[Field: Planning]

Mining land is classified as an independent land category for the first time, and the problem of land use for mine owners is turning around.

1. “Land Difficulty” of Mining Bosses

Bosses engaged in mining operations all know that mining land has long faced the dilemma of "identity embarrassment".

Boss Zhang has been operating a coal mine in Inner Mongolia for more than ten years. In 2019, he needed to occupy 300 acres of land for expansion, but encountered an unprecedented dilemma: the local natural resources department informed that the mining land was neither construction land nor agricultural land, but was classified as "temporary land". However, the approval period for temporary land use generally does not exceed two years, after which it must be reclaimed.Boss Zhang’s mining license is still valid for 15 years, but the land can only be renewed every two years., each renewal requires a new approval process and a high reclamation deposit.

This is not an isolated case. According to statistics from the Ministry of Natural Resources in 2023, the number of mining land dispute cases nationwide has increased by an average of 23% annually, of which more than 60% involve issues related to the identification of land use properties. The "grey status" of mining land not only increases the compliance costs of enterprises, but also seriously affects the financing capabilities of mining enterprises——When banks apply for mortgage loans on mining rights, they often refuse to lend due to defects in land use procedures..

2. The new regulations broke the situation: Mining land was successfully “named”

Article 45 of the "Regulations on the Implementation of the Mineral Resources Law" that will be implemented on June 15, 2026 has made major adjustments:Mining land is officially classified as an independent land category and is divided into land for mineral resource exploration and land for mineral resource exploitation.. This regulation ends the long history of “unidentified” mining land.

Specifically, the new regulations establish three core systems:

First, the nature of land use is clarified. Article 45 of the Regulations stipulates that land for exploration and development shall be managed according to independent land categories, and relevant regulations on temporary land use will no longer apply. This means that the mining land obtains an independent "legal identity card" whose use period can match the validity period of the mining license.

Second, the approval process is simplified. Article 46 of the Regulations stipulates that the review and approval of mining land shall implement a "consolidated acceptance and one-time approval" system, integrating the review and approval matters originally scattered in multiple departments such as natural resources, forestry, ecological environment, etc. into a unified land use review and approval process.The approval time limit has been reduced from the original average of 18 months to less than 6 months.

Third, land costs are reduced. Article 47 of the regulations clarifies that the high reclamation deposit system for temporary land use is no longer applicable to mining land, and a "pre-deposited land reclamation fee" system will be introduced. Enterprises can pre-deposit reclamation fees in installments.The initial deposit ratio is reduced from the original 100% to 30%.

3. Practical Impact: From Financing Blockage to Asset Revitalization

This policy change means more to mining companies than just words.

Take a lead-zinc mining company in Sichuan as an example. In 2018, the company applied for a mortgage loan with a mining right from a bank, with an estimated value of 80 million yuan. However, the bank ultimately only lent a loan of 20 million yuan on the grounds that "the supporting land use procedures were incomplete and there were legal risks."After the implementation of the new regulations, the nature of the land used by the company was clarified. After the bank re-evaluated the loan amount, the loan amount was increased to 55 million yuan., the tight situation of corporate capital chains has been greatly alleviated.

More importantly, Article 38 of the new regulations also stipulates,The right to use mining land can be transferred and mortgaged together with the mining rights., which opens up the “last mile” for mining companies to revitalize their assets.

4. Lawyer’s advice

As a lawyer who has served mining companies for a long time, I would like to remind all mine owners to pay attention to the following three points:

First, timely replacement of land use procedures. The new regulations set up a one-year "transition period" during which companies can exchange for new mining land procedures according to simplified procedures.After the transition period, the old land use procedures that have not been replaced will automatically become invalid..

The second is to regulate the scope of land use. The new regulations have strict requirements on the boundary delineation of mining land. Land used beyond the approved scope may face administrative penalties or even criminal liability (according to Article 342 of the Criminal Law, the crime of illegal occupation of agricultural land).

The third is to make good use of financing policies. After the mining land is “named”, it is recommended that enterprises communicate with financial institutions in a timely manner, re-evaluate the value of mortgage assets, and make reasonable use of financing tools.

The independent land classification of mining land is an important measure for the country to deepen the market-oriented reform of factors. For mine owners, this is not only a policy bonus to reduce costs, but also a development opportunity to revitalize assets. Only by grasping the policy window in a timely manner can we seize the opportunity in the industry recovery.