Three departments: Rare earth production enterprises shall establish a system for recording the flow of rare earth products.

On August 22, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the National Development and Reform Commission, and the Ministry of Natural Resources jointly issued the "Interim Measures for the Total Control Management of Rare Earth Mining and Rare Earth Smelting Separation." It pointed out that the state implements total control management of rare earth mining (including rare earth ore products, etc.) and the smelting separation of various rare earth ore products (including monazite) obtained through mining, import, and processing of other minerals. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, together with the Ministry of Natural Resources and the National Development and Reform Commission, is responsible for the total control management of rare earth mining and smelting separation. Rare earth production enterprises should establish a system for recording the flow of rare earth products, truthfully record the flow of rare earth products, and enter the information of the flow of rare earth products for the previous month into the rare earth product tracing information system established by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and relevant departments before the 10th day of each month. The full text is as follows: Interim Measures for the Total Control Management of Rare Earth Mining and Rare Earth Smelting Separation (Issued by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the National Development and Reform Commission, and the Ministry of Natural Resources on July 28, 2025, to be implemented from the date of issuance.) Article 1 In order to strengthen the total control management of rare earth mining and rare earth smelting separation, these measures are formulated in accordance with the Mineral Resources Law of the People's Republic of China, the Regulations on the Management of Rare Earths, and other relevant laws, administrative regulations, and state regulations. Article 2 Rare earth mining in these measures refers to the production process of processing various types of rare earth minerals such as fluorocarbon cerium ore, ionic rare earth ore, mixed rare earth ore, to produce rare earth ore products. Separation of rare earth smelting in these measures refers to the production process of processing rare earth ore products to produce various single or mixed rare earth oxides, salts, and other compounds. Article 3 The state implements total control management of rare earth mining (including rare earth ore products, etc.) and various rare earth ore products (including monazite) obtained through mining, import, and processing of other minerals. Article 4 The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, together with the Ministry of Natural Resources and the National Development and Reform Commission, is responsible for the total control management of rare earth mining and rare earth smelting separation nationwide. The industrial and information technology and natural resources departments of local governments at or above the county level are responsible for the total control management of rare earth mining and rare earth smelting separation within their respective administrative regions. Article 5 Based on national economic development goals, differences in rare earth reserves and types, rare earth industry development, ecological protection, market demand, and other factors, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, together with the Ministry of Natural Resources and the National Development and Reform Commission will formulate annual total control indicators for rare earth mining and rare earth smelting separation (referred to as total control indicators), which will be submitted to the State Council for approval. Article 6 Based on the total control indicators approved by the State Council, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, together with the Ministry of Natural Resources, will refine and decompose the total control indicators, issue them to rare earth mining enterprises and rare earth smelting separation enterprises (collectively referred to as rare earth production enterprises), and report to the relevant provincial-level industrial and information technology and natural resources departments. The industrial and information technology and natural resources departments of provincial-level governments shall report the issuance of total control indicators to the rare earth production enterprises to the industrial and information technology and natural resources departments of local governments at or above the county level where the rare earth production enterprises are located. Article 7 Rare earth production enterprises shall strictly abide by laws, administrative regulations, and relevant state regulations, and engage in rare earth mining and rare earth smelting separation within the scope of total control indicators. Rare earth production enterprises will be determined by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, together with the Ministry of Natural Resources. No other organizations or individuals shall engage in rare earth mining and rare earth smelting separation except for the enterprises determined according to the preceding paragraph. Article 8 Rare earth production enterprises are responsible for the implementation of their total control indicators. Article 9 Rare earth production enterprises shall timely report the monthly and annual implementation of total control indicators to the industrial and information technology and natural resources departments of the county-level governments where they are located. The industrial and information technology and natural resources departments of local governments at or above the county level shall summarize the monthly and annual implementation of total control indicators by rare earth production enterprises within their respective administrative regions, and timely report them to the industrial and information technology and natural resources departments of the higher-level governments. Article 10 Rare earth production enterprises shall establish a system for recording the flow of rare earth products, truthfully record the flow of rare earth products, and enter the information of the flow of rare earth products for the previous month into the rare earth product tracing information system established by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and relevant departments before the 10th day of each month. Article 11 Rare earth production enterprises shall fulfill their obligations to protect network and data security, establish and improve internal network and data security management systems, enhance the level of enterprise network and data security protection, and ensure the security of enterprise network and data. Article 12 The industrial and information technology and natural resources departments of local governments at or above the county level should strengthen the supervision and inspection of the implementation of total control indicators, lawfully investigate and deal with violations, strictly enforce laws, administrative regulations, and the state regulations on administrative inspections involving enterprises, ensure that supervision and inspection are based on legality, strict norms, fairness, civility, precision, and efficiency. The industrial and information technology and natural resources departments of local governments at or above the county level should promptly report the results of the investigation into violations to the industrial and information technology and natural resources departments of the higher-level governments. The industrial and information technology and natural resources departments of provincial-level governments should report the overall situation of supervision and inspection of total control indicators in their respective administrative regions to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and the Ministry of Natural Resources by the end of December each year. Article 13 If a rare earth production enterprise violates the provisions of these measures, refuses or obstructs the supervision and inspection department from performing its duties in accordance with the law, the industrial and information technology and natural resources departments of local governments at or above the county level, in accordance with their respective responsibilities, shall order corrections and impose penalties in accordance with the provisions of the Mineral Resources Law of the People's Republic of China, the Regulations on the Management of Rare Earths, and other relevant laws and administrative regulations. Article 14 If a rare earth production enterprise violates the provisions of these measures and receives administrative penalties, its total control indicators for the next year will be reduced. Article 15 Personnel of the industrial and information technology, natural resources, and development and reform departments who abuse their powers, neglect their duties, or engage in malpractices in the total control management of rare earth mining and rare earth smelting separation shall be dealt with according to law. Article 16 If a violation of these measures constitutes a violation of public security management, the violator shall be punished in accordance with the law; if it constitutes a crime, criminal responsibility shall be pursued in accordance with the law. Article 17 These measures shall be implemented from the date of promulgation. The "Notice on the Interim Measures for the Management of Directive Rare Earth Production Plans" (Original Ministry of Industry and Information Technology [2012] No. 285) issued by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology on June 13, 2012, is hereby repealed. This article is compiled from the "Official Website of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology", edited by GMTEight: Xu Wenqiang.