Provincial, autonomous regional, and municipal industrial and information technology authorities, relevant industry associations, and relevant central enterprises:

Gold is a special product with both commodity and monetary attributes, playing an irreplaceable role in countering financial crises and safeguarding national economic security. This guiding opinion is formulated to guide the healthy development of the gold industry, promote the orderly development of gold resources, improve resource utilization levels, promote the adjustment of the gold industry structure, and accelerate the transformation and upgrading of the gold industry.

I. Current State of the Industry
(I) Achievements
After years of development, China's gold industry has formed a relatively complete industrial system encompassing geological exploration, mining, ore dressing, smelting, processing, and research, laying a solid industrial foundation for the development and growth of the gold industry.
1. Steady Growth in Gold Output. In 2011, China's total gold output reached 361 tons, including 302 tons from gold mines and 59 tons as a byproduct of non-ferrous metals. Compared to 2005, the total output has shown an average annual growth of 8.3%, ranking first in the world for five consecutive years. Simultaneously, China is also the world's largest processor of gold jewelry and other products, accounting for approximately 60% of global processing output.
2. Rapid Growth in China's Gold Demand. In recent years, the functions of gold in combating inflation and financial risks have become increasingly apparent. Many countries have increased their gold reserves, and the public's interest in holding physical gold has continued to strengthen. Calls for incorporating gold into international financial and monetary systems reform have become increasingly louder. In 2011, China saw robust growth in gold investment and consumption, with jewelry, gold bars, gold coins, industrial gold, and other uses reaching 761 tons, second only to India and ranking second in the world. A fundamental imbalance of supply and demand for gold in China is expected to continue in the coming years.
3. Significant Achievements in Geological Exploration. Both the government and enterprises have increased investment in gold geological exploration, achieving eight consecutive years of newly discovered reserves exceeding production consumption. As of 2010, China's proven gold reserves reached 6,865 tons, a 50% increase compared to 2005.
4. Continuous Optimization of Industrial Structure. Through resource integration and mergers and acquisitions, the number of gold mining enterprises has decreased from 1,211 in 2003 to approximately 700 at present. In 2011, the top 10 enterprises accounted for 51% of the industry's total gold output, a 20 percentage point increase compared to 2005, significantly improving industry concentration. Simultaneously, in terms of product structure, deep-processed products for use in electronics, aerospace, petrochemicals, automobiles, and other fields have reached a certain scale.
5. Significant Improvement in Technology and Equipment Levels. Bio-oxidation, raw ore roasting, and comprehensive utilization of tailings technologies have been industrialized. Some processes and indicators have reached internationally leading levels. The recovery rate of gold from low-grade and refractory gold ores has increased from 30% to over 70%, and exploration levels have continuously improved with the wide application of new prospecting methods. High-efficiency and energy-saving equipment such as large excavators, reverse circulation drilling rigs, and electric hydraulic mining rock drills have been applied.
6. Achievements in Green Mine Construction. Through technological advancements and increased environmental protection investment, as well as the implementation of a deposit system for mine geological environment restoration, the gold industry's compliance rate for "three wastes" discharge and mine ecological restoration has improved year by year. Large mines have achieved the recycling of cyanide-containing wastewater, industrial wastewater, and domestic wastewater. Among the first batch of 37 national-level green mine pilot units, 6 are gold enterprises.
(II) Existing Problems
1. Unreasonable Industrial Structure. In 2011, China's top ten gold enterprises produced a combined 184 tons of gold, a significant gap compared to Barrick Gold Corporation of Canada, which produced 240 tons annually. Of the more than 700 gold mining enterprises in China, about 70% produce less than 10,000 taels of gold, with a total output of only 15% of the total. At the same time, the product structure is monotonous, and some high-end and sophisticated deep-processed products still need to be imported. China's deep gold processing technology, equipment level, product quality, and brand building still have a large gap compared to developed countries.
2. Low Resource Utilization Rate. Due to small enterprise scale and low technical level, China currently consumes an average of 1.7 tons of reserves per ton of gold produced, with large mines averaging around 1.5 tons and small mines as high as 2 tons or more, resulting in severe resource waste.
3. Heavy Burden of Ecological Construction and Environmental Protection. Due to the high proportion of small gold enterprises in China, insufficient investment in environmental protection has led to frequent occurrences of environmental problems such as wastewater pollution, vegetation destruction, geological disasters, and tailings dam collapses.
