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.

3) Complete social stability risk assessment

When the construction unit organizes and carries out the preliminary work of the mine project, it shall investigate and analyze the social stability risk, consult the relevant masses, find and list the risk points, the possibility of risk occurrence and the degree of impact, put forward plans and measures to prevent and resolve the risk, and put forward suggestions on the level of social stability risk after taking relevant measures. The project approval declaration document shall contain the opinions on the social stability risk assessment report of the project, and attach the social stability risk assessment report.

4) Obtain the approval of the demarcation of the mining area

The demarcation of mining area belongs to the examination and approval process of mining right management. After the completion of mineral exploration and before filing an application for the mining right, the owner of the prospecting right shall apply to the registration administration authority for the delineation of the mining area on the basis of the geological exploration reserve report that has been reviewed and filed. Since some provincial natural resources authorities require mine construction projects to provide approval of demarcated mining area when they handle the pre-examination procedures for construction projects, the approval of demarcated mining area is also a prerequisite for mine project approval.

2. Key points of approval for mine project approval procedures

1) Scope of mine project to be approved and approval authority

Among coal mine projects, coal development projects with an additional annual production capacity of 1.2 million tons or more in coal mining areas planned by the State shall be approved by the industrial administrative department under The State Council, and projects with an additional annual production capacity of 5 million tons or more shall be approved by the competent investment department under The State Council and reported to The State Council for the record; Other coal development projects and general coal development projects within the mining areas planned by the State shall be approved by the competent investment departments of provincial governments. The development projects of iron ore and non-ferrous mines shall be approved by the competent investment departments of provincial governments. Rare earth and gold mine development projects shall be approved by provincial government investment authorities or industry authorities. Mining development projects outside the above-mentioned scope shall be subject to archival administration.

2) Review and decision of project approval

If the project approval authority needs to evaluate after formally accepting the project application report, it shall, in accordance with relevant provisions, entrust the engineering consulting institution with corresponding qualifications to conduct the evaluation. Where the construction of a project may have a significant impact on the public interest, the project approval authority shall take appropriate measures to solicit public opinion before making an approval decision. If the project meets the approval conditions, the project approval authority shall approve the project within the statutory time limit and issue the project approval document to the project unit.

3) Project approval effectiveness and approval changes

The construction unit shall start construction within 2 years from the issuance of the project approval document by the approval authority. If it is necessary to postpone the commencement of construction, the project unit shall apply to the project approval authority for an extension of the commencement of construction 30 working days before the expiration of the 2-year period. After the mine project has obtained the approval document, if the construction site has changed, the investment scale, construction scale, construction content has changed greatly, etc., the construction unit shall submit an application for change to the approval organ.

(2) Key points of compliance in the approval process of mining project commencement construction

In the process of preparing for the construction of a mine project, the construction unit needs to complete many other administrative approval items in addition to obtaining the project approval reply. Specific attention should be paid to the following compliance obligations:

1. Acquisition of mining rights

China implements licensing management of mineral resources. An enterprise applying for mining mineral resources shall be examined and registered by the competent department of natural resources and a mining license shall be issued. There are three main ways for mining enterprises to obtain mining rights: first, after obtaining exploration rights, mining enterprises can register mining rights through exploration and mining procedures after obtaining reserves through mineral resources exploration; Second, in accordance with the relevant provisions, directly in a competitive way or agreement to transfer the mining rights; Third, the mining rights are acquired through the secondary market transfer.

2. Obtain environmental impact assessment approval

According to the relevant provisions on environmental impact assessment of construction projects, environmental impact reports shall be prepared for mine projects that may have a significant impact on the environment; For mines that may have a slight impact on the environment, an environmental impact report form shall be prepared. The construction unit shall, before starting construction, submit the environmental impact report and the environmental impact report form to the competent environmental protection administrative department with the power of examination and approval, and obtain the approval documents from the competent environmental protection administrative department.

3. Carry out geological hazard assessment

According to the relevant provisions on the prevention and control of geological disasters, in the feasibility stage of a mine project, a unit with appropriate qualifications shall be entrusted to carry out geological disaster risk assessment; After the geological disaster risk assessment report is reviewed by the expert group, the assessment unit shall file with the land and resources administrative department within one month. In 2014, the former Ministry of Land and Resources decided to cancel the geological disaster risk assessment filing system, and geological disaster risk assessment, as a mandatory assessment involving safety, is a prerequisite for construction units to handle land use procedures and other matters.

4. Complete the energy-saving review

Energy conservation review refers to the behavior of investment authorities to review the energy conservation of construction projects and form review opinions in accordance with energy conservation laws, regulations, policies and standards. The construction unit shall prepare a report on energy conservation of fixed assets investment projects and submit it to the competent investment department for examination. After accepting the energy conservation report, the competent investment department shall issue energy conservation review opinions within the time limit prescribed by law.

