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COUNCIL Of MINISTERS THE SOCIALIST REPUBLIC Of VIETNAM
No. 95-HDBT Independence-freedom-Happiness
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Hanoi, 25th March 1992.
Pursuant to the Ordinance on Mineral Resources dated 28 July 1989;
On the proposal of the Minister of Heavy Industry.
DECREES
Article 1
This Decree makes detailed provisions on the apportionment, distribution and administration of mineral resources, and the obligations of organizations and individuals in respect of geological exploration, exploitation of mines and protection of mineral re sources.
Article 2
All mineral resources contained within the land, continental shelves, islands and sea territory of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam constitute the unified mineral resources reserve of the State which is owned by the people and is subject to uniform manag ement by the State.
Article 3
The State encourages and creates favorable condition the investment of capital and technology by, and protects the legal rights of, foreign and domestic organizations and individuals in the areas of geological exploration and exploitation of mines, and ma nufacture, sale and purchase, and export of mineral materials in Vietnam, except in respect of those mineral resources and areas which are subject to other provisions.
Article 4
The Ministry of Heavy Industry has the power to assist the Council of Ministers in the uniform management by the State of geological exploration, exploitation of mines, and protection of mineral resources; the Ministry shall be responsible for devising po licies and systems for the State administration of geological exploration, exploitation of the mineral resources, and other related issues, for presenting to the Council of Ministers for promulgation, or to promulgate pursuant to its powers, the policies and systems outlined above, and for supervising and inspecting the implementation of the policies and systems in all departments and at all levels nationally.
The State management body of mineral resources of the Ministry of Heavy Industry shall be responsible to assist the Minister in carrying out the administrative powers and duties of the State in relation to mineral resources in accordance with the regulati ons promulgated by the Council of Ministers.
Article 5
People's committees at all levels shall be responsible to protect untapped mineral resources; to supervise the observance of the Ordinance on Mineral Resources, and of all stipulations of the Council of Ministers, or of the Ministry of Heavy Industry rela ting to geological exploration, exploitation of mines and protection of the mineral resources; to prevent, suspend, and deal with all breaches in relation to the protection of untapped mineral resources and the surrounding environment.
Article 6
Ministries responsible for the State administration of manufacturing fields relating to the exploitation of mines (hereinafter referred to as Ministries in charge of the relevant fields) shall be responsible , in conjunction with the Ministry of Heavy Ind ustry, for the State administration of the exploitation of mines and related mineral resources; the guidance provisions issued by the Ministries in charge of the relevant fields shall be consistent with the provisions of the Council of Ministers and the M inistry of Heavy Industry on geological exploration, exploitation of mines, and protection of mineral resources.
Article 7
The Ministry of finance shall, in conjunction with the Ministry of Heavy Industry, manage and implement a system for the collection of fees for the issuance of a license by the State, and registration fees in relation to geological exploration and exploit ation of mines, and a system where by the costs of conducting geological exploration shall be returned to the State.
Article 8
Pursuant to the Law on Administrative Breaches, the Ministry of Heavy Industry shall prepare and present to the Council of Ministers for promulgation stipulations in relation to penalties for administrative breaches in respect of the management of, and re porting of mineral resources activities.
Article 9
The Ministry of Heavy Industry shall, in conjunction with the State Committee for Planning and all Ministries in charge of the relevant fields, prepare strategies, regulations, and plans for the development of the raw mineral resources industry; regulatio ns and plans for researching deep soils, and searching for and exploring the country's mineral resources; and present these to the Council of Ministers for approval.
Article 10
The Ministries in charge of the relevant fields shall, in conjunction with the Ministry of Heavy Industry, initiate the preparation of, and present to the Council of Ministers, proposals for strategies, regulations, plans and policies for the development of raw materials or mined fuels within their respective fields.
Article 11
The State Committee for Science and Technology shall be responsible for the transfer, examination and evaluation of the results achieved by all scientific research, and State industry programmers in relation to geological exploration, exploitation of min es, production of mineral resources, protection of mineral resources, and other soil related issues.
Article 12
The State Committee for Planning shall be responsible for the assessment of all draft regulations and plans for the exploration and exploitation of mines in each field, region, and nationally; and regulate all State business activities using State funds, and other sources of capital under the uniform management of the State.
Article 13
The State Committee for Planning , the State Committee for Science and Technology, the State Committee for Cooperation and Investment, and the Ministry of Heavy Industry, in their respective capacities, shall coordinate and uniformly manage international economic, scientific and technological cooperation in relation to geological exploration, exploitation of mines and production of mineral resources.
foreign investment in operations searching for, exploring and exploiting mines, and processing mineral resources shall be made in accordance with the central uniform management of the Council of Ministers, and shall be approved by the Minister of Heavy In dustry. Vietnamese economic organizations may only negotiate, carry out feasibility studies, and contract with foreign parties investing in searching for, exploring and exploiting mines when the permission of the Chairman of the Council of the Ministers, or Minister of Heavy Industry has been obtained.
