Decree 51/2021/ND-CP management of minerals in national mineral reserves areas

DECREE

On management of minerals in national mineral reserves areas

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Pursuant to the Law on Organization of the Government dated June 19, 2015; Law on Amending and Supplementing a Number of Articles of the Law on Organization of the Government and the Law on Organization of Local Administration dated November 22, 2019;

Pursuant to the Mineral Law dated November 17, 2010;

Pursuant to the Law on Amending and Supplementing a Number of Articles of Thirty-seven Laws related to the Planning Law dated November 20, 2018;

At the proposal of the Minister of Natural Resources and Environment;

The Government promulgates the Decree on management of minerals in national mineral reserves areas.

Chapter I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope of regulation

This Decree provides regulations on delimitation, approval and adjustment of national mineral reserves areas; period of national mineral reserves; management and protection of minerals and implement investment projects for socio-economic development (hereinafter referred to as investment projects) in national mineral reserve areas.

Article 2. Subjects of application

This Decree applies to state management agencies in charge of minerals and organizations and individuals related to national mineral reserves areas.

Chapter II

DELIMITATION, APPROVAL AND ADJUSTMENT OF NATIONAL MINERAL RESERVES AREAS AND PERIOD OF NATIONAL MINERAL RESERVATION

Article 3. Delimitation of national mineral reserves areas

1. The delimitation of the national mineral reserves area must comply with the provisions of Clause 1, Article 29 of the Mineral Law and must not be included in the planning for mineral exploration, mining, processing and utilization.

2. The duration of national mineral reserve according to the provisions of Clause 1, Article 6 of this Decree shall be determined as follows:

a) Maximum reserve duration as prescribed for areas with advantages regarding natural to develop resort tourism projects according to tourism system planning; develop environment-friendly industrial projects according to relevant national sectoral master plans;

b) For areas not specified at Point a of this Clause, the duration of mineral reserve shall be determined under the request to mobilize minerals for exploration and mining to meet the needs of utilization minerals for the development of socio-economic sectors in each duration of the Mineral Strategy and the relevant planning for mineral exploration, mining, processing and utilization.

3. Mineral areas in which have been delimited as a national reserves area must show the following main contents:

a) Kind of mineral; coordinates of angular points, size, and depth of national mineral reserve area;

b) Quantity of resources and deposits of national mineral reserve area;

c) Mineral reserve period.

Article 4. Approval, adjustment of national mineral reserves areas

1. The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment shall assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Ministry of Construction, and provincial-level People’s Committees, delimiting and proposing the Prime Minister to approve and adjust national mineral reserves areas.

2. A dossier of requests for approval of a national mineral reserve area includes:

a) A summarization report on the national mineral reserve area, including information on: the level of mineral investigation, assessment, and exploration in the area requested for approval; the land use status, works, and projects on the surface at the time of delimiting the national mineral reserve area (if any);

b) A request for approval of the national mineral reserve area, including the following main information: type of mineral; quantity of resources and deposits of each requiring reservation mineral; coordinates, size, and depth of national mineral reserve area; mineral reserve period;

c) A draft decision for approval of the national mineral reserve area;

d) A map of the national mineral reserve area, which shows on contents specified at Point a Clause 3 Article 3 of this Decree.

3. A dossier of requests for adjustment of a national mineral reserve area includes:

a) A request for adjustment of the national mineral reserve area, including the following main information: quantity of resources and deposits to be added to or removed from the national mineral reserve area; coordinates, size, and depth of national mineral reserve area; reason for the adjustment of mineral reserve period;

b) A draft decision for adjustment of the national mineral reserve area;

c) A map of the national mineral reserve area, which shows contents specified at Point a Clause 3 Article 3 of this Decree.

4. The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment shall send the dossier according to regulations in Clauses 2 and 3 of this Article to collect opinions from the Ministry of National Defence; Ministry of Public Security; Ministry of Planning and Investment; Ministry of Finance; Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism; Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, and provincial-level People's Committees of localities which have been delimited as a national mineral reserves area.

Ministries and provincial-level People's Committees shall be responsible for replying in writing within 20 days from receiving the request for opinions.

Article 5. Adjustment of national mineral reserves areas

The approved adjustment of national mineral reserve areas shall be implemented in one of the following cases:

1. An addition is made to the list of national mineral reserves areas when new discoveries of minerals satisfy the provisions of Clause 1, Article 29 of the Mineral Laws and Clause 1, Article 3 of this Decree.

2. The whole or a part of the mineral area delimited as the national mineral reserve area shall be removed from the list of national mineral reserves areas in the following cases:

a) To supplement the relevant planning for exploration, mining, processing, and utilization of minerals under the law on planning;

b) To serve the purposes of national defense and security; implementing investment projects under the authority to decide on investment policies or approve investment policies of the National Assembly, the Government, and the Prime Minister, ensuring publicity and transparency.

