The Ethiopian Ministry of Mines is to reduce the validity duration of artisanal mining license from nine years to a maximum of two years, Fortune reported. The provision is said to be included under the draft mining proclamation which also  include numerous amendments to the 2010 mining proclamation.

Under the current law, artisanal mining license can be renewed twice for three years. Additional amendment under the draft proclamation include provision which reduced royalty from the sale of gemstones from the current 8 percent to 7 percent.

Another new provision is a mandatory reporting requirement on mining companies to reveal income gained from sale of minerals. Artisan miners make up a significant part of the gold and gemstone production. This year, 18,000 kg of gold is expected to be mined by artisan miners.

Source: Fortune