Methods and procedures for artisanal gold mining. How to obtain a gold mining license? Get permission to mine gold

Once again, officials in the eastern regions of Russia proposed allowing free development of gold by private individuals. In January of this year, scientists from Krasnoyarsk, officials of the Magadan region and the Civic Chamber of the Trans-Baikal Territory made another proposal to the Russian government. Despite the fact that back in February 2016, the Russian Ministry of Nature developed a corresponding bill considering certain aspects of private gold mining, a decision on it has not yet been made. “Free bringing” remains prohibited for now.

Improved economic performance and additional jobs

Supporters of the project consider the creation of additional jobs to be the main argument in defense of the law on free gold mining. This is especially true for remote regions where gold was and remains the only source of income for the family.

Attempts by the Russian Ministry of Nature to amend the law on gold mining have not stopped since the 90s of the last century. As one of the ministry officials comments: “For the Magadan region, allowing individual entrepreneurs to mine alluvial gold is, first of all, of social significance associated with the creation of new jobs without additional investments, which will reduce social tension in the region and make our territory attractive for an influx of population.”

The authorities of the Republic of Sakha share a similar point of view. According to the statements of the deputy of the Legislative Assembly of the region, Viktor Fedorov, allowing free gold mining means allowing citizens of the Russian Federation, residents of Yakutia and other regions, to exercise their constitutional right to work, and to legalize the huge shadow business in this area. As he said: “As soon as the bill is submitted to our Legislative Assembly, we will definitely support it, because it will only have a positive effect for Yakutia.”

According to Alexander Kugaevsky, director of the financial and economic institute of the North-Eastern Federal University, free gold mining will certainly lead to the development of industrial tourism and an influx of labor to the mining regions. From all regions of Russia, people flock to Yakutia and the Magadan region for the mines. In addition, he clarified: “But we need to think through all the nuances in detail: accepting the gold, how and where people will hand over what they have mined, and ensuring the safety of the miners.”

At one time, in February 2016, scientists from Krasnoyarsk also supported the law on free mining. The bright minds of Russia believe that the revival of the mining of precious metals by private miners will make it possible to bring out of the shadows a significant share of modern illegal business in this area. Specialists of the Public Chamber of the Trans-Baikal Territory also believe that by prohibiting private mining gold, the government contributes to the establishment of criminal power and the growth of corruption. And, on the contrary, allowing free artisanal mining will create new jobs, promote self-employment, and attract qualified personnel to the regions.

Another opinion: crime and environmental damage

One of the ardent opponents of the legalization of alluvial gold mining in the Russian Federation individuals is Roman Shcherbakov, mining engineer and deputy of the Legislative Assembly of the Trans-Baikal Territory: “Every medal has two sides. It would seem that allowing the population to mine gold on their own is an excellent initiative that will give people the opportunity to earn money and feed their families, and will stop the outflow of the population. But, on the other hand, you need to understand that law enforcement and supervisory authorities, as well as municipal authorities in the regions, are often not prepared for the amount of work that will be associated with free labor, which will inevitably lead to a lot of problems.”

Among other disadvantages of private mining practice, Roman Shcherbakov sees significant damage to the environment and nature. He explains: “Large cooperatives are responsible to the environment and after production they carry out reclamation, which is much easier to monitor than to monitor where and how hundreds of private owners work.”

Shcherbakov sees an equally significant problem that free gold mining will lead to is the increase in banditry and the number of thefts: “Gold found in artels is under guard, the risk of its theft is low. Of course, something leaks out, but the bulk officially goes through the bank. Can we achieve this with freedom? Hardly. Gold will go to the side, to the black markets, primarily to China. "Resellers will appear - crime, which will be difficult to fight, including due to the lack of strength among law enforcement agencies."

The possibility of official employment of gold miners and their honesty in paying taxes also raises certain concerns. According to representatives of the Union of Prospectors of Russia, which previously opposed the transfer of mining permission to private individuals, the creation large number individual organizations may cause a certain “cooling down of the industry.”

The Ministry of Natural Resources of the Magadan Region notes: “The extraction of alluvial gold by individual entrepreneurs raises a number of questions among representatives of Rosprirodnadzor regarding control over geological study, rational use and protection of subsoil. It is also necessary to resolve issues related to the safety and sale of alluvial gold mined by individual entrepreneurs.”

