Perspective | Several Reforms in the New Mineral Resources Law

Article 1In order to promote the rational development and utilization of mineral resources, strengthen the protection of mineral resources and the ecological environment, safeguard the rights and interests of the state as the owner of mineral resources and the legitimate rights and interests of mining rights holders, promote high-quality development of the mining industry, ensure national mineral resource security, and meet the needs of building a modern socialist country in an all-round way, this law is formulated in accordance with the Constitution.

Article 3The development, utilization, and protection of mineral resources shall adhere to the leadership of the Communist Party of China, implement the overall national security concept, coordinate development and security, balance domestic and international considerations, emphasize both development and protection, and follow the principles of ensuring safety, saving and intensive use, technological support, and green development.

Mineral resources are an important material foundation for economic and social development, and the exploration and development of mineral resources are related to the national economy, people's livelihood, and national security. The Mineral Resources Law was formulated in 1986 and has been amended in 1996 and 2009. With the development of the economy and society, especially in the current domestic and international situation, many new situations and problems have emerged in the field of mineral resources in our country, making the existing Mineral Resources Law unable to fully meet actual needs. Therefore, against the backdrop of the new era, it is urgent to comprehensively amend the Mineral Resources Law to solidify the foundation of the national mineral resource security system and vigorously promote ecological civilization construction. This is the third amendment to the Mineral Resources Law, and timely revisions based on changes in the situation are necessary for the legal development and protection of mineral resources and to ensure the security of national strategic resources.

Compared with the "Mineral Resources Law" (2009), the New Mineral Resources Law includes "promoting high-quality development of the mining industry" and "ensuring national mineral resource security" as one of the legislative purposes in the general principles section, while establishing "implementing the overall national security concept and coordinating development and security" as the basic principles that should be followed in the development, utilization, and protection of mineral resources.

Article 16The state implements a system of paid acquisition of exploration rights and mining rights. Exploration rights and mining rights are collectively referred to as mining rights.

As early as in the "Interim Regulations on the Transfer and Assignment of Mining Rights" (Guotuzifa [2000] No. 309), the concept of mining rights was already confirmed, but due to the lower regulatory level of that regulation, many mining-related disputes have led to parties being harmed in both exploration and mining rights, yet they could only file a case based on either exploration rights or mining rights.

From a legal perspective, mining rights, as a type of property right, include exploration rights and mining rights, and are an important civil right. In terms of conceptual connotation, mining rights refer to the rights granted by the owner of mineral resources to explore and mine mineral resources within a specified scope and time, and to dispose of the formed mining rights and the mined products. According to the principle of legal definition of property rights, the types and contents of property rights should be stipulated by law. Article 329 of the "Civil Code of the People's Republic of China" stipulates exploration rights and mining rights, but does not define mining rights, yet respecting and safeguarding the property rights of mining rights is one of the core issues in strengthening commercial mineral exploration.

Therefore, the New Mineral Resources Law establishes "mining rights" as an independent chapter, first clarifying the concept of mining rights.

Article 17Mining rights shall be transferred through competitive methods such as bidding, auction, and listing, except as otherwise provided by laws, administrative regulations, or the State Council.

The division of authority for the transfer of mining rights shall be determined by the State Council. The natural resources authorities of the people's governments at or above the county level shall organize the transfer of mining rights according to their prescribed authority.

The transfer of mining rights shall be incorporated into a unified public resource trading platform system as stipulated by the state.

Article 19For the transfer of mining rights through competitive means, the natural resources authority responsible for the transfer of mining rights (hereinafter referred to as the mining rights transfer department) shall announce in advance the basic situation of the mining rights to be transferred, the competition rules, the technical capabilities of the transferee, and other conditions and rights and obligations, and shall not impose unreasonable conditions on market entities or discriminate against them.

Article 20For the transfer of mining rights, the mining rights transfer department shall sign a written mining rights transfer contract with the legally determined transferee.

The mining rights transfer contract shall specify the types of minerals to be explored or mined, the areas, the requirements for exploration, mining, ecological restoration of the mining area, and safety requirements, the amount and payment method of the transfer income from mining rights, and the duration of the mining rights; for specific strategic mineral resources, it shall also specify the relevant requirements for protective mining. The model text of the mining rights transfer contract shall be formulated by the natural resources authority of the State Council.

