The “Interpretation of the Supreme People’s Court on Several Issues Concerning the Specific Application of Laws in the Trial of Criminal Cases Involving Illegal Mining and Destructive Mining” was adopted at the 1270th Meeting of the Judicial Committee of the Supreme People’s Court on May 16, 2003. It is hereby promulgated and shall take effect as of June 3, 2003.
Supreme People's Court
May 29, 2003
Interpretation of the Supreme People's Court on Several Issues Concerning the Specific Application of Laws in the Trial of Criminal Cases Involving Illegal Mining and Destructive Mining
(Adopted at the 1270th Meeting of the Judicial Committee of the Supreme People's Court on May 16, 2003)
Fa Shi [2003] No. 9

To punish, in accordance with the law, criminal activities involving illegal mining and destructive mining, and based on relevant provisions of the Criminal Law, the following interpretations are provided regarding specific issues in the application of laws when hearing such criminal cases:
Article 1: Anyone who illegally mines mineral resources in violation of the Mineral Resources Law and, after being ordered to cease mining, refuses to do so, thereby causing damage to mineral resources, shall be convicted and punished for the crime of illegal mining in accordance with the provisions of Article 343, Paragraph 1 of the Criminal Law.
(1) Mining without obtaining a mining permit;
(2) Illegally entering and mining in nationally planned mining areas, mining areas of significant value to the national economy, or the mining areas of others;
(3) Illegally mining specific mineral resources that the state has designated for protective exploitation.
Article 2: Any of the following circumstances shall be deemed as “mining without obtaining a mining permit” as stipulated in Article 1, item (1) of this Interpretation:
(1) Mining mineral resources without a mining permit;
(2) Continuing to exploit mineral resources after the mining license has been canceled or revoked;
(3) Mining mineral resources beyond the mining area specified in the mining license;
(4) Mining mineral resources not in accordance with the mineral types specified in the mining license (except for coexisting and associated mineral types);
(5) Other instances of mining mineral resources without obtaining a mining permit.
Article 3: If the value of mineral resources damaged as a result of illegal mining exceeds RMB 50,000, it shall be considered “causing damage to mineral resources” as stipulated in Paragraph 1 of Article 343 of the Criminal Law; if the value exceeds RMB 300,000, it shall be considered “causing serious damage to mineral resources” as stipulated in Paragraph 1 of Article 343 of the Criminal Law.
Article 4: In the crime of destructive mining stipulated in Paragraph 2 of Article 343 of the Criminal Law, “mining mineral resources by employing destructive mining methods” refers to the act of mining mineral resources in violation of the mineral resource development and utilization plan reviewed and approved by the competent authority for geology and mineral resources, thereby causing severe damage to such mineral resources.
Article 5: If the value of mineral resources damaged by destructive mining exceeds 300,000 yuan, it shall be considered “serious damage to mineral resources” as stipulated in Paragraph 2 of Article 343 of the Criminal Law.
Article 6: The destructive mining methods and the amounts of mineral resources that have been damaged or severely damaged shall be determined based on an expert appraisal issued by the geological and mineral resource authorities at or above the provincial level, provided that such appraisal has been verified as authentic.
Article 7: If repeated illegal mining or destructive mining constitutes a crime and is subject to prosecution according to law, or if repeated illegal or destructive mining activities within one year remain unaddressed, the total amount of damage caused to mineral resources shall be calculated cumulatively.
Article 8: The sentencing standards for units convicted of the crimes of illegal mining and destructive mining shall be applied in accordance with the relevant provisions of this Interpretation.
Article 9: The Higher People's Courts of each province, autonomous region, and municipality directly under the central government may, based on the actual conditions of their respective regions, determine the threshold amounts for the application of Article 3 and Article 5 of this Interpretation within the ranges of RMB 50,000 to RMB 100,000 and RMB 300,000 to RMB 500,000, respectively, and shall file such determinations with the Supreme People's Court for record.