The "Rare Earth Management Regulations" will come into effect in October, clarifying that rare earth resources are owned by the state

This site reported on July 1 that on June 29, the State Council announced the "Regulations on the Management of Rare Earths" (hereinafter referred to as the "Regulations"), which will come into effect on October 1, 2024.

Rare earth elements (REE), or rare earth metals, are the collective name of 17 metal chemical elements in Group 3 of scandium, yttrium and lanthanide series elements. They are used in electrical and electronic components, lasers, glass, magnets and industrial and chemical It has diverse and extensive applications in catalysts and other fields.

Article 4 of the "Regulations" stipulates that rare earth resources belong to the state, and no organization or individual may appropriate or destroy rare earth resources. The state strengthens the protection of rare earth resources in accordance with the law and implements protective mining of rare earth resources.

A few days ago, the heads of the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology answered reporters’ questions on relevant issues. The highlights of the official transcript attached to this site are as follows:

Rare earths are indispensable important elements and key strategic resources in modern industry. In recent years, my country has introduced a number of policies and measures around rare earth industry access standards, industry integration, environmental protection and other aspects, which have effectively promoted and guaranteed the sustainable and healthy development of the industry.

At the same time, there are still some outstanding problems in my country's rare earth management. Management responsibilities and regulatory measures covering the entire industry chain need to be improved. Industrial innovation capabilities and green and intelligent levels need to be improved. Industry order needs to be further standardized to rectify illegal mining. Or there are insufficient means and insufficient punishment for illegal activities such as illegal smelting and separation, production without or exceeding quotas, and buying and selling illegal rare earth products. Therefore, it is necessary to formulate special administrative regulations to provide legal protection for rare earth resource protection and industrial development.

The Regulations stipulate the following responsibilities for rare earth management:

First, clarify the division of responsibilities between departments. The competent department of industry and information technology of the State Council is responsible for the management of the national rare earth industry, and researches, formulates and organizes the implementation of rare earth industry management policies and measures. The natural resources department of the State Council and other relevant departments are responsible for work related to rare earth management within the scope of their respective responsibilities.
The second is to consolidate the responsibilities of local governments. Local people's governments at or above the county level are responsible for the management of rare earths in their respective regions. The relevant competent departments of industry, information technology, and natural resources of local people's governments at or above the county level shall carry out work related to rare earth management in accordance with the division of responsibilities.

Regarding the supervision system of the entire rare earth industry chain, the Regulations stipulate from five aspects:

First, clarify the management requirements for rare earth mining, smelting and separation. The industry and information technology department of the State Council shall, together with relevant departments, determine rare earth mining enterprises and rare earth smelting and separation enterprises. Other organizations and individuals are not allowed to engage in rare earth mining and rare earth smelting and separation.
The second is to establish a total volume control system. Based on factors such as the reserves and types of rare earth resources, industrial development, ecological protection, market demand and other factors, the state implements total volume regulation on rare earth mining and smelting separation, and optimizes dynamic management.
The third is to standardize the comprehensive utilization of rare earths. Rare earth comprehensive utilization enterprises are not allowed to engage in production activities using rare earth mineral products as raw materials.
Fourth is to establish a product traceability system. Enterprises engaged in rare earth mining, smelting and separation, metal smelting, comprehensive utilization and export of rare earth products shall truthfully record the flow information of rare earth products and enter it into the rare earth product traceability information system.
Fifth, strict circulation management. No organization or individual may acquire, process, sell, or export illegally mined or illegally smelted rare earth products. The import and export of rare earth products and related technologies, processes, and equipment must comply with the provisions of relevant foreign trade, import and export management laws, and administrative regulations.

"Regulations" Article 21 [Mining and Separation without Targets and Beyond Targets], Article 22 [Illegal Smelting and Separation], Article 23 [Illegal Sales], the original penalty is not less than 1 times but not more than 5 times. , have been increased to a fine of not less than 5 times but not more than 10 times, and the fines for related small-amount violations have also been increased.

The above is the detailed content of The "Rare Earth Management Regulations" will come into effect in October, clarifying that rare earth resources are owned by the state. For more information, please follow other related articles on the PHP Chinese website!