Interim Measures for the Total Quantity Control and Management of Rare Earth Mining and Smelting and Separation

( Order No. 71 of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Natural Resources was promulgated on July 28, 2025 and shall come into effect as of the date of promulgation.)

Article 1: In order to strengthen the overall control and management of rare earth mining and separation in the refining process, based on laws and administrative regulations such as the "Mineral Resources Law of the People's Republic of China" and the "Regulations on Rare Earths", as well as relevant national provisions, this method has been formulated.

Article 2: The term "rare earth mining" as used in this regulation refers to the production process of extracting and processing various types of rare earth raw materials such as fluorocerium ore, ionic-type rare earth ore, and mixed rare earth ore, in order to generate rare earth products.

The term "rare earth smelting and separation" as used in this regulation refers to the production process of processing rare earth mineral products to generate various single or mixed rare earth oxides, salts, and other compounds.

Article 3: The state implements total quantity control and management for the mining of rare earths (including rare earth mineral products, etc.) and for the smelting and separation of various rare earth mineral products (including monazite concentrate) obtained through mining, importation and processing of other minerals.

Article 4: The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, in conjunction with the Ministry of Natural Resources and the National Development and Reform Commission, is responsible for the overall control and management of the total amount of rare earth mining and rare earth smelting and separation across the country.

The industrial and information technology authorities and the natural resources authorities of local governments at or above the county level shall, in accordance with their respective duties, be responsible for the overall control and management of the total amount of rare earth mining and rare earth smelting and separation within their administrative regions.

Article 5: The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, in conjunction with the Ministry of Natural Resources and the National Development and Reform Commission, shall, based on the national economic development goals, differences in national rare earth resource reserves and types, the development of the rare earth industry, ecological protection, and market demand, etc., study and formulate annual total control indicators for rare earth mining and rare earth smelting and separation (hereinafter referred to as total control indicators), and submit them to the State Council for approval.

Article 6: The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, in conjunction with the Ministry of Natural Resources, based on the total control targets approved by the State Council, comprehensively take into account factors such as the production capacity, technical level, and environmental protection and safety standards of rare earth production enterprises, and further break down the total control targets. These targets will be issued to rare earth mining enterprises and rare earth smelting and separation enterprises (collectively referred to as rare earth production enterprises), and notified to the industrial and information technology and natural resources authorities of the relevant provincial governments.

The industrial and information technology authorities and the natural resources authorities of the provincial-level people's governments shall notify the industrial and information technology authorities and the natural resources authorities of the local governments at or above the county level of the enterprises that produce rare earths of the situation regarding the issuance of total control indicators.

Article 7: Rare earth production enterprises shall strictly abide by laws, administrative regulations and relevant national provisions, and conduct rare earth mining and rare earth smelting and separation within the limits of the total control indicators.

The production enterprises of rare earths are determined by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology in conjunction with the Ministry of Natural Resources.

Except for the enterprises determined in accordance with the preceding paragraph, no other organizations or individuals are allowed to engage in the mining and smelting separation of rare earths.

Article 8: The enterprises engaged in rare earth production shall be responsible for the implementation of the total quantity control indicators of their own enterprises.

Article 9: Rare earth production enterprises shall promptly submit the implementation status of their monthly and annual total control indicators to the industrial and information technology, and natural resources authorities of the county-level people's government where they are located.

The industrial and information technology, and natural resources authorities of local governments at or above the county level shall summarize the monthly and annual implementation status of the total quantity control indicators for rare earth production enterprises within their administrative regions, and promptly report this information to the industrial and information technology and natural resources authorities of the next higher-level government.

Article 10: Rare earth production enterprises shall establish a system for recording the flow of rare earth products, truthfully documenting the information on the flow of rare earth products. They must also input the information on the flow of rare earth products for the previous month into the rare earth product traceability information system jointly established by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and relevant departments before the 10th of each month.

Article 11: Rare earth production enterprises shall fulfill their obligations for network and data security protection. They should establish and improve internal network and data security management systems within the enterprises, enhance the level of network and data security protection, and ensure the security of the enterprises' networks and data.

Article 12: The industrial and information technology, and natural resources authorities of the people's governments at or above the county level shall strengthen supervision and inspection of the implementation of total control indicators and other matters, lawfully investigate and punish illegal acts, strictly abide by laws, administrative regulations, and the requirements stipulated by the State Council regarding administrative inspections of enterprises, to ensure that the supervision and inspection are based on the law, strictly regulated, fair and civilized, and precise and efficient.

The industrial and information technology, and natural resources authorities of local governments at or above the county level shall promptly report the query results and handling situations of illegal acts to the industrial and information technology and natural resources authorities of the next higher-level government.

The industrial and information technology authorities and the natural resources authorities of the provincial-level people's governments shall, by the end of December each year, report the overall situation of the supervision and inspection of total control indicators within their administrative regions to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and the Ministry of Natural Resources.

Article 13: If a rare earth production enterprise violates the provisions of this method or refuses or obstructs the supervision and inspection departments from performing their duties of supervision and inspection in accordance with the law， the relevant industrial and information technology authorities and natural resources authorities at the county level or above shall,in accordance with their respective duties， order the enterprise to make corrections and impose penalties in accordance with the provisions of the Mineral Resources Law of the People's Republic of China and the Rare Earth Management Regulations,as well as other laws and administrative regulations.

Article 14: If a rare earth production enterprise violates this regulation and is subject to administrative penalties, its total quantity control indicators for the following year will be reduced.

Article 15: If the staff members of the departments of industry and information technology, natural resources, and development and reform abuse their power, neglect their duties, or engage in malfeasance in the management of total control over rare earth mining and rare earth smelting and separation, they shall be subject to disciplinary action in accordance with the law.

Article 16: If any violation of this regulation constitutes an act of public security administration, it shall be subject to public security administrative penalties in accordance with the law; if it constitutes a crime, criminal responsibility shall be pursued.

Article 17: This regulation shall come into effect as of the date of its promulgation. The "Notice on Issuing the Interim Measures for the Management of Mandatory Production Plans for Rare Earths" (Ministry of Industry and Information Technology [2012] No. 285) issued by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology on June 13, 2012 is hereby repealed simultaneously.