There is particular fear in the ministry possible problems with ecology and work safety related to the relaxation of legislation regarding alluvial gold mining. However, they are confident that such risks are minimized, since “in accordance with the terms of use of the subsoil, enshrined in the license, before the start of mining work, a technical project for the development of the deposit must be drawn up, including chapters on protection environment and safe conduct of mining operations...".

The history of free mining in our country

Private gold mining was allowed in our country until 1954. After this time, the conversation about free mining was first raised by the government of the Magadan region in the 90s of the 20th century. But unsuccessfully! At the moment, the State Duma is still considering the law of September 2010, which could significantly change the situation in the mining of precious metals.

The press service of the governor of the Magadan region reported in October 2015 that the State Duma would once again consider the law “On Subsoil” with the necessary amendments, including on the free flow of gold. According to these changes, Kolyma was supposed to become the first test region in this direction. The press service also reported that the government plans to give the abandoned plots of land to individuals for development. large enterprises due to their unprofitability and insignificant gold reserves. The option of developing dumps previously processed by industrial enterprises should also be considered.

In February 2016, the Ministry of Natural Resources Russian Federation suggested new law, who proposed allowing private owners to mine alluvial gold. According to this bill, individuals can independently participate in the development of gold placers in areas included in the state balance sheet, the reserves of which do not exceed 10 kg. To carry out work individual entrepreneurs are required to obtain the appropriate license.

This law also implies that private owners receive the right to develop mines exclusively on their own. Development should be carried out at a depth of no more than 5 meters, without the use of machinery and equipment, with the exception of hand tools. In this case, the creation and approval of any technical documentation is not required. According to the bill, the Government of the Russian Federation will determine a list of regions where the go-ahead will be given for free birth.

Currently, this law is under consideration and approval by the Government of the Russian Federation, after which it will be sent to the State Duma. So at the moment, the question of whether Russia will revive free trade as a once thriving branch of its industry remains open.

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Until 2016, only legal entities could use the subsoil for the extraction of precious metals on a legal basis. But now the issue of amending the Russian Federation Law “On Subsoil” and the Federal Law “On Precious Metals and Precious Stones” is being resolved in order to make gold mining in Russia possible for individuals.

The final version of the bill, aimed at allowing Russians to mine gold themselves, was published on July 31, 2017 on the federal portal of draft regulations. In September, public consultations ended, and the document, finalized based on the results of public discussions, was approved by the RIA Institute - Regulatory Impact Assessment and submitted for consideration to the Government of the Russian Federation.

Rules for the development of mines

Upon completion of the draft act, legal entities and individual entrepreneurs who have received, in accordance with the procedure established by law, a license to use natural resources in Kolyma, within the territory of the Magadan Region, will be able to mine gold. As for the specific places in which private gold mining will become available, the list will be prepared and posted on the official website by the Magadan Department of the State Subsoil Fund.

By law, artisanal gold mining was prohibited, and according to the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, independent activity is punishable. However, the new project on free labor will allow people to engage in gold mining for the subsequent delivery of precious minerals to the state. Citizens of the Russian Federation will be allowed to mine up to 10 kg of gold in one mine. To do this, the individual entrepreneur will need to apply for a specific placer deposit and use only it. The area of ​​the land plot provided for rent will be no more than 0.15 km2.

Precious metal can be mined exclusively in the following ways:

• only by superficial method;
• using trays and other hand tools, without the use of special equipment - industrial tractors, bulldozers, etc.;
• personally, without involving third parties under a contract;
• without the use of explosives in the process;
• without quarry development and maintenance;
• using a layer of earth up to 5 m deep.

To perform the work, it is not necessary to develop and approve technical designs and other project documentation.

The procedure for the delivery of precious metals for gold miners will be determined after the approval of a regulatory act at the federal level. Then government representatives will make adjustments to regional legislation.

Obtaining a license for entrepreneurs

The subsoil used for the extraction of minerals by organizations and private owners is state owned. Accordingly, the use of natural resources requires obtaining official permission. The Federal Agency for Subsoil Use (Rosnedra) is responsible for issuing it.

Registration of the right to develop subsoil is not necessary only when an entrepreneur purchases a property that has everything Required documents enterprise or when a gold miner enters into an agreement with an organization. In the second case, work is carried out on the territory of a deposit or mine on the basis of a license from an operating company.