4. Low Resource Security Level. The growth rate of gold output is not matched by the growth rate of proven gold reserves, resulting in a short supply of exploitable reserves. For many years, China's basic gold reserves have remained around 1,900 tons, with a static reserve life of only 4 years, a significant gap compared to other major gold-producing countries, such as South Africa (6,000 tons, 12-year static reserve life), Russia and Australia (around 5,000 tons, approximately 15-year static reserve life each).
5. Severe Safety Production Situation. First, the safety foundation of gold mines is weak, with many outdated equipment, low equipment levels, and poor ability to withstand accident risks. Second, some illegally closed mines have been resurrected, with rampant illegal mining. Third, there is a lot of illegal mining around large mines, some even stealing security pillars and leftover ores, resulting in major safety hazards.

II. Current Situation
The 12th Five-Year Plan period is a crucial time for the gold industry to accelerate the transformation of its development model and achieve growth from large to strong. The Chinese gold industry faces rare development opportunities and some challenges.
(I) Further Emergence of Gold's Financial Attributes and Consolidation of Strategic Status. Since the outbreak of the 2008 international financial crisis and the current European debt crisis, countries around the world have recognized the irreplaceable importance of gold in comparison to any credit currency. The deep-seated effects of the current international financial crisis are spreading continuously, global economic recovery is hindered, uncertainty and instability factors are increasing, and countries around the world are competing to increase gold reserves from the perspective of national economic strategy, to safeguard national financial security. In 2010, central banks around the world shifted from 20 consecutive years of net gold sales to net purchases.
(II) Continued Growth in Gold Demand and Huge Industry Development Space. With the strengthening of gold's safe haven function and its characteristics of liquidity, preservation of value, and appreciation, consumption demand remains strong. It is estimated that China's gold consumption will exceed 1,000 tons by 2015, but the estimated gold output will only reach around 450 tons, further widening the supply gap.
(III) Relatively Poor Domestic Resource Endowment and Difficulties in Increasing Gold Production. Due to the limitations of domestic gold reserves, as well as the widespread problems of scattered resources, low grades, difficulty in processing, high costs, low exploration levels of deep resources and surrounding resources, small enterprise scale, and high production costs in China's gold resources, it is difficult to significantly increase domestic output.
(IV) Difficulties in Enterprise Mergers and Acquisitions Due to Various Restrictive Factors. Affected by factors such as profit-seeking and local protectionism, the integration of mine resources and enterprise restructuring has been slow, and the progress of rectifying and closing small gold mines with low resource utilization rates is slow.

III. Overall Thinking
(I) Guiding Ideology
Guided by Deng Xiaoping Theory and the important thought of "Three Represents," and thoroughly implementing the Scientific Outlook on Development, the goal is to enhance national financial security and effective supply. The main focus is to accelerate the transformation of the gold industry's development mode, supported by technological progress, with exploration, mergers and acquisitions, and environmental protection as priorities. We will accelerate the improvement of industrial policies in the gold industry, strengthen industry management, and enhance regulatory measures. The industrial structure will be comprehensively adjusted and optimized, international cooperation will be actively carried out, resource guarantee capabilities will be further improved, and the core competitiveness and sustainable development capabilities of the gold industry will be enhanced. Efforts will be made to build a resource-conserving and environmentally friendly industry, and to accelerate the transformation of China's gold industry from large to strong.
(II) Basic Principles
1. Prioritize Resources: Increase investment in gold geological resource exploration, adopt advanced exploration technologies, deepen exploration in the eastern and central regions' potential mines, strengthen resource exploration in the western region, and concentrate efforts to discover a number of large and extra-large deposits.
2. Adjust Structure: Focus on adjusting and optimizing enterprise organizational structure and product structure, standardize mining rights allocation, accelerate the mergers and acquisitions of gold enterprises, reduce the number of enterprises, improve industry concentration, and vigorously develop high value-added gold deep processing products.
3. Adhere to Green Development: Make the construction of a resource-conserving and environmentally friendly industry a priority for the development of the gold industry. Vigorously develop a circular economy, promote clean production and green mine construction, and achieve sustainable development of the gold industry.
4. Adhere to Technological Innovation: Give full play to the leading and supporting role of technology in the development of the gold industry, focusing on breakthroughs in the efficient utilization of low-grade and difficult-to-treat resources, high value-added deep processing technologies, and deep gold mine prospecting methods. Accelerate the industrialization of scientific and technological achievements and improve the core competitiveness of the industry.
