Mining enterprise compliance management practice points seven: project construction compliance

I. Necessity for mining enterprises to carry out compliance management of mining project construction

Mine project development has the characteristics of strong policy, involving many management departments, complicated examination and approval management links, long operation cycle, etc., and belongs to the government departments' strong supervision projects. In recent years, the construction of mining projects is facing a strict regulatory environment, mainly in the following aspects: First, the state has issued strict regulations for the management of mining construction projects, project approval, construction, completion acceptance and other links are strictly restricted by laws and regulations, and the legal consequences of violations are serious. Second, the law enforcement in the field of mining project construction management has become increasingly strict, and the more common behaviors such as building before approval, building while approving, designing while building have been severely cracked down on by the regulatory authorities, and it is not uncommon for mining enterprises to be held legally responsible for illegal construction activities. Third, in recent years, the reform in the field of project construction management has continued to deepen, the approval items of mining projects have been constantly adjusted, the handling procedures have been constantly changed, and the construction management of mining projects is facing new situations and new changes.

In practice, due to the weak compliance awareness, imperfect compliance mechanism, inadequate compliance management measures and other reasons, it is common for mining enterprises to encounter compliance risks in the process of mining project construction. Some enterprises did not complete the approval procedures before the start of construction without authorization, some enterprises in violation of the approval provisions without authorization to expand the scale of production, some enterprises did not carry out construction in accordance with the mine design documents approved by the government departments, and some enterprises did not complete the completion of the project acceptance inspection without authorization into production and so on. Illegal behaviors in the construction of mining projects have become an important compliance risk point faced by mining enterprises, and a major hidden danger for the sustainable, stable and healthy development of mining enterprises.

Based on the current strict supervision situation in the field of mine project construction, as well as the actual situation of violations of laws and regulations in the process of mine construction, it is necessary and urgent to carry out compliance management of mine project construction, effectively prevent and control compliance risks in mine project construction, promote the early completion and operation of mine projects, and achieve sustainable, stable and healthy development of enterprises.

Ii. Practice points of compliance management for mine project construction

According to the timing of mine project construction work, the key points of compliance management in the process of mine project construction are sorted out as follows, focusing on the main administrative approval links of mine project construction management, such as project approval, construction approval and completion acceptance.

(1) Key points of compliance before and during the approval process of mine projects

According to the relevant provisions on project approval management, coal, gold, rare earth, iron ore and non-ferrous mine development projects in mining projects belong to the projects subject to approval management.

1. Key points of pre-approval for mine project approval

In recent years, with the deepening of the reform of administrative organs streamlining administration and delegating power and "delegating management services", the pre-requirements for project approval have been continuously streamlined and optimized, some approval items have been directly cancelled, and some approval items have been changed into serial processing for parallel processing, which is completed by enterprises before the project starts. The following compliance obligations shall be completed in the pre-approval stage of mine projects:

1) Obtain pre-examination opinions on project land use

Before the application for approval of a mine project, the construction unit shall submit an application for pre-examination of land use to the competent department of natural resources. After completing the examination, the competent department of natural resources shall issue a pre-examination opinion if it meets the conditions stipulated by the State land supply policy and land administration laws and regulations. The pre-examination documents for construction projects are valid for three years. If the pre-examination projects need to make major adjustments to the land use and site selection of construction projects, they shall re-apply for pre-examination.

2) Site selection advice is required for land allocation

Where a mine project obtains the right to use state-owned land by means of allocation, the construction unit shall apply to the competent urban and rural planning department for approval of the site selection opinion before submitting it to the government department for approval. The Notice of the Ministry of Natural Resources on promoting the reform of "Multi-examination and one-in-one, multi-Certificate and one-in-one" for planning land on the basis of "Multi-planning and one-in-one" (Natural Resources Regulation (2019) No. 2) stipulates that the submission on construction project site selection and the pre-examination opinions on construction project land use will be combined, and the competent department of natural resources will uniformly issue the pre-examination and site selection submission on construction project land use.