Article 6. Reserve duration in national mineral reserves areas

1. The maximum reserve duration of the national mineral is 50 years according to the approval decision of the Prime Minister. In special cases, for some areas and specific types of minerals, the reserve duration may be longer than 50 years but not exceed 70 years, as decided by the Prime Minister.

2. In case when the reserve duration of the national mineral has expired, but there is no need to add minerals subject to reserve into the relevant planning for exploration, mining, processing, and utilization of minerals, this duration shall continue to be extended. The determination of the period shall comply with Clause 2, Article 3, and Clause 1 of this Article.

Chapter III

MANAGEMENT, PROTECTION OF MINERALS AND IMPLEMENTATION OF INVESTMENT PROJECTS IN NATIONAL MINERAL RESERVES AREAS

Article 7. Management, protection of minerals in national mineral reserves areas

1. Minerals in the national mineral reserve area must be strictly protected according to regulations of the Mineral Law, the Government's Decrees detailing a number of articles of the Mineral Law, and this Decree.

2. During the implementation of investment projects in areas delineated as national mineral reserve areas, the project investor shall be responsible for:

a) Protection of minerals within the project implementation area as prescribed in Clause 1 of this Article;

b) It is strictly forbidden to take advantage of implementing investment and construction projects to exploit minerals located in the national mineral reserve areas.

3. In case the investor violates the provisions of Point b, Clause 2 of this Article, in addition to being sanctioned under the law on handling administrative violations in the field of minerals and depending on the nature and seriousness of the violation and the amount of minerals illegally exploited, the project investor shall also be suspended for a definite time from the implementation of the investment project or has the decision on investment policy revoked under relevant laws.

Article 8. Implementation of investment projects in the national mineral reserve area

1. The following investment projects shall not be implemented in the national mineral reserve area:

a) Investment projects with long-term land use purposes, except for technical infrastructure works serving national and public interests;

b) Construction works of special grade or grade I according to the law on construction, except for important national projects under the competence to approve investment policies of the National Assembly, the Government, and the Prime Minister.

2. When an organization or individual makes a request dossier for approval of investment policies of the projects in a national mineral reserve area, he/she/it must have an assessment of the impact on natural resources, deposits, and quality of minerals within the scope of the project; and solutions to protect the minerals subject to reserve stated in the pre-feasibility study report or the report on the proposal for approval of the project investment policy.

3. Contents of assessment of impacts on resources, deposits, and quality; solutions to protect minerals in the national mineral reserve area include:

a) Overview of mineral resources subject to reserve in the project area, including other minerals in terms of the level of investigation and assessment of mineral potential; the current status of natural resources, deposits, and actual status of mineral exploration and mining activities (if any);

b) Assessment of the degree of impact caused by the project's activities that may affect the resources, deposits, and quality of minerals subject to reserve on the scope of impact on resources, deposits, and quality of minerals;

c) Solutions to protect minerals subject to reserve in the project area: clearly determine work items that can directly affect the minerals subject to reserve; stipulate the responsibilities of relevant organizations, units and individuals of the project investor in monitoring, supervising and promptly reporting to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment for cases during construction or the project operation process that has a direct impact on the type of minerals subject to reserve for treatment as prescribed in Clause 1, Article 9 of this Decree;

d) Commitment to perform the obligation to protect unexploited minerals within the project scope specified in Clause 2, Article 7 of this Decree.

4. The operation duration of an investment project in a national mineral reserve area must not exceed the remaining mineral reservation duration of the reserve.

5. The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment shall give opinions on the contents specified in Clause 3 of this Article for projects approved by the National Assembly, the Government, the Prime Minister, the heads of the ministries, and state agencies under the law on investment.

6. The Department of Natural Resources and Environment, where the investment project is located, shall give opinions on the contents specified in Clause 3 of this Article for projects where the authority to approve investment policies does not fall into the cases specified in Clause 5 of this Article.

7. The investment project registration agency shall send it to the agencies specified in Clauses 5 and 6 of this Article for opinions. The collection of opinions on the assessment of the impact on natural resources, deposits, and quality; solutions to protect minerals in the national mineral reserve area shall be implemented concurrently during the consultation process before submitting to the competent authority or person for approval of the investment policy under the law on investment.

Article 9. Recovery of minerals within the scope of investment projects in national mineral reserves areas

1. When implementing construction work items of an investment project in the national mineral reserve area that is required land grading, excavating, and filling, which directly affects the reserve minerals and the original state of the reserved minerals cannot be preserved, recovery of the affected minerals may be considered within the scope of work items.

