Two Men Fined for Illegally Mining Tiny Amounts of Gold in Russia

A risky gamble for pennies: two miners face fines after digging up a fraction of an ounce. Why would anyone risk it for so little gold?

, and Administrator

2025 November 13 . 7:24 PM

1 min read

In this picture there might be a goods train on the railway track. At the back there are trees and... — In this picture there might be a goods train on the railway track. At the back there are trees and there is a pole. At the top there is sky. At the bottom there are stones, railway tracks and there is grass.

Two Men Fined for Illegally Mining Tiny Amounts of Gold in Russia

Two men from Priiskovoy have been fined for illegally mining gold in Nerbchinsky District. The incident, which took place in August 2025, involved the use of improvised tools to extract a small amount of gold. The case was handled by a justice of the peace at Judicial Precinct No. 21, with each man fined 1,700 rubles for the gold they mined.

Prosecutors launched administrative proceedings under Article 15.44, Part 1 of Russia’s Code of Administrative Offenses. The two individuals, aged 18 and 30, managed to mine 0.15 grams of gold. The authorities involved in investigating the gold smuggling affair in Transbaikal were the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) and the Investigative Committee of Russia.

During the course of the investigation, police had to halt their activities during an operational search operation. The confiscated gold was subsequently seized by the state.

The illegal gold mining incident in Nerbchinsky District has resulted in fines for the two offenders. The authorities continue to monitor and enforce regulations regarding gold mining in the region.