VLADIVOSTOK, September 14. /TASS/. The administration of the Magadan Region in Russia’s Far East plans to carve out a dedicated special "free inwash" zone in the remote Kolyma district for extreme tourism enthusiasts seeking to try out gold prospecting, hoping thereby to boost the flow of tourists visiting the remote area, Governor Sergey Nosov said in an interview with TASS on the sidelines of the Eastern Economic Forum (EEF).

Earlier, the State Duma (lower house of parliament) passed a bill "On Prospecting Activities," or so-called "free inwash," that legalizes private gold mining activities. The Magadan Region, which is the country’s leader in terms of precious metals extraction, is set to be a pilot region for activities under the new law.

"Developing tourism. There have already been numerous inquiries from interested individuals, asking: Is it possible to pan for gold? It is! And the new law specifically provides for this option. We are currently considering the option of a creating a zone that will be allocated specifically for "free inwash." Tourists will be able to prospect for gold there, combining a useful activity with pleasant leisure time; gold extraction will take place while promoting an influx of tourists, given that many would probably like to feel the thrill [of striking gold]," the governor said when asked about the economic opportunities the new law will open up for the region.

Regarding private gold miners, several tens of hectares have already been allocated for such activities. "The principle of ‘I dig [for gold] where I want to’ doesn’t work here, and would only be feasible within a specially allotted special territory. However, we realize that we will still have to monitor such activities, and we will also be responsible for complying with environmental protection regulations. And there’s always the question of compliance with legislation on turnover of precious metals; here, everyone will have additional work to do as well," he noted.

The bill on "free inwash" was drafted at the request of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Its goal is to regulate mining stream-gold by sole proprietors at insignificant placer deposits that are of little interest to industrial gold mining enterprises or at depleted (legacy) placers, as well as to stipulate the terms for such mining activities and the procedure for selling mined gold to the government.

The 8th Eastern Economic Forum (EEF) was held in Vladivostok on September 10-13. The slogan of this year’s forum was: On the Path to Partnership, Peace and Prosperity. The Roscongress Foundation was the event organizer, while TASS was the EEF’s general information partner.