The calculation of remaining mineral resource reserves
When should the calculation of remaining mineral resource reserves be carried out?
The calculation of remaining mineral resource reserves must be carried out:
- at least once every 10 years, starting from the first year of extraction;
- before carrying out land reclamation, if reclamation is planned after the completion of mineral extraction;
- if mineral extraction has been suspended for a period longer than three years;
- if mineral extraction has been identified and no exploration report has been submitted, or if illegal extraction of minerals has been detected at the site;
- if the ownership of the quarry changes.
What is needed to calculate the remaining reserves of mineral resources?
The calculation of remaining reserves is performed without additional geological exploration, using data already available in the State Geological Fund from previous geological exploration of the mineral deposit.
However, for the remaining reserves calculation, a new topographic plan is required to model the current state of the reserves and compare it with the topographic data available in the State Geological Fund.
The report containing the calculation of the remaining reserves is submitted to the Latvian Environment, Geology and Meteorology Centre (LVĢMC), which approves it and transfers it to the State Geological Fund for storage.
Once the remaining reserves report is approved by LVĢMC and the information on the reserves in the surveyed area is known, a new mineral deposit permit and extraction limit must be obtained. These are issued by the State Environmental Service based on a submitted application.
After that, a project designer assesses the need to prepare a new mineral extraction project and the necessity to obtain new technical specifications, permits, and approvals.
