Decree No. 51/2021/NĐ-CP On management of minerals in national mineral reserve areas

DECREE

On management of minerals in national mineral reserve areas

||| Pursuant to the Law on Organization of the Government dated June 19, 2015; Law Amending and Supplementing Certain Provisions of the Law on Government Organization and the Law on Local Administration dated November 22, 2019;

Pursuant to the Law on Minerals dated November 17, 2010;

Pursuant to the Law amending and supplementing certain articles of 37 related laws concerning planning dated November 20, 2018;

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

The Government promulgates this Decree on management of minerals in national mineral reserve areas. This Decree stipulates the delimitation, approval, adjustment of national mineral reserve areas; the time for national mineral reserves; management, protection of minerals, and implementation of investment projects for socio-economic development (hereinafter referred to as investment projects) in national mineral reserve areas.

PART I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope of Regulation

This Decree applies to state management agencies for minerals and organizations and individuals related to national mineral reserve areas.

Article 2. Applicability

DELINEATION, APPROVAL, ADJUSTMENT OF NATIONAL MINERAL RESERVE AREAS AND TIME FOR NATIONAL MINERAL RESERVES

Chapter II

Article 3. Delimitation of national mineral reserve areas1. The delimitation of national mineral reserve areas must comply with the provisions of Clause 1, Article 29 of the Minerals Law and not be included in the planning for exploration, exploitation, processing, and utilization of minerals.

2. The determination of the time for national mineral reserves according to the provisions of Clause 1 of this Decree shall be carried out as follows:

a) The maximum storage period according to the regulations for areas with advantages in natural conditions for developing tourism and leisure projects according to the tourism system planning; for developing environmentally friendly industrial projects according to relevant national industry planning;

b) For areas not covered by the provisions of point a of this clause, the time for mineral storage shall be determined based on the requirement to mobilize minerals for exploration and exploitation to meet the demand for mineral use to serve the development of economic and social sectors during each period of the Mineral Strategy and relevant mineral exploration, exploitation, processing, and utilization planning.

3. The area containing minerals that is delineated as a national reserve area must include the following main contents:

a) Type of mineral; coordinates of corner points, area, depth of the national mineral reserve area;

b) Quantity of resources, reserves of the mineral reserve area;

c) Time for mineral storage.

Article 4. Approval, adjustment of national mineral reserve areas

1. The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment shall take the lead and coordinate with the Ministries of Industry and Trade, Construction, and People's Committees of provinces and centrally governed cities to organize the delineation and submit for approval.

2. The dossier for requesting approval of national mineral reserve areas includes:

a) A comprehensive report on national mineral reserve areas, including specific information on: the level of investigation, assessment, and exploration of minerals in the proposed approval area; current land use status, existing structures, and projects on the surface at the time of delineating the national mineral reserve area (if any);

b) A proposal for approval of the national mineral reserve area, including the main information: type of mineral to be reserved; quantity of resources, reserves of each type of mineral to be reserved; coordinates, area, depth, name of the delineated area as a national mineral reserve area; time for storing that type of mineral;

c) Draft Decision on approval of national mineral reserve areas;

d) Map of the national mineral reserve area showing the contents prescribed in point a, Clause 3, Article 3 of this Decree.

3. The dossier for requesting adjustment of national mineral reserve areas includes:

a) A proposal for adjustment of national mineral reserve areas, including the main contents: quantity of resources, reserves of the mineral to be added or removed from the national mineral reserve area; coordinates, area, depth, name of the area proposed for adjustment; reasons for proposing to adjust the national mineral reserve area.

b) Draft Decision on adjustment of national mineral reserve areas;

c) Map of the area proposed for adjustment of national mineral reserve areas showing the contents prescribed in point a, Clause 3, Article 3 of this Decree.

4. The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment shall send the dossier as prescribed in Clauses 2 and 3 of this Article to seek opinions from the Ministries of National Defense; Public Security; Planning and Investment; Finance; Culture, Sports and Tourism; Agriculture and Rural Development and People's Committees of provinces where minerals delineated as national mineral reserve areas are located. The Ministries and People's Committees of provinces responsible for providing opinions must respond in writing within 20 days from the date of receipt of the request for comments.

c) A map of the area proposed for adjustment of the national mineral reserve zone showing the contents prescribed in point a, Clause 3, Article 3 of this Decree.

4. The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment shall submit the dossier as prescribed in Clause 2 and Clause 3 of this Article to seek opinions from the following Ministries: Defense; Public Security; Planning and Investment; Finance; Culture, Sports and Tourism; Agriculture and Rural Development, and the People's Committees of provinces where minerals have been delineated as national mineral reserve zones. The Ministries and provincial People's Committees requested for opinions shall be responsible for replying in writing within twenty days from the date of receipt of the request for comments.

