Regulations for the Implementation of the Mineral Resources Law of the People's Republic of China
Regulations for the Implementation of the Mineral Resources Law of the People's Republic of China
Regulations for the Implementation of the Mineral Resources Law of the People's Republic of China
Order of the State Council of the People's Republic of China No. 839
May 15, 2026
The Regulations for the Implementation of the Mineral Resources Law of the People's Republic of China, adopted at the 85th Executive Meeting of the State Council on May 9, 2026, are hereby promulgated, and shall come into force on June 15, 2026.
Li Qiang, Premier
Regulations for the Implementation of the Mineral Resources Law of the People's Republic of China
Chapter I General Provisions
Article 1 These Regulations are formulated in accordance with the Mineral Resources Law of the People's Republic of China (hereinafter referred to as the “Mineral Resources Law”).
Article 2 The State shall promote the rational development and utilization of mineral resources, strengthen the protection of mineral resources and the ecological environment, advance the high-quality development of the mining sector, and ensure the security of mineral resources.
Article 3 The determination and adjustment of the catalog of mineral resources shall be proposed by the competent natural resources authority under the State Council, in conjunction with the development and reform authority under the State Council, and implemented upon approval by the State Council.
The catalog of mineral resources shall include mineral types and classifications.
Article 4 The State shall increase investment in basic geological surveys, strengthen the development of basic geological survey teams, and encourage the participation of non-state actors in basic geological surveys in a lawful and orderly manner, so as to improve the quality and efficiency of basic geological surveys.
Article 5 The State shall improve fiscal, financial, land, ecological and environmental, industrial, and import-export and other related policies and measures, establish and improve an integrated and coordinated system covering the entire chain of exploration, production, supply, storage, and sales of strategic mineral resources, increase support for the exploration, mining, processing, trade, and storage of strategic mineral resources, and promote the optimization and upgrading of strategic mineral resource industries, so as to enhance the security of mineral resources.
The determination and adjustment of the catalog of strategic mineral resources shall be jointly proposed by the competent natural resources authority under the State Council, in conjunction with the relevant authorities under the State Council, and implemented upon approval by the State Council. In determining and adjusting the catalog of strategic mineral resources, the following factors shall be comprehensively considered in evaluating the relevant mineral resources:
(1) Their importance to national economic and social development and national security;
(2) Domestic resource endowment, degree of scarcity, and external dependence;
(3) The resilience and security level of the relevant industrial and supply chains; and
(4) Other factors requiring consideration.
For specific strategic mineral resources designated by the State Council, protective mining measures, including planning control, total quantity control, and restrictions on mining entities, shall be implemented in accordance with laws, administrative regulations, and relevant State regulations.
Article 6 Mineral resource-related plans formulated and approved in accordance with Article 9 of the Mineral Resources Law shall be published in accordance with the law. Geological surveys and activities including the exploration, mining, and protection of mineral resources, as well as the ecological restoration of mining areas, shall comply with mineral resource-related plans.
The competent natural resources authorities under people's governments at or above the county level may, in light of actual needs and in conjunction of relevant authorities, formulate relevant plans relating to the exploration, mining, and protection of mineral resources in specific domains or specific regions, or of specific mineral types, as well as the ecological restoration of mining areas, and the relevant information shall be incorporated into the supervisory information system for the implementation of territorial spatial planning.
Article 7 The State shall adhere to the principles of equality, reciprocity, and win-win cooperation, and actively promote international cooperation in investment, trade, technology, and other fields relating to mineral resources through various channels and means, so as to maintain the security and stability of industrial and supply chains.
Those engaged in the overseas development and utilization of mineral resources shall safeguard national interests and the public interest, comply with Chinese laws and regulations and the relevant laws of the host country or region, honor contracts, respect local customs and cultural traditions, pay due attention to ecological and environmental protection and work safety, strengthen security risk prevention, complete relevant formalities in accordance with regulations, and accept the administration and supervision of relevant Chinese authorities and Chinese diplomatic missions abroad in accordance with the law.
Chapter II Mineral Rights
Article 8 Mineral rights shall be granted through competitive methods such as tender, auction, and listing. For strategic mineral resources with a high degree of scarcity and medium-sized or larger resource reserves, or for exploration blocks subject to special requirements regarding exploration and mining technologies or ecological and environmental protection, exploration rights shall preferably be granted by tender.
