective case a document confirming the water supply licence or ownership of the land plot, and also a receipt for the fee. Unlike the auction, direct issuance proceeds on the basis of additional grounds — an existing water supply licence, a tourism-recreation purpose or private ownership — and precisely these additional grounds constitute the condition of the lawfulness of the direct route.
Transfer and alienation of the licence
The licence holder is entitled to divide the use licence into several parts and to transfer the right of use or a part of it to another person by lease or into ownership, except for the case provided by the relevant paragraph of the law. On alienation of the licence or a part of it, the holder must submit the relevant documents to the licensing authority, which enters the changes into the licence registry within 10 calendar days and issues the appropriate licence certificate.
Where the holder was at the same time a person to whom an environmental decision was transferred under the Environmental Assessment Code, after completion of that procedure the holder and the recipient of the licence apply to the administrative body issuing environmental decisions for the purpose of entering changes into the registry of decisions, obtaining the original of the decision and establishing environmental conditions corresponding to that decision; in such a case the liability of each subject for violation of the environmental conditions is determined individually. The law adds a further guarantee: the issuing authority's failure to perform its obligation does not prevent the recipient of the licence from exercising the use — an administrative technical defect does not annul a private transaction. The lease form of transfer means that the licence holder remains the investor while the operator acts temporarily — a distinction essential when planning the financing structure of projects.
What this means for mineral assets
The practical value of mineral rights is defined by three qualities: obtainability (the licence is issued and registered), transferability (division into parts, lease, transfer into ownership) and market value. The Georgian regime provides for all three: the two routes of issuance are clear (auction and direct procedure), the documentation and fees are regulated, and the market circulation of licences through registry updates is recognized. For an investor this means that a mineral licence is not only a right to carry on an activity but a legally transferable asset.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which documents accompany the auction application?
A written application indicating the licence type sought, registry extracts or copies of identification documents according to legal form, founding documents for public persons, and a receipt for the fee.
For how long are auction applications accepted?
For no less than 15 days from the announcement; the final deadline is set by the licensing authority. On withdrawal before the deadline the fee is refunded.
Can a licence be transferred?
Yes — the holder may divide the licence into parts and transfer the right of use or a part of it by lease or into ownership; the authority enters the change into the registry within 10 calendar days.
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