Mining group presses for law reform
By Wang Ying
Updated: 2006-06-14 09:14
Rio Tinto Group, together with other multinationals led by an industry
consortium, is advising the Chinese Government on a mineral resources law
amendment, aiming to gain more access to mining activities in China.
The
Ministry of Land and Resources (MLR), which wants to renew the current mineral
resources law, is collecting suggestions from a multinational mining company
association called the China International Mining Group, whose members include
Anglo American and BHP Billiton, a source told China Daily.
"We wish the
government would create a more fair and reasonable investment environment for
the foreign companies (which want to operate mining activities in China),
through improving the current law," said the source, who declined to be
named.
Under the current mineral resources law, which was last amended in
1996, foreign companies must undergo a long and complicated approval process to
gain mining licences for commodities like gold and copper. The new amendment
aims to make the mining policy in China fit more with the market economy, the
source said.
"The government would like to come up with an improved
version (of the mineral resources law) by 2008," the source added.
A
senior expert from the MLR confirmed the ministry's intention to improve the law
and added that China welcomes foreign investment in mining activities across the
country.
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