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I got the mining rights, but the land can’t be used? The problem will be solved with major new regulations in the "Regulations on the Implementation of the Mineral Resources Law"
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Article author：Yingting Lawyers Group | Update time：2026-06-18 | Reading times：148
In the past, some companies obtained mining rights, passed environmental and safety assessments, and moved their equipment to the foot of the mountain. The result was stuck at the last step: stuck on the land.
This is not an isolated case. But, it’s different now, "Regulations for the Implementation of the Mineral Resources Law》Clearly draw the scope of mining land: mining surface, stockyard, factory building, tailings pond, mineral processing plant, living area... To put it bluntly, what you are opening is not a mine, but a "micro-industrial park."
Regarding land use, there are three paths.
The first road: state-owned construction land.It’s the old way, but now it’s “the bar is too high to reach.” The mines are in the wilderness, outside the development boundaries of towns and cities. The new regulations require that construction outside the boundary must be included in the overall accounting of the "expansion multiple" - to put it bluntly, there are only so many indicators, and you have to wait in line.
The second road: collective commercial construction land.Joint venture, shareholding, transfer, and leasing are all acceptable. In terms of implementation, it has not yet been officially liberalized at the national level, and local administrative agencies are also preparing to find ways. Besides, it would also take a lot of time to discuss joint ventures with an entire village, including profit distribution, decision-making process, exit mechanism... meetings and discussions.
The third road: temporary land.This one sounds the most flexible, and the policy also leaves a lot to be desired—it only mentions “open-pit mining.”strategic mineral resources"It works. Underground mining was not mentioned. What about sand, stone and clay mining? Moreover, each period is no more than five years, and if the ecological restoration does not meet the standards, no new land will be approved. Large-scale open-pit mines cannot always produce in stages.
In fact, “the logic of the policy designers is ‘we must not only ensure the supply of mines, but also control them.’”
Don’t rush away yet. The following two knowledge points may be what you should pay attention to right now.
The first key: the "trade-in" indicator.Don’t you lack indicators? The policy allows the reclamation and restoration of abandoned mining land left over from history, and the freed indicators can be transferred within the province. To put it bluntly, buy a "land ticket" repaired by someone else in exchange for your new land use quota. Many companies don’t know this trick yet, but some people are already doing it quietly.
(The picture shows the reply letter from the Jiangxi Provincial Department of Natural Resources to Proposal No. 0621 of the Third Session of the 13th Provincial Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference)
The second key: Agreement transfer + planning relaxation.Mining land does not need to be auctioned, and can be transferred by agreement to avoid being snatched away by land speculators. More importantly, planning permission no longer requires detailed planning, and can be replaced by a "demonstration plan" - a large section of the approval chain has been cut off.
Let me add something extra here: the real big hole is not actually the new land.
What keeps mining companies awake the most is actually the problems left over from history: those old mines that have been in operation for more than ten years had incomplete procedures at the beginning, and now they have become "legal mining rights holders and illegal squatters." It is necessary to find the relevant departments to re-apply the land use procedures as soon as possible. If not? You may face suspension of production, fines, or even criminal liability.
Looking at the issues left over from history from a development perspective, some provinces have already begun piloting the “Compliance Path Identification of Mine Land”.
One final word: Mining land, what kind of land is more suitable for you depends on your mineral type, location and existing land conditions. Don’t blindly follow the trend, and don’t sit back and wait. First, take stock of your family's "family assets" - is there any old land that can be reclaimed? How to negotiate with the village collective about land use? Is it possible to obtain strategic mineral certification? Do more research on policies and operate in a compliant and sound manner.
The mines are still there, and there will always be a road. But take the first step right.
The following is the speech of leaders on mining land at the regular press conference of the Ministry of Natural Resources in June.
Question: The implementation of a mining project cannot be implemented without the support of land use. May I ask what new institutional measures the Regulations have in coordinating the connection between mining development and land use management and improving the land use guarantee mechanism? Thanks!
2026-06-15 16:49
Answer: Thank you for your question. Under the legal framework of the new Mining Law, the "Regulations" further clarifies the connotation of mining land, land supply methods, temporary land operation rules, reclamation and restoration acceptance requirements, etc., providing a legal basis for improving the mining land system.
On the one hand, it is necessary to clarify the specific scope of mining land and lay a solid foundation for mining land management. Combined with the functional zoning and actual characteristics of mining land,The Regulations clearly state that mining land includes land for mineral resource exploration and land for mineral resource exploitation.Among them,Mineral resource exploration land includesLand used for survey operations, as well as land used to build or build living houses, work sheds, transportation access roads, etc. to meet the needs of survey operations;Mineral resource exploitation areas includeThe land used for mining operations such as extracting mineral resources, as well as the land used to stack mined ore, waste rock, and waste residue to meet the needs of mining operations, and to build industrial plants, tunnel projects, tailings ponds, supporting mineral processing plants, living service facilities, transportation facilities, etc. In addition, the "Regulations" also propose that the preparation of mining plans should make arrangements for the use of space, and encourage mining companies to locate mineral resources on ground maps in advance.Further strengthen the integration of mines and land, deepen "net mineral transfer", and shorten the overall approval cycle.
On the other hand, the demand for mining land is guaranteed by classification, and multiple channels serve the implementation of mining projects. The first is to propose differentiated land supply paths and improve the connection mechanism between mining rights and land use rights.For business entities that have obtained mining rights in accordance with the law, the state-owned construction land corresponding to their mining projects,Can be supplied through agreement transfer;For energy-type strategic mineral resource mining facility land,The "Directory of allocated land》, supplied by transfer;For collective commercial construction land,Our department is studying and formulating an orderly advancementRural collective commercial construction landThe policy document on the market entry reform encourages market entities to follow the procedures and use existing rural collective commercial construction land that conforms to the plan and has clear ownership to mine mineral resources through transfer, lease, etc. In addition, our Ministry encourages local governments to explore and improve the supply model of multi-category natural resource asset portfolios and support the integration of mining rights andConstruction land use rightsImplement combined supply and synchronous configuration. The second is to clarify the regulations on temporary land use and strengthen the requirements for land reclamation. The "Regulations" further refines the requirements for the temporary use of land for mineral resource exploration and open-pit mining of strategic minerals, such as the methods, duration, land reclamation, and joint approvals stipulated in the "Mineral Resources Law."It is clear that for exploration of mineral resources and open-pit mining of strategic mineral resources that meet the conditions of "mining and reclamation at the same time," the temporary use of land must be approved in phases and zones. The use period of each phase shall not exceed five years, and the cumulative maximum period shall not exceed the term of the mining rights.If the mining right holder who temporarily uses the land fails to reclaim the land as required, and the mining right holder fails to perform the ecological restoration obligations of the mining area as required, the relevant natural resources authorities shall not approve its new temporary land use, strengthen the protection of cultivated land, and safeguard the rights and interests of the people.
In the next step, our ministry will implement the relevant requirements of the Regulations, continue to improve mining land policies that match the exploration and mining links, guide local natural resources authorities to conduct full-chain and differentiated management of mining land, and effectively ensure the reasonable land use needs for the development and utilization of mineral resources.
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