5. Adhere to International Cooperation: Adhere to the "going global" strategy, actively utilize two markets and two resources, improve resource security, increase gold supply, meet market demand, and improve the internationalization level of enterprises.
6. Adhere to the Integration of Information Technology and Industrialization: Make the integration of information technology and industrialization an important means of upgrading the industrial structure. Give full play to the role of information technology in digital mines, technological progress, and safety production to improve the level of intelligent production, automated processes, and information management.
(III) Main Objectives
During the 12th Five-Year Plan period, the structural adjustment and industrial transformation and upgrading of the gold industry made significant progress, with the industrial added value growing by more than 12% annually, and the scale and quality of industrial development further improved.
1. Breakthrough in Resource Exploration: During the 12th Five-Year Plan period, through enhanced resource exploration, an additional 4,000-5,000 tons of gold reserves will be added. Subtracting the approximately 3,000 tons consumed in gold mining, the total gold reserves will reach 8,000-9,000 tons by 2015, an increase of more than 20% compared to the 11th Five-Year Plan period.
2. Sustained Growth in Gold Production: During the 12th Five-Year Plan period, the average annual growth rate of domestic gold production will remain at 3-5%. By 2015, gold production will reach 420 tons, striving for 450 tons. During the 12th Five-Year Plan period, 1900-2100 tons of gold will be produced, an increase of over 30% compared to the 11th Five-Year Plan period.
3. Effective Structural Adjustment: By increasing the intensity of mergers and acquisitions, the number of enterprises will be reduced from more than 700 at the end of the 11th Five-Year Plan period to around 600, forming one 50-ton, two 40-ton, one 30-ton, one 20-ton, and two 10-ton gold enterprise groups. By 2015, the output of the top ten gold groups will reach 260 tons, an increase of 100 tons compared to 2010, and the gold output of large and medium-sized gold enterprises will account for more than 70% of the national total.
4. Progress in Technological Innovation: Increase investment in science and technology, strengthen the combination of production, learning, research, and application, further improve the comprehensive utilization technology of low-grade and difficult-to-treat gold ore resources, and by the end of the 12th Five-Year Plan, the comprehensive utilization rate of resources across the industry will reach more than 70%. High-efficiency energy-saving equipment will be widely used, and the contribution rate of technological innovation to industrial development will be significantly improved.
5. Improved Level of "Green Mine" Construction: The comprehensive utilization rate of tailings will reach 20%, the green coverage rate of mining areas will reach 80%, the damaged land in mines will be comprehensively reclaimed and utilized, the deposit rate of mine geological environment governance and restoration guarantee will reach 100%, and gold production growth and ecological environment protection and governance will be synchronized to achieve sustainable development of the gold industry.

IV. Major Tasks
(I) Strengthen Gold Mine Geological Exploration
With national public interest geological work as a guide, we will guide and support various enterprises to increase investment in gold geological exploration, forming a multi-channel investment mechanism, and actively guide more funds into the field of gold resource exploration. According to the progress of exploration work, a number of integrated exploration areas will be selected in time in areas with greater resource potential and the conditions for large-scale exploration. We will strive for a rapid breakthrough, significantly increase reserves, and form a number of new resource bases.
(II) Promote Resource Conservation and Energy Efficiency and Emission Reduction
Gold production enterprises should place emphasis on resource conservation, energy efficiency and emission reduction, and the development of a circular economy. The underground mining recovery rate of gold mines should reach more than 80%, and the depletion rate should not exceed 15%; the open-pit mining recovery rate should reach more than 85%, and the depletion rate should not exceed 5%. Encourage the development and utilization of low-grade ores, associated ores, difficult-to-treat ores, tailings and other resources, and promote the recovery of various valuable elements in the raw materials of gold mines and smelters, the comprehensive utilization of tailings, the comprehensive utilization of smelting slag, and the utilization of smelting waste heat. The comprehensive recovery rate of easy-to-treat gold mines and low-grade/difficult-to-treat gold ore resources should be no less than 85% and 70%, respectively, and the water circulation utilization rate should be no less than 90%. The comprehensive energy consumption of underground mines and open-pit mines should be less than 7 kg of standard coal/ton of ore and 1.3 kg of standard coal/ton of ore, respectively. The comprehensive energy consumption of gold ore dressing should be less than 12 kg of standard coal/ton of ore, and the electricity consumption of ore should be less than 45 kWh/ton.