In 2017, the General Office of the CPC Central Committee and the General Office of the State Council issued the "Reform Plan for the Transfer System of Mining Rights," conducting pilot projects in six provinces (regions) including Shanxi, Fujian, and Jiangxi, requiring that the transfer of mining rights be mainly promoted through bidding, auction, and listing. The pilot projects have achieved significant results, and the market-oriented allocation of mining rights has become a consensus in mineral management.

The New Mineral Resources Law institutionalizes the mining rights transfer contract for the first time, adds market-oriented transfer methods and competitive procedures, and elevates the effective practices of bidding, auction, and listing for the transfer of mining rights to the level of law, setting a normative template for the transfer of mining rights and safeguarding the rights and obligations of both parties. These provisions increase the transparency and fairness of obtaining mining rights, reduce administrative intervention, thereby standardizing the allocation and transparency of mining rights, promoting fair access to resources, and providing a more stable and predictable investment environment for mining investors. The competitive transfer method helps attract more social capital into the mining sector, increasing the vitality of mining investment.

This is a significant institutional innovation, a fundamental change in the management and utilization of mineral resources, and has important significance for improving the level of development, utilization, and protection of mineral resources.

Article 22, Paragraph 1To establish mining rights, an application for mining rights registration shall be submitted to the mining rights transfer department. If the registration conditions are met, the mining rights transfer department shall record the relevant matters in the mining rights registration book and issue a mining rights certificate to the mining rights holder.

Article 33After obtaining mining rights in accordance with the relevant provisions of this law, the mining rights holder shall prepare exploration and mining plans according to the mining rights transfer contract and relevant standards and technical specifications, and submit them to the original mining rights transfer department for approval to obtain exploration and mining licenses; without obtaining licenses, exploration and mining operations shall not be carried out.

Compared with the provisions of Article 3, Paragraph 3 of the "Mineral Resources Law" (2009 version), which states that "Exploration and mining of mineral resources must apply for and obtain exploration rights and mining rights in accordance with the law, and register; however, mining enterprises that have legally applied for and obtained mining rights are exempt from exploration for their own production within the designated mining area." The new Mineral Resources Law not only adds the provision of "registration effectiveness" to ensure the legal effect of mining rights but also separates the dual effectiveness of exploration licenses and mining licenses (administrative licensing effectiveness + transfer revenue effectiveness). This means that even after obtaining mining rights certificates, mining rights holders still cannot carry out exploration and mining activities; they only obtain rights to specific mining areas. Mining rights holders must obtain exploration and mining licenses through administrative licensing procedures to realize the property value of mining rights. In other words, the mining rights certificate itself does not grant the holder the right to directly conduct mineral exploration or mining.

Article 34The state improves the mining land system that is compatible with mineral resource exploration and mining. National land spatial planning should consider the actual needs for mineral resource exploration and mining land use. Exploration and mining of mineral resources should save and intensively use land.

The natural resources authorities of the people's governments at or above the county level shall ensure that mining rights holders use land in accordance with the law through transfer, leasing, capital contribution, and other methods. If it is necessary to use land owned by farmers' collectives for the mining of strategic mineral resources, it may be legally requisitioned.

Exploration of mineral resources may temporarily use land in accordance with the provisions of land management laws and administrative regulations. For open-pit mining of strategic mineral resources occupying land, if it meets the conditions for simultaneous mining and reclamation after scientific demonstration, it may temporarily use land after approval by the natural resources authorities of the provincial government or above; if temporarily using agricultural land, it must also restore planting conditions, arable land quality, or restore vegetation and production conditions in a timely manner according to national regulations, ensuring that the quantity and quality of the original land type do not decrease and that farmers' interests are protected.

The scope and duration of land use for exploration and mining of mineral resources shall be determined according to needs, with the duration not exceeding the mining rights period.

In practice, mining land is generally obtained in accordance with the "Land Management Law," that is, exploration land is obtained through temporary land use, and mining land is treated as industrial land, implemented through bidding, auction, and listing transfer. Due to factors such as tight planning indicators, single land supply methods, and the lack of coordination between mining and land approvals, the issue of "legal mining but illegal land" exists in large numbers, becoming a prominent contradiction and problem that has long troubled the healthy development of mining enterprises. In 2019, the Ministry of Natural Resources proposed in its response to the suggestion No. 5306 of the second session of the 13th National People's Congress that it would study and formulate relevant regulations to standardize temporary land management, improving mining land policies in conjunction with the revision of the Mineral Resources Law. The new Mineral Resources Law adheres to a problem-oriented approach and makes specialized provisions for mining land, making specialized provisions for mining land for the first time in Article 34.

