The Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry has drafted a new law on mining and mineral resources, Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Sauat Mynbayev told a government meeting in Astana on 6 August.

This law was drafted following the cancellation of several contracts with the companies which had not fulfilled their obligations earlier this year and which “has shown significant gaps in the legal provision for rights and obligations of mining companies”.

The new law, once effective, will annul joint exploration and development contracts. Winners of tenders for developing deposits of mineral resources will be determined by the amount of bonus and social payments companies will pledge, Mr Mynbayev said. The new law will ensure the government’s priority right to purchase and will provide a thorough list of project documents for mining operations and their correspondence to mining contracts.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Karim Massimov has ordered Justice Minister Zagipa Baliyeva to review the new draft law as quickly as possible so that the government could submit it to parliament in autumn. Once the law is passed, the old laws on oil, mining and mineral resources and law on production sharing agreements will be revoked.

The government wants to stop the practice of signing production sharing agreements. Some officials have even called for cancelling existing production sharing agreements to force companies which signed these agreements to pay all taxes and deprive them of their stable tax regimes.