Article 14
Authority to allow geological exploration and the exploitation of mines is regulated as follows:
1. The Chairman of the Council of Ministers shall decide which foreign corporations are permitted to explore and exploit petroleum and gases, and which domestic or foreign businesses shall be permitted to exploit valuable mineral resources.
2. The Ministry of Heavy Industry shall issue licenses to all domestic or foreign organizations researching deep soils, searching for, exploring and exploiting all types of mineral resources, but shall not issue permits to foreign corporations to explore and exploit petroleum and gases, and to domestic and foreign businesses to exploit valuable mineral resources.
3. Chairman of people's committees of provinces and cities under central authority (hereinafter called people's committees of provinces) shall issue licenses for the exploitation of mines containing mineral resources which are used as common construction material (clay brick tiles, sand, pebbles, contraction gravel, broken stones, marbles, laterites and peat) with a model output of not more than thirty thousand (30,000) cubic metes or fifty thousand (50,000) tones of minerals each year; and shall issue li censes for the exploitation of underground water sources (except mineral water) with a capacity not more than one thousand (1,000) cubic meter a day.
4. It is not necessary to apply for a license to exploit mines in order to dig wells to obtain water for daily living or exploit common construction materials for the living requirements of families, provided that the materials are not sold.
Article 15
The Ministry of Heavy Industry shall promulgate regulations outlining the application procedures for a license in relation to geological exploration and exploitation of mineral resources, the procedures for registration with the State, the obligations in relation to geological exploration, exploitation areas, and are as of untapped mineral resources in respect of all types of mineral resources, including petroleum, gases and underground water; the procedures for the closure of mines for conservation or re servation; and stipulations for the maintenance of State records and soil samples.
Article 16
The authority to approve or evaluate geological reports is regulated in accordance with the provisions of clause 3 of article 14 of the Ordinance on Mineral Resources as follows:
- The Council of Ministers shall consider the mineral resources in reserve, approve reports of explorations of raw mineral resources conducted with State capital funding, and evaluate reports of explorations funded by other sources.
- The Ministry of Heavy Industry shall approve reports of research on subsoil and searches for mineral resources.
- The above organizations shall promulgate procedures in respect of geological reports which have been evaluated and approved, pursuant to their respective authority.
Article 17
The State management body of mineral resources shall perform the function of State inspection of mineral resources in accordance with the provisions of articles 28, 29, 30 and 31 of the Ordinance on Mineral Resources and of the Ordinance on Inspection dat ed 29 March 1990.
Article 18
Notwithstanding the general responsibility of the Ministry of Labor War Invalids and Social Affairs to inspect the implementation of safety and labor regulations, and of the State Committee for Science and Technology to supervise the protection of the env ironment, the Ministry of Heavy Industry and all Ministries in charge of relevant fields shall have the responsibility to supervise the economy, technology, protection of mineral resources and the related environment, and safety in respect of geological e xploration, exploitation of mines, and production of mineral resources.
Article 19
The allocation of land for the purpose of exploitation of mine shall take place in accordance with the provisions contained in the Law on Land and article 18 of the Ordinance on Mineral resources. People's committees at all levels and land administration bodies shall be responsible to deal with all urgent procedures to issue a license to use land for exploitation of a mine, particularly with respect to the exploitation of valuable mineral resources ( precious stones, gold, silver, vonfram, amongst other things)
Article 20
Organizations which, and individuals who have made achievements in the administration and protection of mineral resources, in identifying and notifying breaches of the Ordinance on Mineral Resources, and in preventing activities which may affect mineral r esources and the environment shall be commended and rewarded in accordance with the general system.
Organizations which, and individuals who discover new mines, or transfer, or sell to the State precious, rare, or valuable geological samples shall be rewarded pursuant to a special system stipulated by the Council of Ministers
Article 21
Organizations which, and individuals who commit breaches of the provisions contained in the Ordinance on Mineral Resources or the provisions of this Decree shall, depending on the seriousness of the breach, be dealt with in accordance with the provisions of articles 11, 13, 14, 15 and 16 of the Law on Administrative Breaches dated 30 November, 1980. Anyone who intentionally does not report to State organizations responsible for the administration of mineral resources, or to people's committees at all lev els the discovery of a new mine, or valuable and rare sample materials, or who causes damage to mineral resources, or the surrounding environment, shall be dealt with in accordance with the provisions of the law.
Article 22
All Ministers, chairmen of State Committees, heads of bodies of the Council of Ministers, and chairmen of people's committees of provinces and cities under central authority shall abide by and implement the provisions of this Decree, in accordance with th eir respective powers.
Article 23
This Decree shall be of full force and effect as of the date of its signing, and all previous provisions which are inconsistent with this Decree are hereby repealed.
for the Council of Ministers
Chairman
VO VAN KIET