To obtain the right to use a land plot, an individual will need to do the following.

1. Register as an individual entrepreneur.
2. Submit an application to the management body of the state subsoil fund.
3. Wait for the results of consideration of the application by a specially appointed commission, which, based on the results of its study, will make a decision within 30 days from the date of application to issue a permit or to refuse to grant the right to use subsoil.
4. If the response to the application is positive, obtain a license.

Unlike organizations, individual entrepreneurs do not participate in auctions and competitions in which the winner becomes the owner of the right to gold mining. But at the same time, individuals are limited in the choice of gold-bearing areas and the use of heavy equipment.

If companies are issued a gold mining license for a period of 20–25 years, then for private owners - only for 5 years. The total costs of its registration consist of state duty and payment for the use of natural resources. Current information on the amount of state duty is available on the website of the Department of Subsoil Use of the Central Federal District.

The state duty is quite democratic

The total cost of obtaining a license depends on whether the papers are drawn up independently or through a law firm. By independently obtaining a permit, the gold miner significantly reduces costs.

Amur region. The mine was closed in the mid-seventies. All tributaries have been rewashed many times since the 19th century. Most of the landfills are “ripped down to the magma.” It would seem that what can be found here?

...I begin exploration with brushes in the river bed. Small signs are everywhere. At one turn I notice that a protruding rock while the miners were working should have prevented the bulldozer from clearing out all the sand. Having rolled out the “bolotniki”, I wade to the rock. I raked the river scraper, disassembled the flagstone of the brush and immediately visible gold! Almost every hole contains one or two large gold pieces. Some of them break off and are carried away by the current. I had to rack my brains a lot before I was able to come up with a way that would allow me to collect this small natural treasure without loss. I collected about one hundred grams from a microscopic area.

Yakutia. Modern gold mining site. The artel is large, with powerful equipment. At some test sites, the raft is loose, made of easily dismountable siltstones. Bulldozers remove them to the entire depth of the subsidence, reaching three to four meters! The training grounds are designed like airfields. Here there is only a small chance of finding gold defects on the sides of the quarries. Areas with hard bedrock are another matter. I was lucky on one of them, composed of massive sandstones. Having waited for its activation and completion of production, with the permission of the chief geologist, I carefully examine every depression and crack. The result does not disappoint. After several hours of painstaking searching with a metal detector, I managed to collect 50 grams. Having learned about my loot, a powerful CAT-10 was urgently sent to the test site. An experienced bulldozer operator, remembering someone’s mother, crawled around the training ground for several hours. Having broken the “loose”, torn the tracks on the rock, he scraped up five hundred cubes of “crumbs”. Washing gave the result - 50 grams - just like mine. The landfill was finally abandoned. Subsequently, this small area measuring 15 by 70 meters gave me several hundred more grams. Why not "Minieldorado"?

But here is another place, also in Yakutia. The steeply falling bed of a small stream, narrowing in places to a meter. No technique will work here. The slopes are crumbling, waterfalls and huge suitcase blocks weighing several tons do not allow traditional work. The placer is of a spoon type, very small from the point of view of modern industrial production. The stream is fed by precipitation and meltwater and dries out at times. It was worked out by Dalstroy prisoners with hand tools, as evidenced by PPSh shell casings, crowbars sticking out of the permafrost, and the remains of a stretcher. They say that here a prisoner had to hand over 50 grams per day for enhanced rations! Apparently, the place is not poor. I go through the entire riverbed several times from bottom to top. There must be enriched places somewhere?! Here is a remarkable sharp turn in the riverbed. The flow of flood waters knocked out an entire cave in the rock. From her? at the disposal - blocks measuring more than a meter. I loosen it with the help of a pole and bring down one of them. There are several good signs in the river fish, hammered into the cracks and washed in the sample tray. A few days of hard work, and here is the reward - a trap simply loaded with gold!

