Some procedural provisions on mineral resources and mining management

I. Procedures and regulations for applying for registration of mining rights of non-fuel solid minerals

Exploration and mining activities on all land in the United States must be applied for and registered. The Office of Mining Rights Registration of the Bureau of Land Management of the United States Department of the Interior is responsible for mining rights application, mining rights approval and confirmation, mining rights transfer and other application registration activities. In addition, the mineral rights registration office of the Bureau of Land Management is also responsible for recording the collection of annual taxes and fees, the filing of annual evaluation documents, the extension of evaluation work, the required documents, taxes and fees, the transfer award, and the notice of decision on violation of regulations and cancellation of mining rights.

To explore solid minerals other than coal on public land, an exploration license shall be applied to the Bureau of Land Management. There are two kinds of licenses: ① ExplorationLicense: even if mineral deposits are discovered, they do not enjoy the right to obtain mineral lease rights; (2) Prospecting license: If a mineral deposit is found, it has the priority to obtain the mineral lease (mining right).

After exploration procedures, leased minerals such as phosphate, sodium and potassium. Found on all federal land (including public land managed by the Bureau of Land Management and forest land managed by the Forest Bureau of the Ministry of Agriculture) shall be issued by the Bureau of Land Management. On the surface, the land is privately owned, but its mining right belongs to the federal government, and the land management bureau also grants mineral leases.

In addition to coal and oil shale, the Bureau of Land Management signs leases for loanable solid minerals in two ways: one is competitive distribution in areas with known mineral deposits; The second is competitive issuance through bidding activities. As mentioned above, in areas with unknown mineral deposits, the Bureau of Land Management can first issue exploration licenses on the basis of private applications. If a deposit is found, the Bureau of Land Management can sign a non-competitive lease with the exploration license holder.

As mentioned above, the General Mining Law signed by 1872 and its subsequent amendments established the concept or system of mineral patents. The so-called exclusive right of mineral resources refers to the exclusive and exclusive right of the mining right holder to the land applied for. A successful mineral patent winner must meet the following conditions:

1) For the applicant of mining right (that is, the obligee), it is necessary to explain the natural occurrence state of the deposit with commercial mining value.

2) For the treatment (mineral processing, metallurgy) site, it must be indicated that it has appropriate utilization and occupation period to support mining operations, and it is required to be located in non-mineral land.

3) Clear ownership certificate of mining right or treatment plant.

4) Keep the evaluation work and/or maintenance cost in the current state, and complete the improvement work worth at least $500 for each mineral right requirement.

5) Meet the regulatory requirements of the Ministry of the Interior for obtaining exclusive mineral rights (43CFR386 1, 3862, 3863, 3864).

6) paid the prescribed management fee and the purchase price of the land area applied for.

The Bureau of Land Management manages the mineral exclusive right approval project through its 12 state office and its Washington headquarters office. There are two basic elements in examining and approving projects, one is judicial recommendation, and the other is mineral exploration. First of all, the land law inspector of each state office first evaluates whether the application is complete and complies with relevant laws and regulations. Once the application passes the examination and evaluation procedures, it will be transferred to the field office of the Bureau of Land Management for formal mineral inspection, so as to verify whether valuable (commercially feasible) deposits are really found at the place where the mining right is applied, and whether the processing plant (concentrator) correctly uses or occupies the land. Mineral inspectors are geological scientists and mining engineers of the Bureau of Land Management. They are certified by the director of the Bureau of Land Management, conduct mineral inspection and prepare relevant deposit investigation reports to show whether the applicants meet the relevant provisions of the General Mining Law. Applicants who fail to show that they have found or properly used or occupied the land will face the competitive process of mineral exclusive rights and may lose the relevant mining rights and site selection. If the mineral report confirms the discovery of valuable mineral deposits and/or the proper use and occupation of related processing plants (concentrator), the Bureau of Land Management will send the application to the Ministry of the Interior for final review and action. If the applicant passes the final examination, the Bureau of Land Management will issue a mineral patent certificate to the applied land.