Under any of the following circumstances, mineral rights may be granted by agreement:
(1) Where, in accordance with laws, administrative regulations, or the regulations of the State, the relevant mineral resource is required to be explored or mined by a specified entity;
(2) Where, for the purpose of ensuring mine production safety or rationally delimiting mineral rights, it is necessary to continue mining a mineral resource in the deeper or upper parts of a registered mining area or to further mine a sporadic and scattered mineral resource in the surrounding areas;
(3) Where the same mineral right holder explores or mines a mineral resource in an interstitial area between adjacent registered exploration or mining areas where a separate mineral right cannot be independently established;
Other circumstances prescribed by laws, administrative regulations, or the State Council.
For the purpose of safeguarding national mineral resource security, where there is an urgent need to mine a strategic mineral resource, a mining right may, upon approval by the State Council, be directly granted by the competent natural resources authority under the people's government at or above the provincial level.
Article 9 The competent natural resources authorities under people's governments at or above the county level shall organize the granting of mineral rights in accordance with their prescribed powers.
Mineral rights for any of the following mineral resources shall be granted by the competent natural resources authority under the State Council or the competent natural resources authority under the people's government of a province, autonomous region, or municipality directly under the Central Government authorized thereby:
(1) A strategic mineral resource;
(2) A mineral resource spanning two or more provincial-level administrative regions, including provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government; and
A mineral resource within China's territorial sea or other sea areas under its jurisdiction.
The authority for granting mineral rights for mineral resources other than those specified in the preceding paragraph shall be prescribed by the people's government of the relevant province, autonomous region, or municipality directly under the Central Government.
The granting of an exploration right and a mining right for the same mineral type shall be administered at the same level. Where the granting of a mineral right involves multiple mineral types, the granting authority shall be determined according to the principal mineral type; if the principal mineral type is difficult to determine, the mineral type subject to the highest-level granting authority shall prevail.
Article 10 The competent natural resources authority under a people's government at or above the county level shall strengthen the overall planning and arrangement for the granting of a mineral right in accordance with the relevant mineral resource plan and the supply and demand conditions for a mineral resource, and shall promptly arrange for the grant where the conditions for granting are met.
Before granting a mineral right, the competent natural resources authority responsible for the grant (hereinafter referred to as the “mineral rights granting authority”) shall conduct verification to ensure that the proposed exploration or mining area complies with the control requirements of territorial spatial planning.
Exploration rights shall be granted on the basis of blocks delineated by latitude and longitude coordinates as the basic units.
Except under circumstances meeting prescribed conditions, the scope of a newly established mining right shall not overlap vertically with the projected scope of an existing mining right, and more than two mining rights shall not be established for the same ore body capable of centralized development.
Article 11 An entity or individual that provides to the competent natural resources authority under a people's government at or above the county level a block source suitable for the establishment of an exploration right shall be given appropriate rewards or compensation in accordance with relevant State regulations; where such entity or individual participates in the competitive granting of the exploration right for such block, priority shall be given under equal conditions in obtaining the exploration right.
Article 12 Where a mineral right is granted through a competitive method, the mineral rights granting authority shall publish in advance, through channels such as its official website or a public resource trading platform, matters including the basic information of the proposed mineral right, the granting method, competition rules, collection of deposits, risk warnings, the technical capabilities and other required condictiones of the grantee, and the grantee's rights and obligations. The announcement period shall be no less than 30 working days.
The competent natural resources authority under the State Council, as well as local people's governments at or above the county level and the competent natural resources authorities thereunder, shall create and maintain a fair and orderly market competition environment and ensure the lawful and equal participation of all types of entities in the competitive granting of mineral rights.
Article 13 Where a mineral right is granted, the mineral rights granting authority shall enter into a written mineral rights grant contract with the grantee determined in accordance with the law.
After a mineral rights grant contract has been concluded, if the mineral right fails to comply with the control requirements of territorial spatial planning and exploration or mining cannot be carried out due to errors in verification by the mineral rights granting authority or for other reasons, the grantee shall have the right to rescind the contract. After rescission of the contract, the mineral rights granting authority shall refund the mineral rights grant consideration; if financial losses are caused to the grantee, compensation shall be made in accordance with the law.
