Ministry of Land and Resources, Administration of Invitation for Bids, Auction and Listing of Exploration Rights and Mining Rights Measures (Trial Implementation)

Issued: June 11 2003
Effective: August 1 2003
Applicability: "Invitation for bids for exploration rights and mining rights" means the announcement of bid invitations to invite specified or unspecified bidders to take part in the submission of bids, and that the bid winner is determined according to the results therefrom; "auction for exploration rights and mining rights" means the conduct of the auction at the specified time and in the specified place, and that the determination of the bid winner accords with the results of the auction bids; "listing for exploration rights and mining rights" means receiving price bids from competing buyers and changing the listed price accordingly within the time limit and venue specified by the listing announcement, and that the bid winner is determined according to the bidding price prevailing at the expiry time of the listing (Article 3).

Main contents: Articles 7 and 8 of the Measures list the circumstances under which invitation for bids, auction or listing should be applied to determine the grant of exploration or mining rights. For example, a mine that can be further explored is found by State-funded exploration. Under certain circumstances the exploration or mining rights should be granted by invitation for bids. For example, the exploration project is funded by the State, or it is a mine for energy or metal with a large reserve of mineral resources (Article 9). There are circumstances where exploration or mining rights shall not be granted by invitation for bids, auction or listing. For example, an exploration right holder applies for the right to mine within its exploration block (Article 10). Part Three explains in detail the Measures for invitation for bids, auction and listing. In the cases of invitation for bids and auction, there must be at least three bidders or competitive buyers (Articles 28 and 35). Article 41 stipulates that the listing period should not be less than 10 days.
Related legislation: PRC Mineral Resources Law (Revision), Aug 29 1996, CLP 1996 No.8 p8; Administration of Registration of Mineral Resource Exploration Blocks Measures, Feb 12 1998, CLP 1998 No.4 p10 and Administration of Registration for Exploitation of Mineral Resources Measures, Feb 12 1998, CLP 1998 No.4 p9