SMM News: On March 31, the Ministry of Land and Resources issued the "Notice on Issuing Total Control Indexes for Tungsten Antimony and Rare Earth Mining in 2011". The contents of the document are as follows:

　　In order to protect and rationally use our country’s superior mineral resources, the regulations of planned mining of specific minerals for protective mining shall be implemented in accordance with the planning of mineral resources and the "Interim Regulations on the Management of Prospecting and Mining of Specific Minerals for Protective Mining" (National Land Resources Issue [2009] No. 165). After comprehensive research on resource reserves, existing prospecting rights, mining rights settings, and market demand trends, the Ministry decided to continue to implement total mining of tungsten, antimony, and rare earth mines. Control management; before June 30, 2012, the acceptance of new registration applications for prospecting and mining of tungsten, antimony and rare earth minerals will be suspended in principle. The relevant matters are hereby notified as follows.

　　 1. In 2011, the national total mining control index of tungsten concentrate (65% tungsten trioxide content) was 87,000 tons, of which the main mining index was 68680 tons, the comprehensive utilization index was 16,200 tons, and 2,120 tons were reserved and not released temporarily. Antimony ore (metal volume) mining total control index is 105,000 tons, of which 74,650 tons of antimony ore mining total control index is issued in various provinces (regions); 30,350 tons of comprehensive utilization will not be released to all provinces (regions) for the time being. The national total control index for rare earth mines (rare earth oxide REO) mining is 93,800 tons, of which 80,400 tons of light rare earths and 13,400 tons of medium and heavy rare earths.

　　 2. The land and resources administrative departments of all provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities) shall, in accordance with the total mining control indicators of tungsten, antimony and rare earth mines issued by the Ministry, and in accordance with the reserves status of mining enterprises and resource development and utilization in their jurisdictions, earnestly Do a good job in index decomposition and release. To achieve the control indicators to the city, to the county, to the mining enterprises, hierarchically responsible, implement each layer, and before the end of April 2011, the indicators will be broken down and implemented to the public and then reported to the department.

　　3. The land and resources administrative departments of all provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities) shall take effective measures to sign the mining volume control responsibility letter and contract in accordance with the requirements of the "Protective Mining of Specific Mineral Exploration and Mining Management Interim Regulations" To implement special personnel to supervise the implementation of the control indicators of mining enterprises, and strictly implement the land and resources statistical report system.

　　4. Before June 30, 2012, except for the following circumstances, the acceptance of new applications for registration and mining of tungsten, antimony and rare earth minerals will be suspended.

　　 (1) Key projects approved by the State Council and pre-surveys, censuses, and necessary detailed survey projects carried out using the Central Geological Survey Fund or provincial-level financial special funds. For projects that use central geological exploration funds or provincial financial special funds to carry out tungsten, antimony and rare earth mineral exploration projects that have been included in the provincial mineral resources planning and approved by the Ministry, they should apply to the Ministry with the issued budget documents and set up prospecting rights according to the plan; If there is no clear arrangement in the provincial mineral resources plan, the relevant provincial department shall prepare a special exploration plan and an annual plan for the establishment of prospecting rights, and submit it to the Ministry for approval, and then submit an application for prospecting registration to the Ministry based on the issued budget document. The use of the central geological exploration fund or provincial-level financial special fund projects shall not be combined with corporate funds. After the exploration is completed, it will be used as a mineral deposit reserve, and the Ministry will openly compete for the transfer of prospecting rights to the society in a planned way according to market demand.

　　 (2) The integrated mining area determined in accordance with the provincial-level mineral resource development and integration implementation plan, which has mining rights and prospecting rights that need to be integrated.

　　 (3) Existing mining enterprises are indeed unable to produce normally due to exhaustion of resources within the scope of the mining rights, and apply to use the original production system to expand the adjacent areas of the exploration and mining scope.

　　 (4) According to the central government's relevant regional economic support policies, the Ministry has signed agreements with the relevant provincial (regional, municipal) people's governments for construction projects that need to be supported.

　　 5. The Ministry will strictly review the quarterly reports on the implementation of the total control indicators for the mining of tungsten, antimony and rare earth mines, and organize inspections of the implementation of the total control indicators for the mining of tungsten, antimony and rare earth mines. Please report to the department in time if you encounter relevant problems in the implementation of total amount control work.

Twenty-fourth, March 24, 2011