First, the new Mineral Resources Law clarifies the management of mineral land, with conservation and intensive use as basic requirements to ensure efficient use of land.

Second, the new Mineral Resources Law changes the previous single land supply method, clarifying that the natural resources authorities can supply mining land through various methods such as transfer, leasing, and capital contribution. Mining enterprises can choose different land use methods based on different methods of mineral resource extraction, and can also choose a combination of multiple land use methods.

Third, if it is necessary to use land owned by farmers' collectives for the mining of strategic minerals, it may be legally requisitioned. This is a special provision regarding the scope of land requisition in the "Land Management Law."

Fourth, for land used for open-pit mining of strategic mineral resources that meets the conditions for simultaneous mining and reclamation, temporary land use may be allowed, but it must undergo scientific demonstration. Finally, the duration of mining land is clarified. When the land use duration is inconsistent with the mining rights duration, the mining land duration may be extended according to the mining rights duration to ensure consistency between mining and land durations.

Article 44Ecological restoration of mining areas should adhere to the combination of natural recovery and artificial restoration, following the principles of localized adaptation, scientific planning, systematic governance, and rational utilization, taking engineering, technology, biological, and other measures to carry out geological environment restoration, landform reshaping, vegetation restoration, and land reclamation. For pollution control in mining areas, relevant laws, regulations, and technical standards must be followed.

The natural resources authorities of the State Council, in conjunction with the ecological environment authorities and other relevant departments, shall formulate technical specifications for ecological restoration of mining areas.

The ecological environment authorities of the State Council shall guide, coordinate, and supervise the ecological restoration work in mining areas.

The local people's governments at or above the county level shall strengthen the overall planning and supervision of ecological restoration work in mining areas, ensuring that ecological restoration in mining areas is implemented in coordination with pollution prevention and control, soil and water conservation, and vegetation restoration, enhancing the effectiveness of ecological environment protection and restoration in mining areas.

Article 46Before mining mineral resources, the mining rights holder shall prepare an ecological restoration plan for the mining area in accordance with laws, regulations, and the provisions of the natural resources authorities of the State Council, as well as the mining rights transfer contract, and submit it along with the mining plan to the original mining rights transfer department for approval. The ecological restoration plan for the mining area shall include specific measures for the ecological restoration of tailings ponds.

When preparing the ecological restoration plan for the mining area, opinions should be solicited from the relevant scope involved in the mining area, and special attention should be given to the opinions of residents' committees, villagers' committees, rural collective economic organizations, and representatives of residents and villagers involved in the mining area.

Article 47The mining rights holder shall carry out ecological restoration of the mining area in accordance with the approved ecological restoration plan. If it is possible to restore while mining, restoration should be carried out simultaneously; if it is possible to restore in zones or phases, restoration should be carried out in zones or phases; if it is not possible to restore while mining or in zones or phases, restoration should be carried out in a timely manner within a reasonable period before or after the mine is closed.

Article 71If the mining rights holder violates the provisions of this law and fails to fulfill the ecological restoration obligations of the mining area or fails to carry out ecological restoration in accordance with the approved ecological restoration plan, the natural resources authorities of the people's government at or above the county level shall order correction and may impose a fine of up to twice the cost required for ecological restoration of the mining area; if they refuse to correct, a fine of more than twice but less than five times the cost required for ecological restoration of the mining area shall be imposed, and the natural resources authorities of the people's government at or above the county level shall designate relevant units to carry out the restoration, with the costs borne by the mining rights holder.

The new Mineral Resources Law adds a chapter that proposes principles for ecological restoration in mining areas, restoration plans, and supervision and management requirements, aligning with the concept of green development. On one hand, the new Mineral Resources Law increases the principles that should be followed for ecological restoration in mining areas and the responsible parties for restoration, clarifying the ecological restoration obligations of mining rights holders, as well as the obligations of responsible parties for the restoration of abandoned mining areas after the transfer of mining rights and historical legacies, while encouraging social capital to participate in ecological restoration in mining areas. On the other hand, the new Mineral Resources Law not only clarifies the preparation and approval procedures for ecological restoration plans in mining areas but also adds that the plans should be publicly announced for soliciting opinions, specifically listening to the opinions of residents' committees and representatives of villagers, residents, rural collective economic organizations, and villagers involved in the mining area. In addition, relevant regulations have also been made regarding the extraction of ecological restoration costs and the supervision and inspection by relevant departments. Meanwhile, in the section on legal responsibilities in Chapter Seven of the new Mineral Resources Law, ecological restoration responsibilities have been added, and parties that fail to fulfill their obligations must bear the restoration costs, strengthening environmental protection responsibilities. The establishment of this chapter not only aligns with the requirements of green principles and ecological civilization construction but also reflects the progressive and contemporary nature of legislative concepts.

