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.

(3) Key points of compliance in the completion and operation of mining projects

After the completion of a mine project, it is necessary to perform special acceptance, completion acceptance and other procedures, and obtain a safety production license before it can be put into production. Focus should be paid to the following compliance obligations:

1. Complete environmental acceptance

After the completion of a mine project, the construction unit shall, in accordance with the standards and procedures prescribed by laws and regulations, check and accept the supporting environmental protection facilities and prepare an acceptance report. In the process of acceptance of environmental protection facilities, construction units shall truthfully examine, monitor and record the construction and commissioning of environmental protection facilities of construction projects. Except in cases where confidentiality is required according to state regulations, the construction unit shall disclose the acceptance report to the public according to law.

2. Complete the acceptance of soil and water conservation facilities

The construction unit shall, before the completion and acceptance of a mine project, organize a third-party institution to prepare an acceptance report on soil and water conservation facilities. Where the conclusion of the acceptance report of water and soil conservation facilities is that the conditions for acceptance are met, the production and construction units shall organize the completion acceptance inspection of water and soil conservation facilities and form a written acceptance inspection and appraisal of water and soil conservation facilities. Production and construction units shall, after passing the acceptance inspection of water and soil conservation facilities, promptly publicize the materials for acceptance inspection of water and soil conservation facilities on their official websites or other websites known to the public, and submit the materials for acceptance inspection of water and soil conservation facilities to the competent administrative department.

3. Complete acceptance of water intake project and obtain water intake license

Where a mine project water intake project or facility is completed and has been in trial operation for 30 days, the construction unit shall submit relevant materials to the water intake examination and approval authority and apply for a water intake license. The examination and approval authority for water intake shall, within 20 days after receiving the materials, conduct on-site verification of the water intake project or facility and issue opinions on acceptance. For those that pass the acceptance inspection, a water drawing license shall be issued.

4. Complete the acceptance of safety facilities

The construction unit completes all the construction contents in accordance with the approved safety facility design, and if it meets the conditions for completion acceptance, it shall organize the completion acceptance of the safety facilities of the construction project. If the construction unit implements multi-level management, its superior unit with independent legal personality (or company headquarters) can also be responsible for organizing inspection and acceptance. The safety supervision department shall supervise and verify the completion and acceptance activities and acceptance results of mine projects.

5. Complete the acceptance of occupational disease prevention facilities

Before the inspection and acceptance of the occupational-disease-prevention facilities, the construction unit shall work out the inspection and acceptance plan and submit a written report to the work safety supervision and administration department. The principal person in charge of the construction unit or its designated person in charge shall organize occupational health professionals to review the evaluation report on the control effect of occupational disease hazards, check and accept the occupational-disease-prevention facilities, and form review opinions and acceptance opinions. The construction unit shall make a written report on the acceptance process of the occupational-disease-prevention facilities for future reference. The construction project with serious occupational-disease-prevention hazards shall submit a written report to the work safety supervision and administration department.

6. The coal mine project shall carry out joint trial operation

After the completion of a coal mine project, joint trial operation shall be carried out before the completion and acceptance. The project construction unit shall prepare a joint trial operation plan and report it to the provincial coal industry administrative department for the record. After the completion of the joint test run, the construction unit shall prepare a joint test run report.

7. Coal mine projects shall implement capacity replacement requirements

The State Council and the National Development and Reform Commission have stipulated that since 2016, the new coal production capacity reduction and replacement policy has been implemented, and the new coal mine projects have to implement the reduction and replacement, and the coal mine projects need to provide the capacity replacement plan before the application for approval, and the project approval authority will review and approve the capacity replacement plan according to the requirements. In order to promote the acceleration of the construction of advanced capacity coal mines, the state will review and confirm the capacity replacement plan of coal mine projects in 2022, and adjust it from the project approval to the completion acceptance.

8. Complete the project completion acceptance

Where a mine project has been completed in accordance with the approved construction scale, standards, investment and contents, meets the design and production requirements, and environmental protection facilities, soil and water conservation facilities, safety facilities, etc. have been completed in accordance with the requirements and passed the special acceptance inspection, meeting the acceptance conditions, the construction unit shall organize the completion acceptance inspection. After the mine project has passed the acceptance check, the construction unit shall submit the opinions on the completion acceptance check, the rectification report of the enterprise on the completion of the completion acceptance check, the notice of the completion acceptance check (the appraisal letter) and other materials to the competent administrative authority.

9. Obtain safety production license

China implements a safety production licensing system for mining enterprises. Before a mine project is put into operation, it shall apply to the relevant administrative authority for issuing a safety production license. Mining enterprises that have not obtained safety production licenses shall not engage in production activities. It should be noted that coal mine projects and non-coal mine projects should handle safety production permits in accordance with the Measures for the Implementation of Safety Production Licenses for Coal mine Enterprises and the Measures for the Implementation of Safety Production Licenses for non-coal mine Enterprises, respectively.