In the process of applying for mining right license, the ground management plan of the Bureau of Land Management is responsible for authorizing mineral exploration, mining and reclamation on public land, and issuing licenses. According to Article 302b of the Land Management and Policy Law, any mining or processing activities that disturb the surface need to be approved. Relevant authorizations and permits can usually be obtained through field offices. According to the relevant regulations of the Bureau of Land Management, there are generally three kinds of authorization for land use: ① occasional use; 2 notice; ③ Production plan. Occasional use authorization involves simple activities using hand tools, no explosives and mechanical equipment, and no license. Notification-level authorization involves the use of explosives and mechanical equipment, and the total surface area of uncultivated land shall not exceed 5 acres per year. For all other activities that disturb the surface, it is necessary to prepare a production plan, submit a complete environmental assessment report, and pay a reclamation deposit.

In the future, the mining rights holders who will recover their mineral use rights must prove that they have the right to continue to occupy and use the land in order to achieve the purpose of mining. Before the mining date and mineral inspection date, the holders must show that they have found valuable mineral deposits and used and occupied the land properly according to the provisions of the General Mining Law. Otherwise, the mining right holder will not have effective ownership, and the mining right will be recovered by the Ministry of the Interior.

The Bureau of Land Management is responsible for issuing licenses and signing leases for mining rights on public land and national forest system land (managed by the Forest Bureau of the Ministry of Agriculture), except for sand, stone and clay as building materials, that is, sand, stone and clay on forest land managed by the Federal Forest Bureau, which is responsible for issuing licenses or signing contracts. The Bureau of Indian Affairs is responsible for issuing mining right licenses and signing leases for Indian tribal land managed by the Bureau of Indian Affairs and land in individual Indian areas entrusted by the Bureau.

Two. Procedures and regulations for onshore oil and gas leasing

The oil and gas leasing projects of the Federal Bureau of Land Management are all based on competition. Anyone or his representative can obtain the lease right of oil and gas projects through bidding. Usually, at least 45 days before the auction, the state offices of the Land Administration Bureau of the Ministry of the Interior will publish a notice listing the plots to be auctioned (competitive lease sale), and the specific regulations and requirements applicable to each lease will also be announced in the notice of sale. The oil and gas blocks that fail to win the bid in oral auction may be signed through negotiation on a first-come-first-served basis within two years from the date of sales auction. However, after the date of sale, all lease conditions proposed or given for unsold buildings are considered to be simultaneous. When there is more than one applicant in a certain block, a public lottery will be held to determine the winner. Oil and gas leasing, whether obtained through competitive activities or non-competitive activities, will adopt the standard form.

Applicants for non-competitive lease must apply to the state office of the Bureau of Land Management, and the target land must be sold competitively in the last two years. Applicants must pay a non-refundable application fee of US$ 75 and an annual rent of US$ 65,438+US$ 0.50 per acre for the first year in advance. If the Bureau of Land Management rejects your application and conditions, only the annual land rent will be refunded.

The bid starts at $2 per acre. At the beginning of each lease year, an annual rent of $65,438+$0.50 per acre must be paid, and the highest bidder must pay a management fee of $75 per plot.

No individual or entity can own more than 246,080 acres of federal oil and gas concessions in any state of the United States, of which no more than 200,000 acres can enjoy trading privileges. The area of land purchased by the federal government is limited as above. The oil and gas lease area on the northern slope of Alaska shall not exceed 300,000 acres, and the oil and gas lease area on the southern slope of Alaska shall not exceed 300,000 acres, of which the area with trading privileges shall not exceed 200,000 acres. In violation of these regulations, the lease right or interest may be cancelled or confiscated until the quantity reaches the relevant provisions. Excess land will be cancelled in the reverse purchase order.

Due to the termination or reduction of the unit or cooperation plan, if the lease is cancelled from the operation, drilling or development contract, and the area owned by one party exceeds the specified standard, the party may have 90 days to reduce the area it holds to meet the specified standard, and submit the evidence of the area reduction to the office of the competent land management bureau. If the area exceeds the specified standard due to the acquisition or purchase of the land controlled by the company, the party shall strip off the excess area within 180 days from the date of acquisition or purchase. If it takes extra time to strip the redundant area, an application for extra time and its reasons shall be submitted to the authorized official before the end of 180 days.

The term of oil and gas lease issued by the Bureau of Land Management is 10 year. The annual rent must be paid on time every year until the royalty for the production of oil and gas products is paid. Generally speaking, oil and gas leases cannot be renewed, and can only be renewed under the following circumstances: ① drilling beyond the termination date; (2) To produce a profitable amount of oil or natural gas for the benefit of leasing; (3) excluded from cooperation or unit plan; All the benefits in the lease were sold to the other party.