Article 5. Adjustment of National Mineral Reserve Areas

The adjustment of national mineral reserve areas that have been approved shall be carried out in one of the following cases:

1. Supplementing new areas to the list of national mineral reserve areas when there are new discoveries of minerals meeting the provisions of Clause 1, Article 29 of the Law on Minerals and Clause 1, Article 3 of this Decree.

2. Removing part or all of the demarcated areas from the list of national mineral reserve areas in the following cases:

a) To supplement into the planning for exploration, exploitation, processing, and utilization of related minerals as prescribed by laws on planning;

b) To serve defense and security purposes; implementing investment projects within the authority to decide on investment policies or approve investment policies of the National Assembly and the Government,

Article 6. Duration of Storage in National Mineral Reserve Areas

1. The maximum duration of storage of national minerals is 50 years according to the approval decision of

2. In case the duration of storage of national minerals has expired but there is no need to supplement minerals subject to storage into the planning for exploration, exploitation, processing, and utilization of related minerals, the storage period of national minerals will continue to be extended. The determination of the storage period shall be implemented in accordance 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 RESERVE AREAS SECTIONS OF NATIONAL MINERAL RESERVE AREAS

Article 7. Management and Protection of Minerals in National Mineral Reserve Areas

1. Minerals in national mineral reserve areas must be strictly protected in accordance with the provisions of the Law on Minerals, the Government's Decree detailing the implementation of certain articles of the Law on Minerals, and this Decree.

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

a) Protecting minerals within the scope of the project implementation area as stipulated in Clause 1 of this Article;

b) Strictly prohibiting the exploitation of minerals located in national mineral reserve areas under the guise of implementing investment projects or constructing works.

3. In case of violation of the provisions in Point b, Clause 2 of this Article, in addition to being punished according to the regulations on administrative violations in the field of minerals, the project investor may also be suspended from implementing the investment project for a certain period or have the investment policy decision revoked according to relevant laws, depending on the nature, severity of the violation, and the volume of illegally mined minerals.

Article 8. Implementation of Investment Projects in National Mineral Reserve Areas

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

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

b) Construction works belonging to special-grade and Grade I projects as prescribed by construction laws, except for important national projects within the authority to approve investment policies or approve investment policies of the National Assembly and the Government,

2. Organizations and individuals proposing to seek approval for investment policies in national mineral reserve areas must assess the impact and degree of influence on resources, reserves, and quality of minerals designated as national mineral reserve areas within the scope of the project; they must provide protective measures for the type of minerals subject to storage as stated in the feasibility study report or the proposal for approval of the investment policy.

a) An overview of mineral resources subject to storage within the project area, including other types of minerals regarding: the level of investigation and evaluation of mineral potential; current resource status, reserves, and actual exploration and mining activities (if any);

b) Assessment of the degree of impact that the project's activities may have on resources, reserves, and quality of the type of minerals subject to storage regarding: the scope of impact on mineral resources, reserves, and quality;

c) Protective measures for minerals subject to storage within the project area: clearly identifying construction components that may directly affect minerals subject to storage; specifying the responsibilities of organizations, units, and individuals related to the project investor in monitoring and reporting promptly to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment in cases where construction or operation of the project directly affects the type of minerals subject to storage for handling according to Clause 1, Article 9 of this Decree;

d) Commitment to fulfill the obligation to protect unexploited minerals within the project area as stipulated in Clause 2, Article 7 of this Decree.

4. The operational period of investment projects in national mineral reserve areas shall not exceed the remaining storage period of the area containing minerals subject to storage.

5. The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment shall provide comments on the contents stipulated in Clause 3 of this Article for projects within the authority to approve investment policies or approve investment policies of the National Assembly and the Government,

6. The Department of Natural Resources and Environment where the investment project is located shall provide comments on the contents stipulated in Clause 3 of this Article for projects whose approval authority does not fall under the provisions of Clause 5 of this Article.

7. The registration agency for investment projects shall seek opinions from agencies stipulated in Clauses 5 and 6 of this Article. The process of seeking opinions on the assessment of the degree of impact on resources, reserves, and quality; protective measures for minerals in national mineral reserve areas shall be conducted simultaneously during the pre-approval opinion-seeking process before submitting to the competent authority or person authorized to approve the investment policy according to investment laws.

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

1. In cases where construction works of investment projects in national mineral reserve areas must necessarily involve earthwork and surface excavation directly affecting stored minerals and cannot be protected in their original state, recovery of minerals within the affected area may be considered for approval.

2. The investor of the project shall have the responsibility to report to the People's Committee of the province where the project is located to send a document to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment to organize inspection and delineation of the area affected by minerals as stipulated in Clause 1 of this Article, and issue a document approving the recovery as the basis for the People's Committee of the province where the investment project is located to decide on the recovery of minerals and require such organizations and individuals to fulfill their obligations accordingly.

