National Assembly: Comments on the Draft Law on Geology and Minerals

Continuing the program of the 8th Session, on November 5, National Assembly deputies (NADs) discussed in the hall about the implementation of the state budget, implementation of the public investment plan and listened to the presentation of the Draft Law on Geology and Minerals.

Discussing at the Hall, delegate Dang Thi My Huong, Deputy Head of the National Assembly Delegation of Ninh Thuan province, highly agreed with the report on reception and explanation of the National Assembly Standing Committee; studying the draft law submitted to the National Assembly this session showed that it had fully absorbed the opinions of National Assembly Deputies and the National Assembly Delegation; the new points in the draft Law have contributed to solving many problems of localities.

To continue researching and perfecting the Draft Law, discussing in the hall, delegate Dang Thi My Huong proposed: Regarding the consistency between the provisions of the Draft Law, in Clause 22, Article 2, explaining the terms, the Draft Law stipulates: "Mineral exploitation is an activity to remove minerals from the place of natural formation, including basic construction of mines, excavation, pumping, separation, mineral processing and other related activities in mineral exploitation investment projects." Thus, according to this provision, mineral exploitation activities include mineral processing activities, while in Clause 23, Article 2 of the Draft Law stipulates: "Mineral processing activities are activities of classifying, enriching minerals, and other activities to increase the value of raw minerals that have been exploited and belong to mineral exploitation investment projects".

Delegate Dang Thi My Huong, Deputy Head of the National Assembly Delegation of Ninh Thuan province, gave comments on the Draft Law on Geology and Minerals at the meeting hall.

Therefore, according to this provision, "Mineral processing activities" are not considered activities aimed at removing minerals from their natural formations according to the explanation of the term "mineral exploitation activities" in Clause 22, Article 2 of the Draft Law. It is recommended that the drafting agency review, research, and provide specific and clear regulations on mineral exploitation activities for ease of understanding and to ensure consistency in legal regulations.

In Clause 2, Article 50, the provisions on the Right of Priority for organizations and individuals conducting mineral exploration. The Draft Law stipulates: “After the priority period specified in Clause 1 of this Article, if the organization or individual conducting the exploration fails to submit a complete application for a mineral exploitation license for the explored area, the organization or individual shall lose the right of priority to request a mineral exploitation license, except in cases of force majeure as prescribed by the Government . In case a competent state agency grants a mineral exploitation license to another organization or individual in accordance with the provisions of this Law, the organization or individual granted the exploitation license must reimburse the mineral exploration costs to the organization or individual conducting the mineral exploration in accordance with the provisions of this Law”.

Agreeing with the content of this regulation, however, to ensure transparency in the implementation mechanism, delegate Dang Thi My Huong suggested that it is necessary to specify in the law, or assign the Government or relevant ministries to specify the order and procedures for handling the granting of mineral exploitation licenses to other organizations and individuals in case of losing priority rights according to the draft law; suggested that it is necessary to review and study regulations on public announcement to select organizations and individuals to grant licenses or conduct auctions of mineral exploitation rights (if the selected area is removed from the non-auction area).

In Clause 3, Article 90, the principles for granting licenses for exploration and exploitation of sand and gravel in riverbeds, lakebeds, and sea areas are stipulated. The Draft Law stipulates: "For activities of exploration and exploitation of sand and gravel in lakebeds, before granting a license, the competent state management agency shall obtain written approval from the state management agency on natural disaster prevention, irrigation, and hydropower (if any)". Thus, according to this provision, "lakebeds" are licensed for exploration and exploitation of sand and gravel in lakebeds. It is recommended to review and study to clarify the provisions on "lakebeds" in this provision; in this case, what kind of lake is it?

Because according to the provisions of Point e, Clause 1, Article 28, the Draft Law stipulates: The scope of protection of irrigation works, hydroelectric power plants, and dykes is subject to the prohibition of mineral activities. Therefore, in principle, the preparation of a Planning or Management Plan on geology and minerals integrated into the provincial planning will not plan for mineral exploration and exploitation within the scope of irrigation and hydroelectric reservoirs, so licensing in areas without planning does not ensure the principle of licensing mineral activities.

At the same time, at point c (Investors or investors carry out dredging activities combined with mineral product recovery in seaport waters, fishing ports, storm shelters, inland waterway waters, riverbeds, lakebeds or other water areas and wetlands according to projects and plans approved by competent state management agencies), Clause 1, Article 77 of the Draft Law stipulates the recovery of minerals from dredging activities of irrigation and hydroelectric reservoirs. Delegate Dang Thi My Huong suggested that it is necessary to review and prescribe transparent, easy-to-understand, easy-to-implement laws to avoid creating bottlenecks in legal regulations that cause difficulties in implementation.

Spring Binh

Source: http://baoninhthuan.com.vn/news/150180p24c34/quoc-hoi-gop-y-du-thao-luat-dia-chat-va-khoang-san.htm