The lease can be transferred or sublet. The transfer agreement must be submitted to the Bureau of Land Management for approval within 90 days from the date of signing. Only after the Land Management Bureau approves the transfer agreement can the transferee's rights be recognized by the government, otherwise the rights and obligations of the lease will still be borne by the transferor. A single deposit or part of the deposit or legal branch may not be transferred. Lease transfer of less than 640 acres outside Alaska or less than 2560 acres inside Alaska can only be approved if the transfer constitutes a complete lease agreement or shows that it is beneficial to further oil and gas development.

The leaseholder can give up the lease in part or in whole by submitting a written statement to the state office under the jurisdiction of the Bureau of Land Management, and the abandonment of the lease will take effect from the date of submitting the waiver statement. However, the lessee must close all abandoned boreholes, complete other work required by the Bureau of Land Management, and explain clearly. If the lessee fails to do the necessary work, the lessee's deposit will be used for the cost of doing the work, and the lessee will be prohibited from renting any federal land in the future.

Three, coal leasing procedures and regulations

According to 1977 Federal Coal Lease Amendment Act, the Bureau of Land Management of the Ministry of the Interior is responsible for the lease signing of 570 million acres of coal land owned by the federal government. The surface assets of these lands may be controlled by the Bureau of Land Management, the Forestry Bureau of the Ministry of Agriculture, private individuals, state governments or other agencies of the federal government. Before the coal lease is issued, strict land use planning procedures must be passed, including multiple uses of land, sustainable production of land, protection of important environmental (ecological) areas, application of specific unsuitability standards and cooperation with other federal agencies. For the federal land with (rich) coal resources (deposits), the way and procedure of making land use planning are unique. Generally, there are four specific screening steps: ① identifying the development potential of coal; ② Determine whether the land is suitable for coal development; ③ Consider multiple conflicts of interest; (4) negotiate with the owner of the ground right, etc.

1977 promulgated the federal coal lease amendment act, which stipulates that all places where coal lease contracts can be signed on public land must be obtained through competition. All stakeholders (stakeholders) have equal opportunities to participate in the bidding for federal coal leasing. Competitive signing of the lease should meet the following requirements: ① The royalty rate for open-pit coal mining is 12.5%, and that for underground mining is 8%; ② Commercial coal must be mined within 65,438+00 years after the lease is signed, otherwise the lease will be terminated; (3) Competitive lease bidding must reach or exceed the evaluation value of the fair market price of the Bureau of Land Management before signing the lease; ④ Protect other resources.

Bidders for coal leasing must meet the following conditions: they must be American citizens or citizens' organizations established under the laws of the United States or States, or companies established under the laws of the United States or States (including railway transportation companies), or public organizations (including municipal governments).

In addition, the following conditions must be observed (or met): in any state, whether directly or indirectly, the accumulated leased area cannot exceed 75,000 acres; The cumulative leased area in the United States cannot exceed 150000 acres. Holders who have held federal coal leases for more than 10 years, but have not produced commercial quantities of coal, cannot claim other mineral leases. According to the mineral leasing law of 1920, other minerals here are oil, natural gas, sodium, potassium, phosphate, sulfur and hard asphalt. New coal leasing applicants, if they want to apply for coal leasing, must also provide a self-certification statement, indicating that you have complied with all existing laws and regulations.

The revenue from coal leasing collected by the Bureau of Land Management includes the following aspects: ① bonus; Pay when the Land Management Bureau issues the lease; (2) The annual rent per acre of land is $3; (3) After coal mining, the mining area use fee shall be paid according to the coal value. These benefits are distributed between the Ministry of the Interior and the State.

Four, sand and stone materials utilization procedures and regulations

The policy of the Federal Bureau of Land Management on sand and gravel materials is to provide these materials to the public and local government agencies as much as possible, especially when the environment is acceptable. In principle, the Bureau of Land Management sells these mineral materials at a fair market price, but public projects can provide these stones to States, counties and other government entities free of charge, and a certain amount of mineral stones can also be provided to non-profit organizations free of charge. Gems obtained free of charge by States, counties, other government entities and non-profit organizations cannot be traded and sold in the market. The income from the sale of stones by the Bureau of Land Management will be divided with the state government where the stones are produced.