5. Obtain approval for water intake permit

Only when a construction project has obtained the approval document for the application for a water intake permit can the applicant construct any water intake project or facility. The applicant shall prepare a water resources demonstration report for the construction project, and the competent administrative organ shall organize relevant experts to review the water resources demonstration report for the construction project and submit written review opinions as the technical basis for examining and approving the application for water drawing. After accepting the application for water drawing by the construction unit, the competent administrative organ shall conduct a comprehensive review of the application materials for water drawing and decide whether to approve the application for water drawing after taking into account the impact that water drawing may have on the conservation and protection of water resources and economic and social development.

6. Obtain soil and water conservation program approval

Construction units shall, in accordance with the Provisions on the Administration of Compilation, Examination and Approval of Water and Soil Conservation Plans for Development and Construction Projects and other requirements, work out water and soil conservation plans and submit them to the competent administrative department for examination and approval. After accepting the application, the competent administrative department shall organize the examination in accordance with the relevant laws, regulations and technical norms, or entrust the relevant institution to carry out the technical review and make a decision on the examination.

7. Completed preliminary design preparation and review

The mining project construction unit shall entrust the design unit with the corresponding engineering design qualification to prepare the preliminary design. The design unit shall, in strict accordance with laws and regulations, safety regulations, technical specifications, industry standards and relevant provisions, prepare the outline and organize the design content with reference to the relevant preliminary design. Upon completion of the preliminary design, the examination authority shall examine the preliminary design in accordance with the law and relevant provisions.

8. Completed the project safety pre-evaluation and safety facility design review

During the feasibility study of a mine project, the construction unit shall entrust a safety evaluation institution with corresponding qualifications to conduct a safety pre-evaluation on its construction project in accordance with the prescribed standards and procedures, and prepare a safety pre-evaluation report.

When compiling the preliminary design of a mine project, a design unit with corresponding qualifications shall be entrusted to simultaneously design the safety facilities of the construction project and compile the safety facilities design. After the completion of the design of safety facilities, the construction unit shall submit an application for review to the department of production safety supervision and administration, and the department of production safety supervision and administration shall make an approval decision after review in accordance with law.

9. Complete the pre-assessment of occupational hazards and the design review of occupational disease prevention facilities

The occupational-disease-inductive pre-evaluation shall be carried out and the pre-evaluation report shall be prepared during the feasibility study stage of the construction project. After the preparation of the report, the principal person in charge of the construction unit or its designated person in charge shall organize occupational health professionals to review the pre-assessment report of occupational disease hazards and form review opinions.

The construction unit shall, prior to construction, design the occupational-disease-prevention facilities in accordance with the requirements of the relevant laws, regulations, rules and standards for occupational-disease-prevention. After the design of the occupational-disease-prevention facilities is completed, the principal person in charge of the construction unit or the designated person in charge shall organize professional and technical personnel of occupational health to conduct review and form review opinions.

10. Conduct inquiry and approval of the project's overburden mineral resources

Before the site selection of a mine project, the construction unit shall inquire with the provincial natural resources authorities about the mineral resource planning, mineral resource distribution and the setting of mining rights in the area where the proposed project is located. If important mineral resources are not overlaid, the competent department of natural resources at the provincial level shall issue a certificate of non-overlaying important mineral resources; If it is really necessary to repress important mineral resources, the construction unit shall prepare an assessment report on the repress important mineral resources of the construction project, and perform the examination and approval procedures for the repress important mineral resources.

11. Go through construction land procedures

Mining land belongs to construction land, and construction units shall go through the procedures for construction land according to law. In mining projects, land for energy projects belongs to the scope of land expropriation, and after the government goes through the procedures for expropriation and conversion, land is supplied to mining enterprises in the form of compensated transfer or allocation. The land used for mining projects other than energy projects does not belong to the scope of land expropriation, and the problem of mining land can be solved by transferring or leasing the collective management construction land from land owners to mining enterprises.

12. Complete the exploration of cultural relics

In undertaking a large capital construction project, the construction unit shall report in advance to the administrative department for cultural relics of the people's government of the province, autonomous region or municipality directly under the Central Government to organize units engaged in archaeological excavations to carry out archaeological investigations and exploration in places where cultural relics may be buried within the scope of the project. For a mine project requiring exploration for cultural relics, the construction unit shall, before starting construction, apply to the administrative department for cultural relics for underground exploration for cultural relics. After the completion of the exploration, the administrative department for cultural relics shall issue a notice of the completion of the exploration for cultural relics.