Kolyma. Having found a job as a testing geologist with difficulty, with the boss’s promise to allow me to go freely searching after my shift, I expected to receive a significant increase in my basic salary. Twelve hours of hard work systematically testing polygons to delineate sands left virtually no energy left. But the passion of the prospector and the polar night, when the sun was shining with all its might, did not allow me to sleep. And so after dinner I ask the mountain foreman to give me a ride to the thirtieth training ground. The old miner laughs: “What did you lose there? We scraped this landfill like a frying pan last season!” Okay, let's see! The landfill was really torn out “conscientiously.” The raft is composed of oxidized, easily dismountable siltstones of a rusty color. There is not a trace of “lubricant” in the raft. Didn't they leave anything for me? I carefully walk around the test site in a circle, taking a sample from the sides. In one place some kind of discrepancy catches the eye. Having cleared the side and looked closely, I find traces of alluvium in a crack in the rocky side. Having gone a meter deeper into the wall, I notice that the riverman here is not accidental. A few days later, taking advantage of the opportunity, I asked a bulldozer driver passing by to “pick” my “burrow” with a blade. Three minutes and the bulldozer drove off to its place of work. After cleaning, I take a sample with a scraper. Something flashed in the tray. That’s right, a nugget worth two grams. My heart started beating faster! EAT! I turn around at the sound of an approaching UAZ. Damn it! “Sam” came, it was not easy to bring him at such a moment! What to do, I show you the washed sample. The boss's eyes became round. No heh... to myself. He calls everyone on the radio. A crowd of specialists gathers at the site. The boss yells obscenities, someone makes excuses. Standing quietly to the side, I understand that my place is “bye bye.” And so it happened. For three days, bulldozers and an excavator opened the side. Under the landslide that collapsed in ancient times, the old river bed opened up. Over thousands of years, the stream flowing from the opposite bank has turned a small section of the riverbed into a real “Eldorado”. They took an additional fifteen kilograms from there. I thought the prize was in my pocket! But it was not there.

Having drawn conclusions about the degree of greed of the boss, I am looking for new places. I ask the locals where your “predators” hunted, does anyone know? They remain silent, smiling slyly. Having walked dozens of kilometers in a month, I decided to collect mushrooms. Having found several boletuses, I turn my attention to the high terrace on the starboard side. I rise, making my way through the thickets of dwarf birch, and discover a waste landfill overgrown with 10-centimeter-diameter larches. Judging by the thickness of the trees, it was worked out 40-50 years ago, when there were no heavy bulldozers, and oh, how far away it is from the water! Looks like this could be interesting. A day later I come back with a metal detector. I climbed, it seemed, everything. The heat is about forty degrees, and I didn’t take water with me. We need to get out, it looks empty. Sitting down to rest in the shade, I notice several rusty cans of stew. The banks are old, from the seventies. Having carefully examined the neighboring bushes, I discover the parking place of the “predators”. A mountain of cans indicates that they have been picking here for more than one year. I again begin to thoroughly examine the surroundings with a metal detector. In one place there are traces of “burrows” worn out by time. Is there really nothing here? A clear signal interrupted my thoughts and made my heart gallop. Almost on the surface is a 20 gram nugget! Further more. After two hours of clearing away the rubble, a depression filled with riverine was exposed. Putting the device aside, I disassemble it with a scraper and pick out small nuggets with my hands. Fatigue takes its toll and I, feeling a pleasant heaviness in my pocket, go to the base.

Three weeks of going to one place could not go unnoticed. To avoid trouble, he is forced to hand over his gold plantation. The boss takes the geologist, and the three of us drive up to the foot of the terrace in his jeep... A day later, Kamatsu completely demolished the entire young forest down and paved the road. After another three weeks, the device was already at the test site and washing began. I managed to run through there a few more times with a metal detector and collect more than a dozen nuggets. The largest of them weighed 55 grams. The news that during the first shooting from the device a 500-gram beauty was discovered only made me sigh heavily...

Experienced prospectors can tell hundreds and hundreds of such stories. But we have fewer and fewer people who want to mine gold, and not at all because people don’t need money. This is due to the fact that according to our laws, the extraction of gold from non-industrial deposits is not provided for and is considered a crime. It is also illegal to sell gold. If the police detain you, there will be big trouble. Our people are mostly law-abiding and do not want to break laws. Moreover, our police are often evil and cruel.

You can legally mine gold only under an agreement with a company that has a license. But there are few gold mining enterprises and they are located far away, mostly in the Magadan region and Yakutia. To go to them, you need money and time, but it is not at all a guarantee that they will hire you. In order to work legally, I have to enter into contracts every year, and, without exaggeration, this is the most difficult thing in gold mining. Most directors do not want to allow outsiders into their area, and this is understandable.

