On February 28, 2016, the State Council issued the "Decision of the State Council on the Second Batch of Streamlining and Standardizing 192 Administrative Approval and Intermediary Service Items of State Council Departments" (Guofa [2016] No. 11), explicitly abolishing the requirement for qualifications in preparing geological reports for mineral resource exploitation.

Previously, on October 11, 2015, the State Council issued the “Decision of the State Council on the First Batch of Clearing and Standardizing 89 Administrative Approval and Intermediary Service Items of State Council Departments” (Guofa [2015] No. 58), which explicitly abolished nine qualification requirements, including verification and public announcement of mineral rights transfers, verification of the scope of mining right applications, preparation of mineral resource exploration implementation plans, preparation of land reclamation plans for mining activities, preparation of mineral resource development and utilization plans, preparation of mineral resource reserve verification reports, preparation of annual mine reserve reports, preparation of mine geological environmental protection and restoration plans, and preparation of assessment reports on the overlying important mineral resources in construction projects.

As of now, the qualification requirements for preparing technical reports necessary for the approval and registration of new establishment, renewal, and modification of prospecting rights have been completely lifted. With regard to mining rights, almost all qualification requirements for preparing technical reports needed for approving and registering the delineation of mining area boundaries, as well as for new establishment, renewal, transfer, and modification (including expansion or reduction of boundary areas, changes in mining methods, mineral types, and production scales) have also been largely eliminated—except for environmental impact assessment reports, which remain subject to the qualification management of the environmental protection authorities and have not yet been removed from the scope of qualification management by the land and resources authorities.

The revocation of qualifications means that Class A, Class B, and Class C qualifications will no longer carry substantial meaning.

The level of one’s competence no longer depends on a flimsy qualification certificate.

Any organization or individual that possesses the capability and expertise to prepare relevant technical reports may undertake the task of preparing such reports.