(III) Promote Enterprise Mergers and Acquisitions
In accordance with government guidance, enterprises as the main body, market-oriented operations, and adhering to overall planning, while taking into account the interests of the central government, local governments, and enterprises, support large backbone enterprises to carry out cross-regional and cross-ownership mergers and acquisitions and resource integration with capital as a link. Mining rights will be preferentially given to large gold backbone enterprises, and mergers and acquisitions among more than two enterprises within existing mining areas will be encouraged to reduce the number of gold mining and smelting enterprises and improve industry concentration.
(IV) Accelerate Enterprise Technological Transformation
Relying on legal, economic, and necessary administrative means, we will resolutely eliminate mercury amalgamation processes, small cyanide leaching processes, crude smelting processes, and mining and selection projects with a daily processing capacity of less than 50 tons. Encourage enterprises to actively research and develop and adopt advanced and applicable technologies to transform backward gold mining, ore dressing, and smelting production capacities, achieve energy conservation and emission reduction, and improve the level of comprehensive resource utilization. Relying on technological progress, actively carry out the development of high value-added gold products. Relying on leading backbone enterprises, new large-scale gold production bases will be built in areas with conditions to expand scale and increase production.
(V) Promote Deep Integration of Informatization and Industrialization
Accelerate the integration of "two industrializations", using the integration of information technology and industrialization as an important approach for upgrading the gold industry, encouraging enterprises to strengthen the construction of information technology teams, actively carrying out the construction of digital production equipment, intelligent production processes, enterprise management informationization, online environmental monitoring and control, and wireless sensor networks, giving full play to the role of information technology in promoting technological progress in enterprises, achieving lean optimization of mining and smelting process control, improving production efficiency and resource utilization, improving the production environment, and enhancing the safety level of mining production.
(VI) Enhance Scientific and Technological Innovation Capabilities
Focusing on the key issues and difficulties in the development of the gold industry, in the fields of mineral resource exploration, efficient utilization of low-grade and difficult-to-process resources, energy conservation and emission reduction, safe production, environmental protection, and deep processing, accelerate the establishment of a technological innovation system with enterprises as the main body, market orientation, and the integration of production, education, research, and application. Vigorously cultivate the application technology research and development and innovation capabilities of enterprises, innovate investment mechanisms, strengthen the construction of common technology research platforms, promote joint efforts among enterprises, scientific research institutions, and universities to tackle common frontier technologies, focus on breakthroughs in core and key technologies and common basic technologies, give full play to the supporting role of science and technology in industrial upgrading, and improve the core competitiveness of the industry.
(VII) Actively Develop the Gold Service Industry
Vigorously support gold enterprises with strong scientific and technological strength to extend from manufacturing to service-oriented manufacturing. Encourage gold enterprises to engage in technological research and development, industrial design, information consulting, and commercial services. Further develop the gold market, innovate gold investment and trading varieties, develop e-commerce for gold, and improve gold trading platforms and methods. Encourage the development of intermediary services such as gold industry testing and certification, energy efficiency certification, and the promotion of scientific and technological achievements.
(VIII) Implement the "Going Global" Strategy
While focusing on domestic resource exploration, gold enterprises should strengthen resource allocation globally, focusing on countries surrounding China, Africa, and Latin America, conducting important metallogenic belt metallogenic law research, resource potential evaluation, and overseas exploration and development through international cooperation, forming a number of overseas gold resource exploration and development bases.

V. Supporting Measures
(I) Strictly Manage Enterprise Qualifications
Enterprises engaged in gold mining, selection, and smelting should improve their professional level in production and operation management. The controlling shareholder and actual controller of newly built gold mines and smelting projects must have experience in mining and smelting production and operation. Enterprises must have the corresponding professional and technical personnel required for production. Professional and technical personnel and special trades personnel must undergo specialized skills training and hold certificates before taking up their posts, accounting for 70% or more of the company's management personnel. The registered capital of various limited liability companies engaged in gold mining shall not be less than RMB 2 million.
(II) Improve Industry Entry Scale
To improve the level of gold resource development and utilization, it is necessary to further improve the scale of enterprise production and operation. The minimum scale of gold mining, selection, and smelting enterprises is: existing open-pit mines 200 tons/day, newly built 300 tons/day; existing and newly built underground mines 100 tons/day; independent selection plants without supporting mining systems 200 tons/day, newly built 300 tons/day; independent cyanidation enterprises with a self-supply capacity of less than 50% 100 tons/day, newly built 200 tons/day; independent heap leaching without supporting mining systems 750 tons/day, newly built 1500 tons/day; independent gold smelters without supporting mining systems with an existing concentrate processing capacity of 100 tons/day, newly built 200 tons/day.
