MINSK, 3 March (BelTA) – A working meeting to discuss the harmonization of approaches to the classification of reserves of mineral deposits and the development of the expert community on subsurface resources management in Belarus and Russia took place in Minsk, the press service of the Belarusian Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Ministry told BelTA.
The Belarusian delegation was led by Deputy Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Minister Aleksandr Goroshko while the Russian side was represented by Dmitry Oleinik, an advisor to the head of the Federal Agency for Mineral Resources of the Russian Federation. During the meeting the heads of the delegations made welcoming remarks. Reports were presented by representatives of Belarusian and Russian organizations, which operation is designed to ensure rational management of subsurface resources.
The experience of Russia's work as part of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) on matters concerning the harmonization of the classification of reserves of mineral resources with the United Nations Framework Classification for Resources (UNFC) was discussed during the meeting. The organization of cooperation between Belarus and Russia in harmonizing the approaches to the classification of reserves of mineral resources taking into account UN standards in the area of evaluating reserves and resources of mineral deposits was mentioned. Avenues of potential Belarus-Russia cooperation within the framework of development of the national systems for managing reserves of mineral deposits were explored.
Apart from that, the sides also talked over the development of the expert community on subsurface resources management with a view to realizing the long-range plan of joint work on mineral exploration, management, and protection of the CIS member states in 2023-2030. The sides discussed the establishment of a Belarusian-Russian working group on organizing bilateral cooperation in harmonizing the approaches to the classifications of reserves of mineral deposits as well as the development of the expert community on the basis of the United Nations Framework Classification for Resources.
As a result of the meeting the sides decided to set up a working group to organize cooperation in the area of harmonization of approaches and mutual recognition of classifications of reserves of mineral deposits and the expert community on the basis of the United Nations Framework Classification for Resources. The relevant roadmap will be drafted.