Procedure for appraisal and approval of mineral mine closure project from December 30, 2023 in Vietnam

Procedure for appraisal and approval of the mineral mine closure project from December 30, 2023 in Vietnam (Internet image) 

On November 15, 2023, the Minister of Natural Resources and Environment issued Circular 19/2023/TT-BTNMT, amending and repealing a number of circulars under the issuance authority of the Minister of Natural Resources and Environment.

Procedure for appraisal and approval of the mineral mine closure project from December 30, 2023 in Vietnam

According to Circular 19/2023/TT-BTNMT amending Article 7 of Circular 45/2016/TT-BTNMT, the procedure for appraisal and approval of mineral mine closure projects is as follows:

- Organizations and individuals requesting to close mineral mines submit documents to the receiving agency specified in Clauses 1 and 3, Article 47 of Decree 158/2016/ND-CP with composition, form, and content according to the provisions of Article 56 of Decree 158/2016/ND-CP and Article 5 of Circular 45/2016/TT-BTNMT.

- Within 01 day of receiving the dossier from the organization or individual requesting mine closure, the receiving agency shall check the completeness and validity of the dossier. In case the dossier is not complete according to regulations or is complete but has an inappropriate form according to the provisions of law, the agency receiving the dossier will provide written instructions (in case of submitting applications by post or online) or direct instructions (in case of submitting applications directly at the headquarters of the receiving agency) for organizations and individuals requesting mineral mine closure to supplement and complete documents.

In the event that the dossier is complete and valid, the dossier receiving agency will write a dossier receipt note and send it to the dossier appraisal agency on the same day. In the next 02 days, the dossier appraisal agency must complete checking the legality and validity of the dossier, check the coordinates and area of the area proposed to close the mineral mine; Prepare a file check sheet. If the application meets the conditions for appraisal, notify the application-receiving agency in writing to enter the monitoring book. If the dossier does not ensure legality and validity, issue documents guiding the organization, and the individual edits, supplements, and sends them to the agency receiving the dossier to notify the organization or individual to receive the dossier back for supplementation and completion. Instructions and additional documents are only completed once.

- Within no more than the next 10 days, the dossier appraisal agency must send the dossier for comments and criticism on the mineral mine closure project; invite representatives of Council members to participate in field inspections (if necessary). In the case of minerals under the licensing authority of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, written opinions from the Provincial People's Committee where the mineral mine is proposed to be closed must also be obtained. Within no more than 12 days from the date of receipt of the document requesting opinions from the dossier appraisal agency, the organizations and individuals sent for comments are responsible for responding in writing about the content of the mine closure project and related issues. After the above time limit, if there is no written response, it will be considered as agreed. During this time, the dossier appraisal agency presided over organizing and completing the field inspection work.

- Within no more than 07 days from the date of receiving comments and criticisms, the dossier appraisal agency synthesizes comments and prepares a report to report to the Chairman of the Appraisal Council to organize the Council meeting. Within 05 days from the date of receiving the proposal from the dossier appraisal agency, the Chairman of the Council shall organize a council meeting. The content of the appraisal of the mineral mine closure project shall comply with the provisions of Clause 3, Article 45 of Decree 158/2016/ND-CP.

- Within no more than 02 days from the end of the meeting, the Chairman of the Council completes the Minutes of the Council meeting; In the next 3 days, the dossier appraisal agency must notify in writing the organization or individual requesting additional mine closure, complete the dossier, or re-establish the mine closure project and clearly state the reason attached to the Minutes of the Appraisal Council meeting. The time it takes for an organization or individual to supplement, complete, or repeat a project to close a mineral mine is not included in the time it takes to evaluate the dossier.

- Submission for approval of the mineral mine closure project:

+ After receiving the amended or supplemented dossier from the organization or individual within no more than 10 days, the dossier appraisal agency must complete the review, synthesize, and submit the dossier for approval of the mineral mine closure project to the agency competent to approve the mineral mine closure project;

+ Within no more than 07 days from the date of receipt of the Proposal, enclosed with the dossier of the dossier appraisal agency, the agency competent to approve the mineral mine closure project shall issue a decision approving the project; In case of disapproval of the project, a written response must be made clearly stating the reason;

+ Within no more than 01 day from the date of receiving the decision approving the mineral mine closure project, the agency receiving the dossier notifies the organization or individual requesting the closure of the mineral mine to receive the results and perform other related obligations according to regulations.

More details can be found in Circular 19/2023/TT-BTNMT taking effect on December 30, 2023.

Ho Quoc Tuan

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