“Receiving today the province’s first real estate certificate for mineral rights (mining rights) is a huge confidence booster for our company—it’s both a confirmation and a guarantee of our mining rights and interests,” said Li Yonglei, Chairman and General Manager of Wenshan Zhongtai Manganese Industry Co., Ltd., visibly excited. On September 1, Yunnan Province issued its first real estate certificate for mining rights in the Zhuang and Miao Autonomous Prefecture of Wenshan, marking the official transition of Yunnan’s mineral rights management from the previous “one certificate covering two rights” model to a “separation of rights and certificates” model.

　　The newly revised “Mineral Resources Law of the People’s Republic of China” will officially come into effect on July 1, 2025. It restructures the management system for mining rights and establishes a system of property rights registration for mining rights as well as licensing systems for mineral exploration and mining activities, thereby bringing an end to the historical practice of “one certificate covering two rights.” The law stipulates: “To establish a mining right, one shall apply to the authority responsible for the transfer of mining rights for registration of the mining right. If the applicant meets the registration requirements, the authority responsible for the transfer of mining rights shall record the relevant information in the mining rights registry and issue a mining rights certificate to the holder of the mining right.” In legal terms, this clearly defines the nature of mining rights as usufructuary property rights.

　　As a systemic innovation, the “separation of rights and certificates” refers to a legal institutional design that separates the property rights associated with mining rights from the administrative licensing attributes related to exploration and mining activities. Under the previous “one certificate covering two rights” system, both exploration permits and mining permits served simultaneously as both property rights and administrative licenses—meaning a single certificate embodied both civil property rights and administrative licensing authority. From a systemic design perspective, the “separation of rights and certificates” weakens the impact of administrative licensing on the validity of mining rights transfer contracts, while strengthening the property rights nature of mining rights, thereby striving to achieve the legislative goal of “leaving civil matters to civil law and administrative matters to administrative law.” The “separation of rights and certificates” can effectively safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of mining right holders, further clarify the thinking behind mining rights management, enhance the efficiency of mineral resource development and utilization, and enable the market to play a decisive role in the allocation of mineral resources.

　　To further deepen the reform of mineral resource management and ensure the smooth implementation of the new Mineral Resources Law in Yunnan, the Department of Natural Resources of Yunnan Province and the Bureau of Natural Resources and Planning of Wenshan Prefecture have worked closely together to steadily advance the “separation of rights and certificates” reform. They have continuously strengthened inter-departmental coordination and collaboration, streamlined procedures, enhanced service quality, and achieved tangible results in assisting enterprises with their rights and certificate applications. As a result, Yunnan has successfully issued the province’s first real estate certificate for mining rights in a timely manner.