In principle, it is not necessary to fill in a specific application form for mining ore from public land, but authorization and permission must be obtained. Individuals who want to buy ore must contact the nearest land management bureau that needs or produces ore and handle related matters.

The Bureau of Land Management will strictly abide by the land use planning of the Bureau of Land Management when accepting and processing applications for mineral and stone mining. Any individual or group who mines ore must abide by relevant laws and regulations, including the provisions of the Environmental Protection Law. The Bureau of Land Management will conduct regular inspections and output verification to ensure that miners comply with the requirements of contracts and licenses, and prevent and reduce unauthorized use.

A reclamation plan must be submitted before mining stone. The reclamation plan must meet the relevant requirements of state institutions and must be approved by the Bureau of Land Management. The contents include removing all debris on the surface, reshaping the surface contour, slowing down the slope, planting vegetation and so on.

Verb (abbreviation of verb) Procedures and regulations for signing offshore oil and gas leases

The offshore (outer continental shelf) oil and gas lease of the United States is issued by the Bureau of Mines of the Ministry of the Interior. The basic procedures or steps of oil and gas lease right from information release to final signing by Mineral Management Bureau of the Ministry of Interior are as follows: ① Information and nomination invitation, preparation of notice of intention for environmental impact report; ② Regional identity; (3) Draft environmental impact report; (4) Public hearing; (5) Final environmental impact report; ⑥ Notice of planned sale; ⑦ President's opinion; Final sales notice; Pet-name ruby sell; Attend the lease release. The whole process usually takes 2 years or more to complete.

The first step in carrying out oil and gas leasing activities or procedures on the outer continental shelf is that the Bureau of Minerals publishes information and nomination notices in the Federal Gazette, as well as the announcement of preparing an environmental impact report. The publicity period is generally 45 days.

Step 2: After the bidding period is over, the Bureau of Minerals will formulate, evaluate and recommend further environmental analysis and leasing considerations.

Third, before major federal actions are taken, a Draft Environmental Impact Report (NEPA) should be prepared according to the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Law.

The fourth step is to hold one or more public hearings within 30 days and 60 days after the publication of the draft environmental impact report.

The fifth step is to analyze and evaluate the opinions put forward at the hearing and integrate them into the "final environmental impact report".

The sixth step is the governor's comments, and the governors of the States that may be affected by oil and gas exploration and development put forward their opinions on the "final environmental impact report".

Seventh, publicly announce the sale plan and issue a notice of sale plan (PNOS).

Eighth, after the governors of the states that may be affected express their opinions on the "Notice of Planned Sale", the Bureau of Mines prepares the final decision memorandum for the Ministry of the Interior. If the minister decides to continue the lease sale after considering the opinions of the governor and the new relevant data, the minister will issue a "final sale notice".

Step 9: 30 days after the "Final Sale Notice" is published in the Federal Gazette, the bids submitted by qualified bidders shall be publicly opened and read, and each bid must pay a cash bonus of 1/5 as an advance payment. After the tender is publicly read out, the Bureau of Mines decides whether to accept the tender, issue a lease or reject the tender.

Step 10: When the Bureau of Mines thinks that the bidder's altitude is acceptable, it will immediately inform the bidder of the relevant decision and provide him with a formal lease form. The bidder must pay the remaining 4/5 bonus bid and the full rent for the first year within the specified time. The Bureau of Mines will issue the lease after receiving the required payment and the duly filled lease form. The lease shall take effect on the first day of the month following the signing date of the competent official.

According to the Land Law of the Outer Continental Shelf, unless it is proved that a larger block is needed, the area of the leased block at sea shall generally not exceed 5,760 acres. If the application for suspending oil and gas production is approved, the lease period can also be extended.

All or part of the benefits of leasing (offshore oil and gas) can be transferred, but it needs the approval of the competent regional director. Usually, before approving the lease transfer, the Mineral Management Bureau may discuss and exchange views with the Attorney General on the anti-monopoly situation.

