Ministry of Land and Resources: Suspended application for coal exploration rights within 3 years

In order to protect and promote the healthy and sustainable development of the coal industry in our country and prevent excess investment in exploration of coal resources and overcapacity, the Ministry of Land and Resources has decided to suspend the processing of new coal exploration rights applications nationwide for three years.

The author was recently informed by the Ministry of Land and Resources that, except for the three cases, the application for new coal prospecting rights was suspended throughout the country until December 31, 2013. These three situations include: the key coal resource development projects approved by the State Council and the preliminary investigation, census, and necessary detailed investigation projects of coal resources carried out by using the Central Geological Survey**; and the use of provincial-level financial arrangements for special geological exploration funds to develop coal resources. Pre-inspection, census and necessary detailed investigation projects, and the Provincial People's Government formally signed the project agreed by the Ministry of Land and Resources; the exploration projects and large and medium-sized projects for the national coal industry to develop the "Twelfth Five-Year Plan" coal resources development projects. Mining enterprises are depleted of resources that have set up scattered and scattered coal resources exploration projects that are not suitable for setting up mining rights around coal mining rights. The provincial people's government has officially signed a project agreed with the Ministry of Land and Resources.