Highlights

• Gansu Province launches 2026-2028 plan requiring:
  • 90% of large mines to meet official 'green mine' standards
  • 80% of medium mines to meet official 'green mine' standards
  • 18 intelligent automated facilities
  • Dynamic provincial reserve system
• Plan offers financial incentives:
  • VAT and resource tax benefits
  • Green loans
  • Preferential bond issuance
• Aims to cultivate publicly listed mining companies
• Boost R&D investment
• Strict enforcement ties mine performance to officials' career evaluations:
  • 10% annual random inspections
  • Real-time monitoring
  • Blacklist system for non-compliant operators

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Gansu Province, a resource-rich region in northwestern China, has launched a sweeping three-year action plan (2026–2028) aimed at upgrading the quality, efficiency, and technological sophistication of its mining sector, according to a January 23 report by China Natural Resources News. The plan, jointly issued by the provincial Department of Natural Resources and 17 other government agencies, signals a coordinated effort to modernize mining operations while tightening environmental, digital, and political oversight.

Gansu Province

Under the plan, 90% of large mines and 80% of medium-sized mines in Gansu are required to meet China’s official “green mine” standards by the end of 2028. Smaller mines are encouraged—but not mandated—to participate. Authorities also plan to build 18 “intelligent green mines”, emphasizing automation, data integration, and digital control systems. Mines will be pushed to improve what regulators call the “three rates”: information digitization, resource recovery, and mining efficiency—a formulation that blends productivity goals with environmental compliance.

A notable feature is the creation of a provincial green mine reserve system, under which mining projects are reviewed, added, or removed each year dynamically. Standards will be updated regularly and expanded to cover more mineral categories. Companies are encouraged to increase R&D spending, adopt new technologies, and develop what officials describe as “new productive forces” in mining—language closely aligned with Beijing’s broader industrial modernization agenda.

The plan also introduces financial and tax incentives. Eligible mines may receive value-added and resource tax benefits, including resource tax exemptions for sales of low-grade minerals (excluding gold). Mining projects can also access preferential financing through provincial credit platforms, green loans, and green or technology-focused bond issuance. Authorities explicitly state an intention to cultivate future publicly listed mining companies.

Oversight will be strict. Regulators will conduct random inspections covering at least 10% of mines annually, with mandatory on-site inspections of sand and aggregate operations every three years. Mines will be subject to real-time, online process monitoring. Critically, green mine performance will be tied to officials’ career evaluations: local governments that miss targets may see their mineral resource planning approvals suspended. A “dynamic assessment plus blacklist” system will penalize noncompliant operators.

To date, Gansu reports 194 certified green mines, including 22 at the national level.

Why This Matters for Western Audiences

This plan highlights how China is consolidating mining capacity around fewer, larger, more technologically advanced operators, backed by state finance and political enforcement. For Western countries seeking to diversify critical mineral supply chains, the implication is clear: China is not retreating from mining—it is upgrading it, integrating environmental standards, digital control, and industrial policy into a single system that may further entrench its cost and scale advantages.

Disclaimer: This news item is based on reporting from China Natural Resources News, a media outlet affiliated with a Chinese state-owned entity. Information presented should be independently verified, and interpretations may reflect official policy narratives rather than external assessments.