What are minerals? What are the penalties for illegal mineral exploitation in Vietnam?

Regarding this issue, LawNet answers as follows:

1. What are minerals?

According to Clause 1, Article 2 of the Mineral Law 2010, mineral mean useful minerals and mineral substances which are naturally accumulated in solid, liquid or gaseous form and exist underground or on the ground, including minerals and mineral substances at tailing sites of mines.

What are minerals? What are the penalties for illegal mineral exploitation in Vietnam? (Internet image)

2. Principles of mineral activities in Vietnam

Article 4 of the Mineral Law 2010, (amended by the Law on Amendments to some articles concerning planning of 37 laws 2018) stipulates the principles of mineral activities as follows:

- Mineral activities must be conformable with mineral strategy and planning, plan for protection, exploration, extraction and use of minerals in the provincial planning, and associated with protection of environment, natural landscapes, historical and cultural sites/movements, scenic landscapes and other natural resources, and assurance of national defense, security and social order.

- Mineral activities may only be carried out only after obtaining permission from competent state management agencies.

- Mineral exploration must fully evaluate the deposits and quality of all kinds of minerals in an exploration area.

- In mineral mining, socio-economic effectiveness and environmental protection must be considered basic criteria for making investment decisions; and advanced mining technologies which are suitable to the size and characteristics of each mine as well as each kind of mineral shall be applied in order to recover minerals to the maximum.

3. Criminal liability for mineral exploitation in Vietnam

Offenders of illegal mining may be prosecuted for criminal liability under Article 227 of the Criminal Code 2015 (amended 2017) - Offences against regulations on survey, exploration and extraction of resources, whereby:

(1) Any person who violates regulations of the State on survey, exploration, and extraction of resources on land, islands, inland waterway, territorial waters, exclusive economic zones, continental shelves, and airspace of Vietnam without a license or against the license in any of the following circumstances shall be liable to a fine of from VND 300,000,000 to VND 1,500,000,000 or face a penalty of 06 - 36 months' imprisonment:

- The illegal profit from the survey, exploration and/or extraction of water resources, petroleum, or other resources is from VND 100,000,000 to under VND 500,000,000;

- The resources extracted are assessed at from VND 500,000,000 to under VND 1,000,000,000;

- The offence causes ≥ 61% WPI for another person;

- The offence causes a total WPI of 61% - 121% for more than one person;

- The offender incurred an administrative penalty for any of the offences specified in this Article or has an unspent conviction for the same offence .

(2) This offence committed in any of the following circumstances carries a fine of from VND 1,500,000,000 to VND 5,000,000,000 or a penalty of 02 - 07 years' imprisonment:

- The illegal profit earned from survey, exploration, and extraction of water, petroleum or other natural resources is ≥ VND 500,000,000;

- The resources extracted are assessed at ≥ VND 1,000,000,000;

- The offence is committed by an organized group;

- The offence results in an environmental emergency;

- The offence results in the death of a person;

- The offence causes a total WPI of ≥ 122% for more than one person.

(3) The offender might also be liable to a fine of from VND 50,000,000 to VND 500,000,000.

(4) Punishments incurred by a corporate legal entity that commits any of the offences specified in this Article:

- Any corporate legal entity that commits an offence specified in Clause 1 of this Article and earns an illegal profit of from VND 300,000,000 to under VND 500,000,000 or extracts an amount of resources assessed from VND 700,000,000 to under VND 1,000,000,000 or causes ≥ 61% WPI for another person or causes a total WPI of 61% - 121% for ≥ 02 people;

Earns an illegal profit of from VND 100,000,000 to under VND 300,000,000 or extracts an amount of resources assessed from VND 500,000,000 to under VND 700,000,000 while having incurred an administrative penalty for any of the offences specified in this Article or having an unspent conviction for the same offence shall be liable to a fine of from VND 1,500,000,000 to VND 3,000,000,000;

- A corporate legal entity that commits this offence in any of the circumstances specified in Clause 2 of this Article shall be liable to a fine of from VND 3,000,000,000 to VND 7,000,000,000 or has its operation suspended for 06 - 36 months;

- The violating corporate legal entity might also be liable to a fine of from VND 100,000,000 to VND 500,000,000, be banned from operating in certain fields or raising capital for 01 - 03 years.

Nhu Mai

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