The Land Law on the Outer Continental Shelf stipulates that the federal government reserves the following rights when signing offshore oil and gas leases:

◇ Leases granted to other minerals;

◇ Issuing geological and geophysical exploration licenses;

Approved pipelines and other rights of way;

Collect royalties for oil and gas production;

Extracting helium from the produced natural gas;

Obtaining an operation, joint venture or drilling agreement under one unit;

◇ Cancel the agreement.

Therefore, the signing of offshore oil and gas leases will not affect the signing of other mineral resources leases in this block. The signing of lease contracts for other non-oil and gas mineral resources shall be carried out in accordance with the procedures stipulated by the Bureau of Mineral Management.

VI. Procedures before the start of exploration or exploitation activities

The Open-pit Mine Reclamation and Law Enforcement Act, the National Environmental Policy Act and other laws stipulate that, except for occasional use, a notice of commencement or plan must be submitted before any activity that disturbs (destroys) the surface of land owned or controlled by the Federation begins, and the disturbed land must be reclaimed after exploration or mining activities are completed.

1. Land managed by the Federal Bureau of Land Management

Exploration and mining activities with mining rights on land managed by the Federal Bureau of Land Management are governed by the regulations of the Ministry of the Interior (43CFR3809) and the regulations of wilderness research areas (43CFR3802). According to the regulations, operators must prevent unnecessary or inappropriate land degradation, and must submit the notice of commencement or the operation plan and reclamation plan before the operation begins.

2. Land managed by the Federal Forest Service

Exploration and mining activities on land managed by the Federal Forest Service are governed by the Regulations of the Minister of Agriculture (36CFR228A). According to the regulations, any action that may cause meaningful interference (destruction) to surface resources must be submitted before construction.

Seven. Environmental assessment report

The National Environmental Policy Act of the United States 1969 stipulates that "all proposals or legislative reports and other major federal actions that have a significant impact on the human environment must submit environmental assessment reports". They include: "projects or projects funded, assisted, managed or approved by the federal government in whole or in part."

The evaluation content is what should be stated in the EIA report. American environmental policies and regulations include the following contents: ① the overall environmental impact under the proposed action; (2) the inevitable adverse effects when the proposal is implemented; ③ Alternatives to suggested actions; ④ Local understanding of the relationship between short-term utilization and maintenance of the environment and long-term productivity improvement; ⑤ Irreversible and unrecoverable resource consumption that may be caused when the scheme is implemented.

The steps of the EIA process in the United States are generally divided into the following four stages: ① deciding whether to prepare a report; (2) Determine the evaluation scope; (3) Prepare the first draft of the report; (4) The opinions and final version of the report.

For specific mining projects, the requirements are: when considering the project, a series of studies on the environmental impact of the project will be carried out, and the research work will be undertaken by the consultant of the agency and the expenses will be borne by the project owner. In the process of research, once valuable information is obtained, alternatives to reduce environmental impact (including rejecting projects) should be put forward. In addition, the agency will further study and analyze the environmental efficiency and engineering benefits of various alternatives to choose the best scheme to coordinate the two objectives. Through the environmental impact report (draft), this paper expounds and discusses the environmental impact analysis, alternative evaluation and the reasons for choosing this scheme. On this basis, by publishing the report (draft), holding a hearing, absorbing public opinions, publishing the final environmental impact report, and approving (or rejecting) the revised project. Generally speaking, the whole process of environmental impact report takes more than one year, and the evaluation cost of each project may exceed $65.438 billion.

Eight, natural gas import and export licensing procedures

The natural gas law of 1938 stipulates that anyone who wants to export or import natural gas must obtain authorization from the Ministry of Energy. The Office of Natural Gas and Oil Import and Export Activities is a one-stop shop for obtaining these authorizations in the Department of Energy. Anyone who wants to trade or sell natural gas needs authorization. There are two kinds of power of attorney, one is general power of attorney and the other is long-term power of attorney. General authorization can import and export natural gas on the basis of short-term or point market, valid for 2 years. According to this authorization, anyone can import and export natural gas by himself or act as a sales agent for a third party. The holder of this authorization does not have to import or export natural gas in person, and the contract does not require submitting an application. The long-term power of attorney is used for natural gas purchase and sale contracts with a term of more than 2 years. Local distribution companies, municipal governments, end users, power utilities, pipeline transportation companies, companies and individuals selling natural gas can apply.

