Notice on the selection of green mines in 2020

Notice of the General Office of the Ministry of Natural Resources on the Selection of Green Mines in 2020

To the natural resources competent departments of all provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities,

The relevant matters concerning the green mine selection in 2020 are hereby notified as follows to promote green mines' construction continuously and orderly.

1. Selection principles

(1) Selection basis. There are nine industry standards, including the Implementation Opinions on Accelerating the Construction of Green Mines (Regulations of Land and Resources (2017) No. 4) and the Construction Specifications of Green Mine in the Non-metallic Mine Industry.

(2) Selection scope. Independent mines (including oil and gas) with valid mining licenses and regular operations have not been subject to administrative penalties from the departments of natural resources and ecological environment in the past three years or received administrative penalties but have been rectified. It is not included in the list of abnormalities in the mining rights holders' exploration and mining information publicity system during selection. The mining area does not involve any nature reserves, and the mining period for the remaining reserves shall not be less than three years.

(3) Quantity of selection. The typicality and representativeness of mining enterprises should be highlighted, and the number of selections from each province (autonomous region, municipality) shall not exceed 10 in principle.

2. Selection Procedures

(1) Online application. Starting from June 1, 2020, mining enterprises shall be organized to log into the National Green Mines List Management Information System (hereinafter referred to as the List System) and fill in the relevant application information.

(2) Self-assessments of mines. Organize the mining enterprises that have applied online to conduct self-assessments according to the requirements of green mine construction and industry standards, form self-assessment reports, and fill them in the List System.

(3) Third-party assessments. In the form of government purchase services, third-party assessment agencies should be entrusted to carry out onsite assessments of mines, and the third-party assessment reports should be formed according to the requirements of unified assessment indicators.

(4) Review of materials. Review the self-assessment reports, third-party assessment reports, and other materials.

(5) Onsite verification. Onsite verification shall be carried out on all mines that have passed the third-party assessments using open and secret inspections and data reviews.

(6) Publicity. Through the Internet, newspapers, and other channels, the selection and recommendation results shall be publicized within the province (autonomous region, municipality).

3. Work requirements

(1) Elaborate organization. All localities should strengthen the organizational leadership and financial support, and coordinate the selection and recommendation work during COVID-19 prevention and control. Being realistic, open, fair, and just, local relevant departments shall implement the work procedures strictly and unify the assessment standards. The self-assessment reports and third-party assessments shall be all filled in the List System without submitting the paper version to reduce the burden of enterprises and material submission.

(2) Strengthening the responsibility mechanism of third-party assessment agencies. All localities should strengthen the supervision and promote the standardization of assessment. The assessment agencies should be the enterprises, public institutions, social organizations, or recognized professional assessment agencies with independent legal entity qualifications. The assessment agencies and experts shall remain independent from mining enterprises and shall not prepare the mine self-assessment reports or have any business dealings with mining enterprises within one year before and after the assessments. It is strictly forbidden to collect fees from mining enterprises in any form and use assessments for illegitimate interests. If there are serious violations such as practicing fraud, playing favoritism, and committing irregularities, notices of criticism should be circulated, and the assessment reports should not be accepted.

(3) Strict spot checks. All localities should do an excellent job in daily supervision and carry out spot checks on the mines that have been included in the national green mine list according to the requirements of "double random and one open." The mines that do not meet the standards should be reported in time and removed from the List System. Relevant work can be carried out simultaneously with the onsite verification of the mining rights holders' exploration and mining information publicity, play the role of social supervision, and gradually build a green mines credit system.

All provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities) are requested to complete the selection before September 30, 2020, and inform the Department of Mineral Resources Protection and Supervision of the Ministry about the selection and recommendation list and onsite spot checks. According to epidemic prevention and control, the Ministry will carry out the reviews through spot, online, video, and photo checks. Mines that meet the relevant standards will be included in the national green mines list after being announced publicly.

Contact person and telephone number: Yongchao Sun 010—66558137

Fax and E-mail: 010—66558277

ycsun@mail.mnr.gov.cn

General Office of the Ministry of Natural Resources

May 14th, 2020