What types of use licences exist?

Besides mineral extraction, subsurface use and the oil and gas general licence (exploration and extraction special licences) — hunting economy, fishing, radio frequency spectrum and export-purpose fir cone/convention species use licences.

When is an extraction licence issued directly?

With Government consent — to a water supply licence holder for drinking underground water; for tourism-recreation purposes for medicinal mud and mineral waters; and on private land for fresh water, with the right to extract no more than 5 000 cubic metres per year.

How is the auction winner determined?

On the basis of assuming the obligation to satisfy the norms and rules of use and submitting the highest price.

When is auction information published?

Generally no later than 1 month before the auction on the authority's website; for a mineral extraction licence — no later than 10 days before on the unified electronic auction platform.

Is an additional licence needed if the use covers another authorization?

No — if the use and its conditions by their nature cover an activity provided for by another licence or permit, obtaining it separately is not necessary.

Mining Law in Tbilisi, Georgia

Types of use licences

The legal basis of mining activity is written into the Georgian Law on Licences and Permits, where we find the list of use licences. The law defines the following types: the licence for the extraction of useful minerals; the licence for the use of subsurface space; and the general licence for the use of oil and gas resources, which is divided into two special licences — the special licence for the exploration and the special licence for the extraction of oil and gas. The list also includes the special licence for a hunting economy, the fishing licence, the licence for the use of the radio frequency spectrum, and the licence for the use, for export purposes, of fir cones and the bulbs of snowdrop and the corms of colchicum included in the annexes of the international convention.

This division is not formal: each type tells the investor its own subject. Work on minerals requires an extraction licence, the technical use of subsurface space an appropriate use licence, and an oil and gas project fits into the two-stage general licence — first exploration, then extraction. The hunting economy and fishing constitute separate regimes of natural resources with their own licences.

Direct issuance of the mineral extraction licence

The basic rule is an auction, but the law also defines cases of direct issuance. With the consent of the Government of Georgia, the licensing authority may issue the mineral extraction licence directly: to a holder of a water supply licence — for the extraction of underground fresh water for the purpose of supplying consumers with drinking water; and for tourism and recreation purposes — for the extraction of underground mineral waters for medicinal mud and/or external use (medicinal baths), for extraction or exploration-extraction. The linkage is noteworthy: the annulment of the water supply licence is a ground for the annulment of the extraction licence — the two authorizations are legally tied to each other.

A special case is a plot of land in private ownership: for the extraction of underground fresh water for commercial purposes the licence may be 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 containing information on the volume, location and purpose of extraction of the useful mineral; it is accompanied by a registry extract, a copy of an identification document or founding documents depending on the seeker's legal form, in the respective case a document confirming the water supply licence or ownership of the land plot, and also a receipt for payment of the licence fee. The licensing authority establishes requirements for the use of the specific object and additional licence conditions; the procedure for direct issuance is determined by the Government of Georgia.

Mining Law