Shanxi implements new regulations for mineral resources management

Shanxi will take further measures to improve the exploration, mining and management of mineral resources as the province vows to ensure resource security, boost supply of energy resources, and promote the healthy development of mining sector.

According to a recent notice from the Department of Natural Resource of Shanxi, new projects shouldn't be built on deposits of strategic mineral resources and key mineral exploration areas, other than some major provincial-level projects, and existing mining claims should be relocated away, in an orderly manner, from protected areas where mining is restricted or prohibited.

In terms of the scale of transfer, mining rights of small-sized sand mineral deposits can be transferred for construction of major infrastructures projects and livelihood improvement projects in remote mountainous regions. New mining projects, expansion projects and strip pits for minerals including bauxite, iron ore, copper ore, gypsum ore, gold ore, manganese ore, limestone and dolomite should be integrated or closed if failing to meet standards for production capacity and service life set earlier by the province to ensure mine production safety.

In addition, the Ministry of Natural Resources is responsible for the transfer and registration of mining rights of 14 important strategic mineral resources, including petroleum, hydrocarbon natural gas, shale gas, natural gas hydrates, radioactive minerals, tungsten, rare earths, tin, antimony, molybdenum, cobalt, lithium, sylvine and crystalline graphite. The provincial department is responsible for the transfer and registration of mining rights for 23 strategic mineral resources, including coal, coalbed methane, iron, chromium, copper, aluminum, nickel, gold, zirconium, phosphorus, fluorite, manganese, vanadium, titanium, hafnium, indium, germanium, gallium, niobium, tantalum, beryllium, rhenium, and boron, as well as geothermal mining rights. The municipal and county-level bureaus are in charge of the transfer and registration of mining rights for mineral resources other than the above 38 mineral species.