According to the latest report of the Ministry of natural resources, two unlicensed mining cases involving rare earths were investigated for criminal responsibility by the court. The punishment of illegal mining of national strategic minerals reflects the deterrent power of punishment.
The reporter learned from the Ministry of natural resources on the 18th that these two unlicensed mining cases, one is the unlicensed mining case of Liu in Xinfeng County, Ganzhou City, Jiangxi Province. The mining area of the illegal rare earth mining point is 1083 square meters. It is mined by in-situ leaching, with about 236 liquid injection holes. Xinfeng County Natural Resources Bureau transferred the case to the public security organ for investigation and investigation, and the Xinfeng County Public Security Bureau arrested the suspect Liu. After investigation, Liu's illegal exploitation of rare earth caused resource damage, with a reserve of 7.28 tons and a damage value of 1.3978 million yuan. In August 2021, the people's Court of Xinfeng County sentenced Liu to fixed-term imprisonment of 3 years and 10 months and fined 40000 yuan.
The second is the unlicensed mining case of 9 people, including Rao and Wang, Xunwu County, Ganzhou City, Jiangxi Province. From November 2020 to February 2021, nine people including Rao and Wang mined rare earths in Jincun, Danxi Township, Xunwu County without obtaining a mining license. In February 2021, the natural resources bureau of Xunwu County transferred the clues of the case to the public security organ. According to the investigation, nine people including Rao and Wang mined 7.07 tons of rare earth, and the damage value of their mineral resources was determined to be 1.4847 million yuan by the Department of natural resources of Jiangxi Province. At present, Xunwu County Public Security Bureau has arrested 8 suspects and 7 suspect has been sentenced by the court.
According to Cui Ying, director of the Law Enforcement Bureau of the Ministry of natural resources, the latest 20 mineral law violations reported by the Ministry of natural resources involve 17 provinces, autonomous regions and cities, 13 cases have been sentenced to criminal responsibility, and the illegal parties have been punished, including fixed-term imprisonment, fine and confiscation of property. Illegal enterprises and individuals have paid a heavy price, and the lesson is very profound.
Cui Ying said that according to the mineral resources law, criminal law and other laws and regulations and relevant judicial interpretations, in addition to administrative penalties, illegal mining acts such as unlicensed mining, cross-border mining and destructive mining of mineral resources will be investigated for criminal responsibility if they meet the standards for criminal responsibility prosecution. Here, we solemnly remind some enterprises and individuals not to take chances and defy the law, otherwise they will be severely punished by the law, not only lose their money, but also be sentenced to nothing.
It is reported that in the next step, the Ministry of natural resources will continue to focus on and seriously investigate and deal with illegal mining and illegal mining of national strategic mineral resources in ecologically sensitive areas such as the Yangtze and yellow river basins, cooperate with relevant departments to crack down on illegal exploration and mining of rare earth, and maintain the order of mining and utilization of rare earth mineral resources.