(III) Strengthen the Management of Gold Mining Approval Documents
Strictly implement relevant regulations such as the "Guiding Catalogue for Eliminating Backward Production Processes, Equipment and Products in Some Industrial Sectors", the "Guiding Catalogue for Foreign Investment Industries (2011 Revision)", and the "Regulations on the Management of Issuing Approval Documents for Gold Mining", strengthen the management of gold mining on the basis of the "Catalogue of Industrial Structure Adjustment (2011 Edition)", and for newly built mines, only one mining right is set up for one ore deposit, and it is developed by one legal entity. Different mining right holders are not allowed to vertically overlap mining in the same area. Strengthen the qualification review of applicants for gold mining, issue gold mining approval documents to those who meet the conditions, and the minimum validity period is 3 years, except for mines near closure. The competent gold industry departments of each province (autonomous region, municipality) should strengthen the dynamic inspection and supervision of existing enterprises that have already obtained gold mining approval documents, rectify and reorganize enterprises that do not meet the requirements, and otherwise will not handle the extension of gold mining approval procedures.
(IV) Strengthen Resource Development Management
In accordance with the national regional development strategy, comprehensively consider the gold resource endowment conditions, the needs of economic and social development, and the requirements of the main functional areas, scientifically divide the mining planning blocks. Areas with relatively concentrated gold resources, good resource endowment and development and utilization conditions, are designated as key mining areas. Key planning and coordination are arranged for gold resource exploration and development activities to accelerate infrastructure construction and achieve orderly exploration and development, large-scale mining and intensive utilization. Reasonably determine the safety distance around large mines to ensure normal development order.
(V) Increase Efforts in Environmental Protection
Strengthen environmental protection supervision of gold mining and smelting enterprises, strictly implement national and local pollutant discharge standards. Construction projects that have not been approved for environmental impact assessment are not allowed to start construction. Enterprises without pollution control facilities, whose facilities are not operating normally, exceed the standard discharge, or exceed the total control indicators of key pollutants, are ordered to stop production immediately and be given a time limit for remediation, and those that fail to complete the remediation tasks within the time limit will have their relevant licenses revoked according to law. Industry management should aim to promote ecological design and development, clean production processes, efficient resource utilization, and minimal environmental impact, urging enterprises to implement green and low-carbon development concepts throughout the industry's development through ecological protection, land reclamation, mine geological environment governance, smoke and dust detoxification, detoxification of cyanide wastewater, and tailings comprehensive utilization, build resource-saving and environmentally friendly mines, and achieve sustainable development of the gold industry.
(VI) Strengthen Safety Production Supervision
All levels of gold industry management departments and enterprises should further enhance their awareness and strengthen leadership. Addressing weak links and prominent problems in the safety production of the gold industry, strengthen the management of key parts and links such as mine roofs, waste rock piles, tailings ponds, explosive warehouses, sodium cyanide warehouses, well ventilation, goafs, and major equipment, and carry out hidden danger inspections and take effective measures to resolutely curb major and particularly serious accidents. At the same time, severely crack down on illegal production, and those who have not obtained safety production licenses or have not passed the "three simultaneous" acceptance of safety facilities will be immediately ordered to stop production for rectification, and those that still fail to meet the standards after rectification will be resolutely closed down according to law.
(VII) Improve the Standard System
Strengthen industry standardization work. Establish, revise, and improve technical and product standards according to the needs of accelerating structural adjustment and green industry development in the gold industry. Further improve the formulation of energy consumption, safety production, and clean production standards. Increase efforts to participate in international standardization work, achieve alignment between international and domestic standards, and two-way conversion.
(VIII) Strengthen Industry Coordination and Management
All levels of gold industry management departments should strengthen the supervision and implementation of industrial policies, plans, and standards for the gold industry, and promptly resolve major problems arising in industry development. Establish and improve the gold industry operation monitoring network and indicator system, and strengthen industry information statistics and information release. Actively play the role of associations in information exchange, scientific and technological innovation, standardization, and credit building, promptly reflect the problems and demands of enterprises in the industry, organize the promotion of advanced and applicable technologies, strengthen industry self-discipline, maintain market order, and improve the overall quality of the industry.

Ministry of Industry and Information Technology
November 19, 2012