Article 14 The grantee of a mineral right shall, in accordance with relevant State regulations and the mineral rights grant contract, pay in full and on time the mineral rights grant consideration, mineral rights occupation fee, and other related fees.
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Order of the State Council of the People's Republic of China No. 839
May 15, 2026
The Regulations for the Implementation of the Mineral Resources Law of the People's Republic of China, adopted at the 85th Executive Meeting of the State Council on May 9, 2026, are hereby promulgated, and shall come into force on June 15, 2026.
Li Qiang, Premier
Regulations for the Implementation of the Mineral Resources Law of the People's Republic of China
Chapter I General Provisions
Article 1 These Regulations are formulated in accordance with the Mineral Resources Law of the People's Republic of China (hereinafter referred to as the “Mineral Resources Law”).
Article 2 The State shall promote the rational development and utilization of mineral resources, strengthen the protection of mineral resources and the ecological environment, advance the high-quality development of the mining sector, and ensure the security of mineral resources.
Article 3 The determination and adjustment of the catalog of mineral resources shall be proposed by the competent natural resources authority under the State Council, in conjunction with the development and reform authority under the State Council, and implemented upon approval by the State Council.
The catalog of mineral resources shall include mineral types and classifications.
Article 4 The State shall increase investment in basic geological surveys, strengthen the development of basic geological survey teams, and encourage the participation of non-state actors in basic geological surveys in a lawful and orderly manner, so as to improve the quality and efficiency of basic geological surveys.
Article 5 The State shall improve fiscal, financial, land, ecological and environmental, industrial, and import-export and other related policies and measures, establish and improve an integrated and coordinated system covering the entire chain of exploration, production, supply, storage, and sales of strategic mineral resources, increase support for the exploration, mining, processing, trade, and storage of strategic mineral resources, and promote the optimization and upgrading of strategic mineral resource industries, so as to enhance the security of mineral resources.
The determination and adjustment of the catalog of strategic mineral resources shall be jointly proposed by the competent natural resources authority under the State Council, in conjunction with the relevant authorities under the State Council, and implemented upon approval by the State Council. In determining and adjusting the catalog of strategic mineral resources, the following factors shall be comprehensively considered in evaluating the relevant mineral resources:
(1) Their importance to national economic and social development and national security;
(2) Domestic resource endowment, degree of scarcity, and external dependence;
(3) The resilience and security level of the relevant industrial and supply chains; and
(4) Other factors requiring consideration.
For specific strategic mineral resources designated by the State Council, protective mining measures, including planning control, total quantity control, and restrictions on mining entities, shall be implemented in accordance with laws, administrative regulations, and relevant State regulations.
Article 6 Mineral resource-related plans formulated and approved in accordance with Article 9 of the Mineral Resources Law shall be published in accordance with the law. Geological surveys and activities including the exploration, mining, and protection of mineral resources, as well as the ecological restoration of mining areas, shall comply with mineral resource-related plans.
The competent natural resources authorities under people's governments at or above the county level may, in light of actual needs and in conjunction of relevant authorities, formulate relevant plans relating to the exploration, mining, and protection of mineral resources in specific domains or specific regions, or of specific mineral types, as well as the ecological restoration of mining areas, and the relevant information shall be incorporated into the supervisory information system for the implementation of territorial spatial planning.
Article 7 The State shall adhere to the principles of equality, reciprocity, and win-win cooperation, and actively promote international cooperation in investment, trade, technology, and other fields relating to mineral resources through various channels and means, so as to maintain the security and stability of industrial and supply chains.
Those engaged in the overseas development and utilization of mineral resources shall safeguard national interests and the public interest, comply with Chinese laws and regulations and the relevant laws of the host country or region, honor contracts, respect local customs and cultural traditions, pay due attention to ecological and environmental protection and work safety, strengthen security risk prevention, complete relevant formalities in accordance with regulations, and accept the administration and supervision of relevant Chinese authorities and Chinese diplomatic missions abroad in accordance with the law.
Chapter II Mineral Rights
Article 8 Mineral rights shall be granted through competitive methods such as tender, auction, and listing. For strategic mineral resources with a high degree of scarcity and medium-sized or larger resource reserves, or for exploration blocks subject to special requirements regarding exploration and mining technologies or ecological and environmental protection, exploration rights shall preferably be granted by tender.