Third, several suggestions on mining enterprises to carry out compliance management of mining project construction

In order to effectively prevent and control compliance risks in the construction of mining projects, mining enterprises should focus on the content of sorting out compliance obligations, identifying compliance risks, coping with compliance risks, formulating special guidelines for compliance management, and improving the compliance operation mechanism, etc., and carry out professional and accurate compliance management of mining project construction, so as to help mine projects enter the production stage from the construction stage as soon as possible.

(1) Comprehensively sorting out compliance obligations around the regulatory requirements of mine project construction

The first is to systematically sort out the laws, regulations, rules and normative documents in the field of mining project construction, on the basis of doing a good job of combing the laws and policies at the central level, it should also strengthen the combing of local regulations, rules and normative documents in the location of mining rights, and make full reference to the service guidelines issued by government departments.

The second is to sort out and classify the compliance obligations involved in the construction of mine projects in combination with factors such as the timing of construction of mine projects, types of compliance obligations, administrative approval procedures, and form a systematic, complete and practical list of compliance obligations.

The third is to pay timely attention to the progress of the reform of the construction management of mine projects, pay attention to the revision of relevant laws and regulations, policy changes and regulatory developments, and regularly update the list of compliance obligations.

(2) Focusing on the whole process of mine project construction, systematically identifying compliance risks

First, mining enterprises should adopt various methods such as interview research, data reference and case analysis to comprehensively and systematically identify compliance risks according to the specific compliance requirements involved in various administrative approval links in the process of project approval, construction approval and completion acceptance, so as to ensure that risk identification covers the whole process of mine project construction.

Second, the legal basis, form of expression, risk examples and consequences of violations of each compliance risk in the construction process of a mine project are listed in detail, and classified and sorted according to the construction process of a mine project to form a systematic, comprehensive and intuitive compliance risk database.

Third, according to the progress of mine project construction, combined with changes in external laws, regulations and policies, timely revise and update the compliance risk database.

(3) Taking into account risk prevention and project promotion, and responding to compliance risks at different levels

First, in view of the compliance risks in the process of mining project construction, mining enterprises should carry out risk analysis and evaluation on the possibility of occurrence of compliance risks, the degree of risk impact and the degree of corporate control, and form a risk assessment report.

Second, according to the red line of disruptive risks, compliance defects that need to be focused on, general compliance defects and other different situations, compliance risks are divided into high, medium and low levels, and the priority of compliance risk prevention is distinguished. On this basis, a targeted response plan should be formulated, effective measures should be taken to eliminate risks or control risks within an acceptable range, and compliance management can take into account the needs of mine project promotion and compliance supervision.

(4) Formulate special compliance guidelines according to the actual needs of project compliance management

Mining enterprises should focus on the key issues and important links in the project construction management, and formulate special guidelines for compliance management as the action guide for the compliance management of mine project construction. Specific guidelines should focus on the following areas:

First, it is necessary to systematically and comprehensively sort out the mining project construction management process according to the project construction timing and the relationship between the approval items, and clarify the handling requirements and procedures of the administrative approval items in each specific link, so that the relevant departments and personnel of mining enterprises can fully grasp the key points of compliance management in the construction of mining projects.

The second is to clarify the compliance points that should be paid attention to and the compliance responsibilities that need to be performed among various departments and management entities at different levels of mining enterprises; At the same time, strengthen the internal coordination and cooperation of the enterprise to improve the efficiency of compliance work.

The third is to focus on the specific business links of mining project construction, embed risk control measures in a targeted way, embed compliance requirements in the whole process of project implementation, and ensure that compliance management measures and means are effective.

(5) Establish and improve the compliance operation mechanism based on the normal management of project compliance

The first is to establish a compliance review mechanism, and regard compliance review as a necessary procedure involving the formulation of rules and regulations, decision-making of major matters, and signing of important contracts in the construction and management of mine projects.

The second is to establish a rectification mechanism for violations, in view of the problems exposed in the legal compliance review, plug management loopholes by improving rules and regulations and optimizing business processes, and improve the compliance management level of mine project construction.

Third, establish a regular compliance training mechanism. On the one hand, it is necessary to carry out compliance business training for relevant departments and personnel within the enterprise in combination with compliance requirements, work processes, typical cases and difficult problems in the construction of mining projects. On the other hand, it is necessary to pay attention to industry benchmarking, learn the experience and practice of mining project construction compliance management of advanced enterprises in the industry through benchmarking, and timely improve and enhance their own project construction compliance management.