3. Organizations and individuals permitted to recover minerals according to the provisions of Clause 2 of this Article shall have the responsibility:

a) To be subject to inspection by relevant state management agencies on minerals; supervision by the Vietnam Fatherland Front at the local level and local residents where the project is located;

b) To only recover minerals within the scope and volume of minerals delineated by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment as prescribed in Clauses 1 and 2 of this Article when approved by the People's Committee of the province where the project is located, and bear legal responsibility for the reported data on recovered minerals submitted to the People's Committee of the province for calculating the fee for granting mining rights and fulfilling other financial obligations as prescribed;

c) To register and report the volume of recovered minerals to the People's Committee of the province where the project is implemented, while complying with legal regulations on environmental protection during the recovery process.

4. The decision by the People's Committee of the province where the investment project is located to approve the recovery of minerals as prescribed in Clause 2 of this Article shall be carried out according to the following principles:

a) Mineral recovery shall be conducted simultaneously with the implementation of the project;

b) The investor of the investment project must organize the recovery of minerals as prescribed in Clause 1 of this Article. If they do not organize the recovery, the investor must propose another organization or unit to conduct the recovery and submit it to the People's Committee of the province for consideration and decision.

5. The dossier and procedures for requesting the recovery of minerals within the scope of investment projects in national mineral reserve areas shall be carried out in accordance with the regulations on mining minerals in areas with construction projects as stipulated by the law on minerals.

Article 10. Compensation for Damage When Recovering Investment Projects

1. In cases where the Prime Minister reduces the area of the reserve or the storage time of national minerals for national defense, security purposes, or important national projects, thereby directly affecting investment projects, investors in national mineral reserve areas shall be compensated and supported according to the laws on land and other related laws.

2. The State shall not be responsible for compensating investors of investment projects in national mineral reserve areas once the mineral storage period has ended as decided. The Prime Minister.

Chapter IV

STATE MANAGEMENT RESPONSIBILITIES IN NATIONAL MINERAL RESERVE AREAS 1. Coordinate with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment in delineating, adjusting, and soliciting opinions on national mineral reserve areas as stipulated in Clause 1 and Clause 4 of Article 4 of this Decree.

Article 11. Responsibilities of the People's Committee of Provinces and Cities under Central Government Direct Control

2. Direct relevant departments and agencies, and People's Committees at all levels to implement management and supervision over the implementation of investment projects in national mineral reserve areas; organize the protection of unexploited minerals in national mineral reserve areas in accordance with the law on minerals and this Decree.

2. Direct relevant departments and agencies, and People's Committees at all levels to implement management and supervision over the implementation of investment projects in the national mineral reserve zone; organize the protection of unexploited minerals in the national mineral reserve zone in accordance with laws on minerals and this Decree.

Article 12. Responsibilities of Ministries and Equivalent Agencies

1. The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment shall be responsible for:

a) Taking the lead and coordinating with the Ministries of Industry and Trade, Construction to prepare files for approval and adjustment of national mineral reserve areas as prescribed in Article 4 of this Decree;

b) Publicizing the national mineral reserve area on the Government's electronic portal and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment's website after it has been approved or adjusted by the Prime Minister.The Prime Minister approves or adjusts on the Government's official website and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment.

2. The Ministries of Industry and Trade, Construction shall be responsible for:

a) Coordinating with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment to delineate, submit for approval or adjustment of national mineral reserve areas as prescribed in Article 4 of this Decree to the Prime Minister; The Prime Minister approves or adjusts the national mineral reserve zone in accordance with Article 4 of this Decree;

b) Taking the lead in organizing adjustments and supplements to planning for exploration, exploitation, processing, and utilization of minerals related to national mineral reserves as prescribed in laws on minerals and planning laws after the Prime Minister decides to adjust the national mineral reserve areas. The Prime Minister decides to adjust the national mineral reserve zone.

3. The Ministries of National Defense; Public Security; Planning and Investment; Finance; Culture, Sports and Tourism; Agriculture and Rural Development shall be responsible for coordinating with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment in participating in providing opinions as prescribed in Clause 4, Article 4 of this Decree.

Chapter V

IMPLEMENTATION PROVISIONS

Article 13. Transitional Provisions

1. Projects and production and business service facilities legally operating in national mineral reserve areas before the effective date of this Decree shall continue to operate until the end of their project duration as permitted by competent state agencies. In cases where the project operation period is extended, such extension shall be carried out in accordance with this Decree.

2. Investment projects planned to be implemented in national mineral reserve areas that have been accepted by state agencies before the effective date of this Decree but have not yet received investment policy decisions or approvals shall be reviewed by the accepting agency to ensure that the implementation time of the project is consistent with the national mineral reserve period as prescribed in this Decree.

Article 14. Effectiveness and Implementation

1. This Decree shall take effect from the date of issuance.

2. The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment shall take the lead and coordinate with relevant ministries and sectors to implement this Decree.

3. Ministers, heads of equivalent agencies, heads of government agencies, Chairpersons of provincial People's Committees under central cities, and related organizations and individuals shall be responsible for implementing this Decree./.