Under any of the following circumstances, mineral rights may be granted by agreement:
(1) Where, in accordance with laws, administrative regulations, or the regulations of the State, the relevant mineral resource is required to be explored or mined by a specified entity;
(2) Where, for the purpose of ensuring mine production safety or rationally delimiting mineral rights, it is necessary to continue mining a mineral resource in the deeper or upper parts of a registered mining area or to further mine a sporadic and scattered mineral resource in the surrounding areas;
(3) Where the same mineral right holder explores or mines a mineral resource in an interstitial area between adjacent registered exploration or mining areas where a separate mineral right cannot be independently established;
Other circumstances prescribed by laws, administrative regulations, or the State Council.
For the purpose of safeguarding national mineral resource security, where there is an urgent need to mine a strategic mineral resource, a mining right may, upon approval by the State Council, be directly granted by the competent natural resources authority under the people's government at or above the provincial level.
Article 9 The competent natural resources authorities under people's governments at or above the county level shall organize the granting of mineral rights in accordance with their prescribed powers.
Mineral rights for any of the following mineral resources shall be granted by the competent natural resources authority under the State Council or the competent natural resources authority under the people's government of a province, autonomous region, or municipality directly under the Central Government authorized thereby:
(1) A strategic mineral resource;
(2) A mineral resource spanning two or more provincial-level administrative regions, including provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government; and
A mineral resource within China's territorial sea or other sea areas under its jurisdiction.
The authority for granting mineral rights for mineral resources other than those specified in the preceding paragraph shall be prescribed by the people's government of the relevant province, autonomous region, or municipality directly under the Central Government.
The granting of an exploration right and a mining right for the same mineral type shall be administered at the same level. Where the granting of a mineral right involves multiple mineral types, the granting authority shall be determined according to the principal mineral type; if the principal mineral type is difficult to determine, the mineral type subject to the highest-level granting authority shall prevail.
Article 10 The competent natural resources authority under a people's government at or above the county level shall strengthen the overall planning and arrangement for the granting of a mineral right in accordance with the relevant mineral resource plan and the supply and demand conditions for a mineral resource, and shall promptly arrange for the grant where the conditions for granting are met.
Before granting a mineral right, the competent natural resources authority responsible for the grant (hereinafter referred to as the “mineral rights granting authority”) shall conduct verification to ensure that the proposed exploration or mining area complies with the control requirements of territorial spatial planning.
Exploration rights shall be granted on the basis of blocks delineated by latitude and longitude coordinates as the basic units.
Except under circumstances meeting prescribed conditions, the scope of a newly established mining right shall not overlap vertically with the projected scope of an existing mining right, and more than two mining rights shall not be established for the same ore body capable of centralized development.
Article 11 An entity or individual that provides to the competent natural resources authority under a people's government at or above the county level a block source suitable for the establishment of an exploration right shall be given appropriate rewards or compensation in accordance with relevant State regulations; where such entity or individual participates in the competitive granting of the exploration right for such block, priority shall be given under equal conditions in obtaining the exploration right.
Article 12 Where a mineral right is granted through a competitive method, the mineral rights granting authority shall publish in advance, through channels such as its official website or a public resource trading platform, matters including the basic information of the proposed mineral right, the granting method, competition rules, collection of deposits, risk warnings, the technical capabilities and other required condictiones of the grantee, and the grantee's rights and obligations. The announcement period shall be no less than 30 working days.
The competent natural resources authority under the State Council, as well as local people's governments at or above the county level and the competent natural resources authorities thereunder, shall create and maintain a fair and orderly market competition environment and ensure the lawful and equal participation of all types of entities in the competitive granting of mineral rights.
Article 13 Where a mineral right is granted, the mineral rights granting authority shall enter into a written mineral rights grant contract with the grantee determined in accordance with the law.
After a mineral rights grant contract has been concluded, if the mineral right fails to comply with the control requirements of territorial spatial planning and exploration or mining cannot be carried out due to errors in verification by the mineral rights granting authority or for other reasons, the grantee shall have the right to rescind the contract. After rescission of the contract, the mineral rights granting authority shall refund the mineral rights grant consideration; if financial losses are caused to the grantee, compensation shall be made in accordance with the law.
Article 14 The grantee of a mineral right shall, in accordance with relevant State regulations and the mineral rights grant contract, pay in full and on time the mineral rights grant consideration, mineral rights occupation fee, and other related fees.
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