2. The project investor shall report the People's Committee of the province, where the project is located, for the latter to send a document to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment to inspect and delineate the scope of the affected mineral area as prescribed in Clause 1 of this Article and has written approval of the recovery as the basis for the People's Committee of the province to decide on the recovery of minerals and request such organizations and individuals to perform the obligations according to the law.

3. Organizations and individuals permitted to recover minerals as prescribed in Clause 2 of this Article shall be responsible for:

a) Be subject to the inspection of the state management agency in relevant minerals; the supervision of the Vietnam Fatherland Front in the locality and the local people where the project is located;

b) Recover minerals within the scope and volume of minerals that the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment has delimited under Clauses 1 and 2 of this Article when permitted by the Provincial-level People’s Committees, where the projects are located, and take responsibility for reports on recovered minerals and submit them to the provincial-level People's Committees to calculate fees for granting mineral mining rights and fulfil other financial obligations as prescribed.

c) Register and report the volume of recovered minerals to the provincial-level People’s Committee where the project is implemented, and simultaneously comply with the provisions of the law on environmental protection during the recovery process.

4. The People's Committee of the province, where the investment project is located, shall decide to recover minerals as prescribed in Clause 2 of this Article according to the following principles:

a) Mineral recovery shall be implemented during project performance;

b) The investor of the investment project must organize the recovery of minerals as prescribed in Clause 1 of this Article. In case where the recovery is not organized, the investor must propose another organization or unit to recover and submit it to the provincial-level People’s Committee for consideration and decision.

5. Dossier and procedures for requesting mineral recovery within the scope of an investment project in the national mineral reserve area shall comply with regulations on mineral extraction in the area where the construction investment project is located under the Mineral Laws.

Article 10. Compensation for damage when recovery investment projects

1. In case the Prime Minister reduces the area of ​​the reserve area, reduces the period of national mineral reserves to serve national defense and security purposes or projects of national importance that directly affect the investment project, investors in the national mineral reserve area shall be compensated and supported in accordance with the provisions of the land law and other relevant laws.

2. The State shall not be responsible for compensating the investor of investment projects in the national mineral reserve area when the mineral reserve period has expired under the Prime Minister's decision.

Chapter IV

RESPONSIBILITIES FOR STATE MANAGEMENT IN NATIONAL MINERAL RESERVES AREAS

Article 11. Responsibilities of provincial-level People’s Committees

1. To coordinate with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment in delimiting, adjusting and collecting opinions on national mineral reserve areas according to the provisions of Clauses 1 and 4, Article 4 of this Decree.

2. To direct relevant departments, sectors and People's Committees at all levels to manage and supervise the implementation and construction of investment projects in the national mineral reserve area; organize the protection of unexploited minerals in the national mineral reserve area according to the provisions of the Mineral Law and the provisions of this Decree.

Article 12. Responsibilities of ministries and ministerial-level agencies

1. The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment shall:

a) Assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Ministry of Construction in making a dossier of application for approval and adjustment of the national mineral reserve area according to the provisions of Article 4 of this Decree;

b) Publicize the national mineral reserve area after it is approved or adjusted by the Prime Minister on the Government and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment portal.

2. The Ministry of Industry and Trade, and Ministry of Construction shall:

a) Coordinate with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment in delineating and submitting to the Prime Minister for approval and adjustment of the national mineral reserve area according to the provisions of Article 4 of this Decree;

b) Assume the prime responsibility for organizing the adjustment and supplementation of the planning for exploration, mining, processing and use of related minerals under the Mineral Law and the law on planning after the Prime Minister decides to adjust national mineral reserves.

3. Ministries of National Defence; Public Security; Planning and Investment; Finance; Culture, Sports and Tourism; Agriculture and Rural Development shall coordinate with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment in giving opinions as prescribed in Clause 4, Article 4 of this Decree.

Chapter V

IMPLEMENTATION PROVISIONS

Article 13. Transitional provisions

1. Projects and establishments engaged in production and service business lawfully operating in the national mineral reserve area before the effective date of this Decree shall continue to operate or be performed until the end of the operating or performing period approved by the competent authority. In case of extending the project's operation duration, this Decree shall be applied.

2. For investment projects planned to start in national mineral reserves areas and received by the competent authority before the effective day of this Decree but not yet granted the investment policies, the receiving authority shall review these projects to ensure that the project performing time is appropriate to the national mineral reservation duration according to regulations of this Decree.

Article 14. Effect and organization of implementation

1. This Decree takes effect on the date of its signing.

2. The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment shall coordinate with relevant ministries, sectors in organizing the implementation of this Decree.

3. Ministers, heads of ministerial-level agencies, heads of government attached agencies, chairpersons of provincial-level People’s Committees, and related organizations and individuals shall implement this Decree./.

On behalf of the Government

The Prime Minister

Nguyen Xuan Phuc