The applicant of the general authorization can request to import or export 2 billion to 900 billion cubic feet of natural gas within 2 years; The applicant of the long-term power of attorney can request to import or export 654.38+0.6 billion cubic feet of natural gas every day for 9 to 20 years. Generally speaking, it takes two weeks to approve the application of general power of attorney and more than two weeks to approve the application of long-term power of attorney. The application fee is for each 50 yuan.

Nine, strategic petroleum reserve oil use procedures and oil sales procedures.

According to the Energy Policy and Protection Law (1975), there is no predetermined "trigger" for extracting oil from strategic oil reserves. On the contrary, in the case of serious interruption of energy supply or due to the obligations of the United States within the framework of the International Energy Agency, the President may decide to extract oil from the strategic oil reserve. In the Energy Policy and Protection Law, the definition of "serious energy supply interruption" is: ① "It has or may have a considerable scope and continuity, and it is of an emergency nature; (2) "It may have an adverse impact on national security or national economy (including soaring oil prices)"; (3) "causing or likely to cause interruption or damage to the supply of oil imported products". As long as the above situation occurs, the president has the right to use the oil in the strategic oil reserve. If the president decides to order emergency oil from the strategic oil reserve, the oil must usually be distributed to the highest bidder through competitive sales. According to the final ruling issued by the Ministry of Energy in 1983 on the management of competitive sales of petroleum prices in strategic petroleum reserves, the general sales procedures of petroleum in strategic petroleum reserves are as follows: Step 1, the Ministry of Energy issues a sales notice, including the quantity, characteristics, location, submission date, procedures for submitting quotations, measures to ensure performance and financial responsibilities of petroleum sales. In the sales notice, detailed contract terms will also be stipulated. In the process of sale, you can also send several sales notices, each of which contains the sale period of 1 to 2 months. Step 2: The potential buyer submits an offer, and the buyer must unconditionally accept the terms in the Notice of Transaction and submit an offer bond according to the potential contract value. Step 3: The Department of Energy evaluates all the quotation conditions and selects the obvious winning bidder. Step 4: All bidders who obviously win the bid must submit a letter of credit as a guarantee for performance and payment of the amount payable according to the contract within 5 working days after receiving the notice. Fifth, once the letter of credit and the final decision of the contracting officer are received in time, the Ministry of Energy will issue a letter of acceptance to the winning bidder (buyer). Then provide the oil to the buyer (depending on the layout of commercial pipelines or shipping). Once the oil is supplied to the buyer, a list invoice will be issued to the buyer.

The maximum supply capacity of the US strategic oil reserve is 4.3 million barrels per day, which can last for 90 days and reach the market after 15 days ordered by the President. 9 1 ~ 120 days after the start of strategic oil supply, the strategic oil supply capacity can be reduced to 3.2 million barrels per day; Within 12 1 ~ 150 days, it can be reduced to 2.2 million barrels per day; Within 15 1 ~ 180 days, it can be reduced to 1.3 million barrels per day.

Ten, the national cooperative geological mapping program application procedures

In the past 10 years, the US Geological Survey issued the Notice of National Geological Mapping Subprogram in the National Cooperative Geological Mapping Plan (equivalent to the project guide of China) every year, stipulating the time limit for submitting the application, the application format and other relevant matters needing attention.

The National Geological Survey must submit an application for project establishment within the specified date. Generally, a project application can include several geological surveying and mapping projects and a surveying and mapping and/or digitization project. A project can contain one or more map sheets of a specific area. Each project should be: ① clearly defined and fully justified; ② Organize work around convincing problems or drawing areas; ③ Indicate the intention of the federal/state to contribute in the proportion of 1: 1. When submitting the project application, the approval letter from the director of the National Surveying and Mapping Advisory Committee must be submitted at the same time. The STATEMAP review team will give opinions and suggestions on the content and funding level of the whole project application. If not fully funded, the applicant can choose to submit a revised work plan and budget to the STATEMAP project coordinator, which only covers the proposed funded projects. Otherwise, the applicant can refuse to participate in the plan or project.

According to the National Geological Mapping Law (Public Law 106- 148), only the National Geological Survey is eligible to apply for the project "STATEMAP of the National Cooperative Geological Mapping Plan". Because the composition of many state geological surveys depends on the state university system, relevant universities can submit project applications on behalf of the state geological survey.