My Steel News
7th October: MNR (Ministry of Natural Resources) published rare earth and tungsten mining quotas for 2023. In 2023, the government will continue to focus on control of rare earths and tungsten mining volumes.
The 2023 tungsten mining quotas are 111 kt (converted to 65% WO3).
The tungsten production quota will no longer be separated into mining quota and comprehensive utilization quota. Instead, for the mines registered by the MNR, the production quota will be determined based on the scale of associated tungsten resources. The allocation of production quota will proceed for the mines with mid-large tungsten resources; while for the mines with small tungsten resources, the production quota will be eliminated, and miners are required to report their tungsten concentrate production to the provincial department of natural resources.
The provincial department of natural resources must adhere rigorously to the regulations and complete the allocation of production quotas for tungsten mining within ten working days from the date of this notice’s issuance.
The allocation of production quotas for rare earth mining has been formalized by the issuance of the “Notice of the Ministry of MIIT and MNR regarding the Second Batch of Production Quotas for Rare Earth Mining, Smelting, and Separation in 2023” (MIIT Document No. 159 of 2023).
The provincial department of natural resources and earth companies are required to conduct precise assessments of rare earth miners’ actual production, which includes small-scale associated tungsten mines without assigned production quota. They should then submit an annual breakdown of quota and their implementation status to the Ministry’s Mining Rights Management Department by the end of January 2024.
The transfer and registration of tungsten mining rights will be temporarily halted until the end of December 2024, with the exception of established exploration rights being converted into mining rights and with the transfer of deep and upper portions of established mining rights through mutual agreement.