Of course, gold can be found closer. I know many good places where industrial gold mining has long been completed and there are no enterprises. But this will be illegal, since there is no one to enter into an agreement with, and working without an agreement, you become a criminal according to our laws. The territory of Russia is huge, gold mining enterprises, all together, have licenses for a very small share of it, probably 0.01%. The rest of the territory turns out to be inaccessible. Somehow this is wrong!

I read with envy how in other countries people take a pan or a metal detector and freely search for gold near their home or in any open area. For example, in Australia, a license for non-industrial prospecting is sold on the Internet to everyone. The cost of a license for 2 years is 1000 rubles (30 dollars). The license specifies the region of work (for example, the state of Victoria) and specifies restrictions: farmland, private property, land allocations of mining enterprises, as well as a list of equipment that can be used for gold mining (tray, mini-dredge with a nozzle up to 100 mm, etc. ).

If we in Russia provided for the simple sale of licenses for prospecting and non-industrial gold mining (as in Australia), then every Russian would have the opportunity to earn additional income in his free time. Schoolchildren and students could earn extra money during the summer holidays; pensioners could supplement their small pensions from gold mining. This used to be the case in Russia and the USSR. A prospector was considered to be someone who, in his free time from work, earned extra money by mining for gold.

In my opinion, what they say about the increase in crime due to free gold mining is in vain. If you give people the opportunity to earn money, there will be fewer crimes.

How to start gold mining legally? This question is asked by those who want to use their savings and their muscular strength to obtain their own means of subsistence and replenish the country’s budget. When will the Law on Free Bringing be adopted? Once again we began to consider this Law and once again it is dying so sluggishly. Why? Unclear. There are a lot of places throughout the country where no one will ever mine gold industrially - it is not profitable. Small reserves and industrial development will cause irreparable damage to the environment. The prospector will even enter any corner with pomp and, having developed the site, peacefully leave.
Let's return to the topics of my article - License to search for gold on the application principle.
Is it possible? How to do it?
At a minimum, you need an area where there is gold. You know about this site and that's good. The Subsoil Law allows you to obtain a license for exploration and production without an auction, as a discoverer, if there were no reserves and resources on the site and go ahead. Please note that there should not be any reserves or resources on the site. In fact, these areas are not interesting for industrial development. If initial exploration can be carried out by an amateur, then to calculate reserves according to C1 and C2 it is necessary to conduct professional exploration. Either study it yourself or involve certified specialists. Everyone decides for themselves. To obtain a geological exploration license, you will still need a specialist with a diploma. Or maybe it makes sense to involve an organization that has the right to conduct geological exploration.
Before thinking about geological exploration, we will study the possibility of obtaining a license for the extraction of mineral resources on an application basis. First, read 58-FZ dated 04/29/2008

Article 10.1. Grounds for the emergence of the right to use subsoil plots

The grounds for the emergence of the right to use subsoil plots are:

1) decision of the Government of the Russian Federation adopted:

when establishing the fact of the discovery of a mineral deposit on a subsoil plot of federal significance or on a subsoil plot that is classified as a subsoil plot of federal significance as a result of the discovery of a mineral deposit by a subsoil user who carried out work on geological exploration of the subsoil at his own (including borrowed) funds for exploration and production of mineral resources of an open deposit and, if available, reimbursed the state’s expenses for the search and assessment of mineral resources in a subsoil plot of federal significance in the manner established by the Government of the Russian Federation;

In connection with changes in Law 58-FZ dated April 29, 2008, changes were made to Order of the Ministry of Natural Resources dated November 11, 2004 No. 689 “On approval of the Instructions on the procedure for establishing the fact of the discovery of mineral deposits”

We read the Order.

We submit an Application for recognition of the discovery of a deposit and receive a Certificate of Establishment of the fact of the discovery of a mineral deposit.

With the certificate of discovery of a mineral deposit in hand, you can begin to issue a license. It is known from practice that obtaining a license will take no more than six months. Naturally, work on cartography and geology is necessary - there must be a geologist and a surveyor. The license agreement must indicate large-scale bulk sampling and the Methodological Recommendations allow such work. As a result of testing, a certain amount of metal appears on your hands. Where should I put it? Can't legally take it to a refinery. It is recommended that the agreement include the phrase “the metal obtained as a result of prospecting work must be sold in the manner prescribed by law.”

