Regulation on Rare Earth Administration

Regulation on Rare Earth Administration

Order of the State Council of the People's Republic of China
(No. 785)

The Regulation on Rare Earth Administration, as adopted at the 31st executive meeting of the State Council on April 26, 2024, is hereby issued, and shall come into force on October 1, 2024.

Premier: Li Qiang
June 22, 2024

Regulation on Rare Earth Administration

Article 1 This Regulation is developed in accordance with relevant laws for the purposes of effectively protecting and reasonably exploiting and utilizing rare earth resources, promoting the high-quality development of the rare earth industry, maintaining ecological security, and safeguarding national resources security and industrial security.
Article 2 This Regulation shall apply to activities such as the mining, smelting and separation, metal smelting, comprehensive utilization, product circulation, and import and export of rare earth within the territory of the People's Republic of China.
Article 3 Rare earth resources shall be managed under the guidelines, principles, policies, decisions, and arrangements of the Party and the state, with equal importance to resource protection and exploitation and utilization, and under the principles of making overall planning, ensuring security, scientific and technological innovation, and green development.
Article 4 Rare earth resources belong to the state, and no organization or individual may encroach on or destroy rare earth resources.
The state shall strengthen the protection of rare earth resources in accordance with the law and conduct the protective mining of rare earth resources.
Article 5 The state shall implement a unified plan for the development of the rare earth industry. The department of industry and information technology of the State Council shall, in conjunction with the relevant departments of the State Council, prepare and organize the implementation of the plan for the development of the rare earth industry in accordance with the law.
Article 6 The state encourages and supports the research, development, and application of new technologies, new processes, new products, new materials, and new equipment in the rare earth industry, and shall continuously enhance the level of exploitation and utilization of rare earth resources and promote the high-end, intelligent, and green development of the rare earth industry.
Article 7 The department of industry and information technology of the State Council shall be responsible for the administration of the rare earth industry nationwide, and shall conduct research and develop the policies and measures for the administration of the rare earth industry and organize the implementation thereof. The department of natural resources of the State Council and other relevant departments shall be responsible for the work on rare earth administration within the scope of their respective duties.
The local people's government at or above the county level shall be responsible for the work on rare earth administration within its region. The departments of industry and information technology, natural resources, and other appropriate departments of the local people's government at or above the county level shall effectively conduct the work on rare earth administration according to their respective duties.
Article 8 The department of industry and information technology of the State Council shall, in conjunction with the relevant departments of the State Council, determine rare earth mining enterprises and rare earth smelting and separation enterprises and announce them to the public.
Except for the enterprises determined in accordance with paragraph 1 of this article, no other organization or individual may engage in rare earth mining or rare earth smelting and separation.
Article 9 A rare earth mining enterprise shall obtain mining rights and a mining permit in accordance with the laws and administrative regulations on the administration of mineral resources and relevant provisions of the state.
The investment in rare earth mining, smelting and separation, and other projects shall be governed by the laws and administrative regulations on the management of investment projects and relevant provisions of the state.
Article 10 The state shall, according to the reserves and differences in the types of rare earth resources, industrial development, ecological protection, market demand, and other factors, implement the total amount control of rare earth mining and rare earth smelting and separation, and optimize dynamic management. The specific measures shall be developed by the department of industry and information technology of the State Council in conjunction with the department of natural resources, the department of development and reform, and other departments of the State Council.
Rare earth mining enterprises and rare earth smelting and separation enterprises shall strictly comply with the administrative provisions of the state on total amount control.
Article 11 The state encourages and supports enterprises in applying advanced and applicable technologies and processes to comprehensively utilize secondary rare earth resources.
An enterprise engaged in the comprehensive utilization of rare earth shall not engage in production activities using rare earth mineral products as raw materials.
Article 12 Enterprises engaging in rare earth mining, smelting and separation, metal smelting, and comprehensive utilization shall comply with the laws and regulations on mineral resources, energy conservation and environmental protection, clean production, work safety, and fire control, and take reasonable measures of environmental risk prevention, ecological protection, pollution prev......