The article is devoted to the study of influence of placer gold mining on the socio-economic processes in in the eastern areas of Russia on the example of the TransBaikal territory. Reconciliation of economic and environmental interests in the extraction of placer gold remains one of the most relevant in the field of natural resource management. The results of quantitative assessments of the development of the districts of the TransBaikal Territory show that there are short-term benefits from the development of placer gold sites during the mining season in those municipalities where it is conducted. But in the medium term there is no reason to say that it has a positive impact on socio-economic and demographic processes. According to the level of social well-being, gold mining areas differ insignificantly from those where gold mining is not carried out, in particular, this concerns budget security per capita. Growth rate of the own budget revenues in the areas where placer gold is mined is even slightly lower than in those where gold is not mined. The population decline in the areas of placer deposits development is no less intense than in other areas. The conclusion is substantiated that in order for the extraction of placer gold to become a real factor in improving the quality of life of the local population and demographic stabilization in the border regions, it is necessary to carry out the number of institutional changes. These include: radical redistribution of income within the budget system in this segment of subsoil use; increasing the rates of payments within the limits of maximum permissible, temporarily agreed and excess discharges changing the procedures for commercial access to resources.
