In order to protect the rights and interests of national owners of mineral resources and ensure the fairness and impartiality of mining rights concession transactions, the General Office of the Ministry of Natural Resources recently issued a notice to further clarify matters relating to the reserve price of mining rights concessions. The notice clarifies that situations where it is necessary to determine the reserve price of mining rights concessions include: those that sell mining rights through bidding; those that sell prospecting rights through auction or listing, where non-oil and gas minerals have completed survey work or where oil and gas minerals have completed confinement and pre-exploration work; and those that directly sell mining rights through auction or listing. The reserve price for the concession of mining rights shall follow the rules of the market, be close to the fair value of mining rights under open, fair and fully competitive market conditions, determined by the transferee, and shall not be lower than the starting price of the concession. When determining the reserve price, the transferor may entrust a mining rights evaluation agency to conduct an evaluation. The evaluation results may be used as an important reference for determining the reserve price, or determine the reserve price by means of inquiry, analogy, etc. For minerals in the “Catalogue of Minerals Expropriated in the Form of Mining Rights Transfer Proceeds in the Form of Mining Rights Transfer Yield”, the estimated value of the reserve price of mining rights does not include mining rights concession proceeds levied in the form of concession yield. The notice also stipulates that in the case of competitive concessions, when unsold mining rights are sold again, the reserve price may be raised or lowered. The reserve price of the concession of mining rights must be kept confidential and must not be changed before the concession transaction activity is completed. When the Ministry of Natural Resources sells mining rights, it may entrust the provincial natural resources department to determine the reserve price of the mining rights concession, and each provincial department may formulate management measures for the region in accordance with this Notice and taking into account local realities. The relevant provisions in the notice will come into effect on January 1, 2026.

In order to protect the rights and interests of national owners of mineral resources and ensure the fairness and impartiality of mining rights concession transactions, the General Office of the Ministry of Natural Resources recently issued a notice to further clarify matters relating to the reserve price of mining rights concessions. The notice clarifies that situations where it is necessary to determine the reserve price of mining rights concessions include: those that sell mining rights through bidding; those that sell prospecting rights through auction or listing, where non-oil and gas minerals have completed survey work or where oil and gas minerals have completed confinement and pre-exploration work; and those that directly sell mining rights through auction or listing. The reserve price for the concession of mining rights shall follow the rules of the market, be close to the fair value of mining rights under open, fair and fully competitive market conditions, determined by the transferee, and shall not be lower than the starting price of the concession. When determining the reserve price, the transferor may entrust a mining rights evaluation agency to conduct an evaluation. The evaluation results may be used as an important reference for determining the reserve price, or determine the reserve price by means of inquiry, analogy, etc. For minerals in the “Catalogue of Minerals Expropriated in the Form of Mining Rights Transfer Proceeds in the Form of Mining Rights Transfer Yield”, the estimated value of the reserve price of mining rights does not include mining rights concession proceeds levied in the form of concession yield. The notice also stipulates that in the case of competitive concessions, when unsold mining rights are sold again, the reserve price may be raised or lowered. The reserve price of the concession of mining rights must be kept confidential and must not be changed before the concession transaction activity is completed. When the Ministry of Natural Resources sells mining rights, it may entrust the provincial natural resources department to determine the reserve price of the mining rights concession, and each provincial department may formulate management measures for the region in accordance with this Notice and taking into account local realities. The relevant provisions in the notice will come into effect on January 1, 2026.