This newspaper reports. The National Audit Office recently released audit findings on 1,724 mining rights. The audit revealed that among these mining rights, 391 cases involved violations of laws and regulations in the approval, transfer (assignment), and development management processes, resulting in damage to state-owned resource assets and the ecological environment.

In 2015, the National Audit Office conducted an audit of the management of mining rights and mineral resource-related funds in Liaoning, Shandong, Sichuan, Gansu, Qinghai, and Xinjiang, with a particular focus on a sample of 1,724 out of 29,970 valid exploration and mining rights across these six provinces and regions. The audit also examined the receipts and expenditures of mineral resource funds—including mining right fees and usage charges—during the period from 2013 to 2014 in these regions.

This audit identified 88 cases involving inadequate implementation of mining rights approval and management systems, as well as improper approval and transfer practices; 92 cases involving illegal transfer or acquisition of mining rights, resulting in losses to state-owned interests or the unjustified gain of improper benefits by related enterprises and individuals; 104 cases involving the improper use of exploration data to obtain or develop mining rights, causing losses to state-owned interests or the unjustified gain of improper benefits by related enterprises and individuals; and 107 cases involving failure to fulfill responsibilities for protecting resource assets and the presence of ecological and environmental safety hazards.

The head of the Resource and Environmental Audit Department of the National Audit Office stated that from 2013 to 2015, the Office conducted this audit for three consecutive years, with a particular focus on the basic status of mineral resources, the management of mining rights, as well as the collection and management of revenues and expenditures related to payments for exploration and mining rights, fees for the use of exploration and mining rights, compensation fees for mineral resources, and resource taxes.

According to the analysis by this official, examining the cumulative audit results from 20 provinces and regions reveals that these regions share common characteristics in terms of issues: The problems are primarily concentrated between 2004 and 2010, a period closely linked to the sustained upward trend in the mineral products and mining rights markets during that time. Moreover, the issues mainly center on the approval, granting, transfer, and acquisition stages of mining rights. The root causes largely stem from imperfections in the system for obtaining mining rights through payment, the absence of a mechanism for withdrawing mining rights, and inadequate protection of rights related to mineral deposits discovered with state-funded exploration efforts.

With regard to the issues mentioned above, the National Audit Office has issued audit reports and delivered audit decisions in accordance with the law. The leads regarding suspected violations of laws and discipline identified during the audit have already been or are currently being transferred to the relevant authorities for further investigation and handling in strict compliance with the law. Moving forward, the National Audit Office will continue to monitor the rectification efforts closely. As for the leads involving suspected violations of laws and discipline, we will release announcements only after the relevant authorities have conducted their investigations and taken appropriate actions in accordance with the law. △ (Dong Jun)