As for geological exploration, a little later, and there are quite a lot of enterprises in the Moscow region that are engaged in geological exploration work. This is no longer a problem.

There is a considerable gold reserve on the territory of the Russian Federation. The history of precious metal mining goes back hundreds of years, so people have managed to succeed in this matter. Today, the development of gold-bearing veins is carried out by legal entities, however, there are still many deposits that are not officially assigned to anyone.

Gold mining in Russia by individuals is not prohibited and can become a very profitable enterprise for a person, however, it is impossible to simply extract the precious metal. To develop a place, you must have an official license. Let us consider the conditions for obtaining a permit by ordinary citizens in the presented article.

Is gold mining allowed for private individuals in the Russian Federation - the main provisions of the legislation

The Constitution of the Russian Federation states that all natural resources belong to people. On the one hand, this is true, but on the other, permits for gold mining are issued only to large corporations, as a result of which small companies, and even more so ordinary citizens, have practically no chance of getting into this field of activity. In turn, the lack of a license may lead to criminal liability being imposed on a citizen who tried to extract or sell metal.

Private individuals have the right to mine gold, but provided that the work is carried out in regions where this is permitted. The limitation is that industrial gold ore mining should not be carried out on the territory of the subject. Only licensed companies have the right to develop the deposit here.

For what reason were private individuals allowed to mine gold?

As a rule, citizens mine gold in very small quantities, so they cannot compete with large firms. On the other hand, there may not be too much gold in the ground and it may not be advisable to develop it on an industrial scale. For one person, this can be a profitable business.

As a result of this, gold mining was allowed to private individuals, but with some restrictions. An example is the situation in the Magadan region. Today, more than 1,500 citizens are engaged in gold mining there, but the total volume is precious. metal is only 900 kg. This is unprofitable for large corporations, but for ordinary people, is a very significant source of income.

General procedure for obtaining a gold mining license

Until recently, a license for the extraction of “yellow” metal was issued only legal entities. Citizens were prohibited from removing metal from the bowels of the earth. This state of affairs existed until 2016. Since that time, D. Medvedev proposed amendments to Russian legislation regarding the issuance of gold mining licenses to individuals.

Where to apply for a license?

Since the territory is at the disposal of the state, permission must be obtained from the authorized agency - the state agency RosNedra. The organization has several branches that can also issue license permits. Sometimes the document is issued by the Ministry of Nature of the Russian Federation. These same departments are responsible for organizing auctions for the right to develop the largest deposits. More details about the procedure for processing documents can be found on the official websites of these departments.

Conditions for obtaining a gold mining permit?

According to the current legislative regulations, a license can be issued to a private person only if the subsoil contains less than 10 kg of gold. Separately, it is worth mentioning the period for which a license can be issued, namely:

1. If a citizen plans only to mine precious metals and not conduct any other activities, then the license period will be up to 20 years.
2. When additional geological surveys are carried out, the validity period of the permit may be 25 years.
3. To conduct geological surveys, but without gold mining, a license is issued for 5 years.

Such terms apply to individual entrepreneurs, but for private owners, the license term is limited to 5 years. Select what you want land plot is also not always possible. And yet, private owners cannot use special equipment, bulldozers, drilling machines and other units.

License cost for a private owner

The price of a license permit may vary depending on the method of obtaining it. If you contact a specialized company that provides similar services, the cost of registration will be about 100-200 thousand rubles.

Self-registration will require the citizen to pay 7,500 rubles, but the deadlines will be much longer, and a lot of effort will be required to prepare the necessary documentation. Despite the fact that the cost of services is not too high, there is a danger that the business may become unprofitable. Unfortunately, the risks in this area are very high and before you start developing fields, you should carefully weigh the pros and cons.

Conclusion

The presented material can be concluded with the following conclusions:

1. Today, gold mining is carried out at an industrial level. Individuals have only recently gained access to this industry.
2. Anyone will be able to obtain a license permit for the extraction of precious metal, but subject to the mandatory requirements of the law.
3. The license term will be at least 5 years, but you will have to pay a state fee in the prescribed amount for the document.