Article 8The state improves policy measures, increases support for the exploration, mining, trade, and storage of strategic mineral resources, promotes the increase of reserves and the enhancement of production capacity of strategic mineral resources, advances the optimization and upgrading of the strategic mineral resource industry, and enhances the security level of mineral resource guarantees.

The directory of strategic mineral resources is determined and adjusted by the State Council.

For specific strategic mineral resources determined by the State Council, protective mining is implemented according to national regulations.

Article 10The state strengthens the construction of a strategic mineral resource reserve system and an emergency system for mineral resources, enhancing the emergency supply capacity and level of mineral resources.

Article 30The natural resources authorities of the people's governments at or above the county level shall organize basic geological surveys in conjunction with relevant departments; the natural resources authorities of the provincial governments and above shall organize strategic mineral resources, key mineral area prospecting surveys, and potential evaluations in conjunction with relevant departments.

Article 50The state constructs a strategic mineral resource reserve system that combines product reserves, production capacity reserves, and production area reserves, scientifically and reasonably determining the reserve structure, scale, and layout, and dynamically adjusting them.

The new Mineral Resources Law establishes a special protection system for strategic mineral resources, emphasizing in the general principles section the promotion of increasing reserves and enhancing production capacity of strategic mineral resources, strengthening the construction of a strategic mineral resource reserve system and an emergency system for mineral resources, and enhancing the emergency supply capacity and level of mineral resources. In addition, the new Mineral Resources Law adds a chapter on 'Mineral Resource Reserves and Emergencies' as Chapter Five, for the first time legally clarifying the legal status of mineral resource reserves, constructing a strategic mineral resource reserve system that combines product reserves, production capacity reserves, and production area reserves, thereby achieving the goal of promoting the optimization and upgrading of the strategic mineral resource industry and enhancing the security level of mineral resource guarantees.

Article 57The natural resources authorities of the people's governments at or above the county level and other relevant departments shall implement supervision and inspection and may take the following measures:

(1) Enter exploration and mining areas for on-site inspections and surveys;

(2) Inquire relevant personnel about inspection matters and require them to explain relevant issues;

(3) Review and copy documents and materials related to inspection matters;

(4) Seal and confiscate tools, equipment, facilities, sites, and illegally mined mineral products directly used for illegal exploration and mining;

(5) Other measures prescribed by laws and regulations.

The natural resources authorities and other relevant departments shall implement supervision and inspection according to law, and the inspected units and their relevant personnel shall cooperate and shall not refuse or obstruct.

The natural resources authorities and other relevant departments and their staff have a legal obligation to keep confidential state secrets, commercial secrets, personal privacy, and personal information that they become aware of during the supervision and inspection process.

Article 58The state establishes a survey and evaluation system for the level of mineral resource development and utilization.

The natural resources authorities of the State Council establish an evaluation index system for the level of mineral resource development and utilization. The natural resources authorities of the people's governments at or above the county level shall strengthen the summary and analysis of the exploration and mining situation of mineral resources, regularly conduct evaluations, and propose improvement measures for the conservation and intensive development and utilization of mineral resources.

Article 59The natural resources authorities of the State Council establish a national mining rights distribution base map and dynamic database.

The natural resources authorities of the State Council organize the establishment of a national mineral resource supervision and management information system, enhancing supervision and service efficiency, legally and timely disclosing supervision and service information, and ensuring good information sharing.

Article 60The natural resources authorities of the people's governments at or above the county level shall, according to national regulations, record the credit information of mining rights holders and other units and individuals engaged in ecological restoration activities in mining areas in the credit records.

Although the previous "Mineral Resources Law" (2009 version) also set relevant provisions for supervision and management, overall, the regulations were relatively broad and only defined the subjects. However, in the new Mineral Resources Law, not only are the measures for relevant departments to implement supervision and inspection clarified, but many modern supervision and management methods have also been added, such as using modern information systems to monitor the distribution of mining rights and development dynamics in real-time to enhance management accuracy, as well as strengthening information sharing to improve supervision and service efficiency, which is conducive to the digitization and informatization of time resource supervision.