To standardize the engagement of mineral exploration rights and mining rights (hereinafter referred to as “mining rights”) appraisal services, this Regulation is formulated in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Mineral Resources Law of the People’s Republic of China, the Administrative Measures for the Transfer of Mining Rights, the Interim Measures for the Administration of Mineral Rights Appraisal issued by the Ministry of Natural Resources, and the Interim Measures for the Management of Qualifications for Mineral Rights Appraisers.
1. Implement a filing system for mineral rights assessment agencies.
Any appraisal agency engaged in mineral rights valuation work in our province must, after filing with the Hubei Provincial Department of Natural Resources and Land, comply with the following requirements before undertaking appraisal services for mineral rights to be granted in our province.
(1) The assessment agency shall submit a written application for filing to the Filing Hall of the Hubei Provincial Department of Natural Resources and Planning, requesting to engage in mineral rights assessment work in our province, and shall provide the following materials (in five copies):
1. Brief introduction to the appraisal agency, including the agency’s name, address, contact information, as well as details on its establishment, organizational structure, key achievements, scope of business, and branch offices.
2. A copy of the Mining Rights Appraisal Qualification Certificate issued by the Ministry of Natural Resources.
3. Representative mining rights appraisal reports confirmed by the Ministry of Natural Resources and filed exploration rights appraisal reports.
4. A list of appraisers and business personnel (including names, ages, educational background, professional education experience, etc.), along with photocopies of their professional title certificates, mining rights appraiser qualification certificates, and certificates of completion for mining rights appraisal training courses.
5. The previous year’s summary report of the assessment agency and the results of the annual inspection conducted by the Ministry of Natural Resources.
6. Project evaluation quote.
(2) After receiving the filing application materials from the assessment agency, the Filing Hall will forward them to the Regulations Division, the Mineral Resources Management Division, the Resources Division, the Finance Division, and the Supervision Office, respectively, to obtain their preliminary review opinions on whether to approve the filing and the corresponding reasons. The preliminary review opinions will then be submitted to the Resources Division of the Department for consolidation.
(3) After the Resource Division has compiled and summarized the filing application materials submitted by the assessment agencies and the preliminary review opinions from each division, it will submit them to the Director’s Office Meeting for discussion and decision. If the Director’s Office Meeting decides to approve the filing, the Resource Division will issue a Notice of Approval of Filing; if the meeting decides not to approve the filing, it will issue a Notice of Non-Approval of Filing, along with an explanation of the reasons for the denial. Reason for filing the record.
The registration of appraisal agencies applying to engage in mineral rights assessment work in our province is conducted once a year, with the specific organizational arrangements handled by the Resource Division.
After the annual filing process for mining rights assessment agencies is completed, the website of the Provincial Department of Natural Resources and Planning will publish the list of agencies that have been filed in our province.
II. Engagement for Mineral Rights Valuation Projects
(1) Commissioning of mineral rights valuation projects
The Provincial Department of Natural Resources and Land shall entrust assessment agencies that have been filed with our province to conduct mineral rights assessments for mineral rights under its own management and transfer authority.
1. Assessment mandate for the paid disposal of established mining rights
Exploration and mining rights that had been obtained by the end of 2004 and met the conditions for retention and continuation shall, according to the regulations of our province, undergo the commissioning of mineral rights valuation following the procedures outlined below if their paid disposal has not yet been completed.
(1) The holder of a prospecting right or mining right shall sign a letter of intent for appraisal with an appraisal agency according to the list of filing agencies published on the website of the Provincial Department of Natural Resources and Land.
(2) The holder of the prospecting right or mining right shall submit a written application for assessment to the Department of Natural Resources based on the letter of intent for assessment. After being acknowledged by the document reception hall, the application will be forwarded to the Resource Division.
(3) The Resource Division shall compile applications from various mineral rights holders and, based on regional, mining area, and mineral type characteristics as well as the actual conditions of appraisal agencies, put forward recommendations on which appraisal agencies are proposed for engagement. After a joint review process, the specific appraisal agency to be commissioned will be determined and submitted to the director in charge for approval and signature.
(4) The assessment agency shall carry out mining rights assessment work based on the authorization document issued by the provincial department.
2. Commissioning a newly established mineral rights valuation
(1) For mineral rights transfers conducted via tendering, auction, or listing, the commissioning of mineral rights valuation shall be carried out according to the following procedures.
① The Resource Division, based on the documents issued by the Provincial Department regarding the bidding, auction, and public listing for mineral rights, will put forward recommendations on the proposed appraisal agencies to be commissioned. After a joint review process, the specific appraisal agency to be commissioned will be determined and submitted to the director in charge for approval and signature.
② The assessment agency shall carry out mining rights assessment work based on the authorization document issued by the provincial department.
(2) For transfers granted through approval of applications, after the approval of the delineation of mining area boundaries for exploration rights or mining rights applications has been obtained, the assessment and entrustment procedures applicable to the paid disposal of already established mineral rights shall be followed.
(2) Entrustment of Mineral Rights Valuation Projects
According to Article 7 of the “Interim Provisions on the Granting and Transfer of Mining Rights” issued by the Ministry of Natural Resources (Guotu Zifa [2000] No. 309): “If a mining rights holder transfers mining rights over mineral deposits formed through state-funded exploration, the mining rights holder shall entrust an appraisal agency to conduct an appraisal of such mining rights,” the commissioning of mining rights appraisal projects shall be determined independently by the applicant for mining rights in accordance with relevant national regulations.
III. Supervision and Management of Assessment Agencies
To standardize mining rights valuation practices and enhance the professional competence of the mining rights valuation industry in our province, in accordance with the “Interim Measures for the Administration of Mining Rights Valuation Qualifications” issued by the Ministry of Natural Resources (Guotu Zifa [2000] No. 302), an annual inspection will be conducted at the end of each year on mining rights valuation agencies registered in our province. Agencies that fail the annual inspection will have their registration status for valuation services in our province revoked. The main contents of the annual inspection are:
(1) The professional qualifications of mineral rights appraisal institutions and the status of their internal management system development. Specifically, this includes whether the mineral rights appraisal institutions and their branches meet the prescribed establishment requirements and have duly completed industrial and commercial registration in accordance with the law, as well as the scope of their appraisal business; whether they have a sufficient number of full-time mineral rights appraisers and relevant specialized technical personnel in fields such as geology, mining, and ore dressing, as required by regulations; and whether they have established internal systems covering technical quality control, financial management, appraisal report archive management, human resource management, and reward and punishment mechanisms.
(2) The professional quality of mineral rights appraisal agencies and their personnel. Key areas of focus include whether these agencies comply with technical standards such as the “Guidelines for Mineral Rights Appraisal” and professional ethical norms; whether they engage in practices such as accommodating improper requests to produce false appraisals or issue fraudulent appraisal reports that harm the interests of property owners; and whether they engage in unfair competition during the process of undertaking appraisal projects.
Based on the annual inspection results, the provincial department will randomly select one to two assessment reports and entrust relevant institutions to conduct a review and re-evaluation.
(3) Implementation of industry regulatory systems. The key focus includes whether mineral rights appraisal agencies, in accordance with regulations such as the “Interim Measures for the Administration of Mineral Rights Appraisals,” promptly submit exploration rights and mining rights appraisal reports to the competent administrative authorities for natural resources for filing and confirmation, based on their jurisdictional authority.