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. Industry Status
(I) Achievements
After years of development, China's gold industry has formed a relatively complete industrial system encompassing geological exploration, mining, beneficiation, smelting, processing, and research, laying a solid industrial foundation for the growth and strength of the gold industry.
1. Steady growth in gold production. In 2011, China's total gold production reached 361 tons, including 302 tons from gold mines and 59 tons as a byproduct of non-ferrous metals. Compared with 2005, the average annual growth rate was 8.3%, ranking first in the world for five consecutive years. Meanwhile, China is also the world's largest processor of gold jewelry and other products, accounting for about 60% of global processing output.
2. Rapid growth in gold demand in China. In recent years, the function of gold in combating inflation and financial risks has become increasingly apparent. Many countries have increased their gold reserves, and public interest in holding physical gold has continued to grow, with calls for the inclusion of gold in international financial and monetary system reforms becoming increasingly louder. In 2011, gold investment and consumption in China showed strong growth, reaching 761 tons for jewelry, gold bars, gold coins, industrial gold, and other uses of gold, second only to India and ranking second in the world. In the next few years, the basic pattern of gold supply not meeting demand in China will likely continue.
3. Significant achievements in geological exploration. The state and enterprises have increased investment in gold geological exploration, achieving an increase in verified reserves greater than the production consumption of reserves for eight consecutive years. By 2010, China's verified gold reserves reached 6865 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 1211 in 2003 to about 700 at present. In 2011, the top 10 enterprises accounted for 51% of the industry's gold output, a 20 percentage point increase compared to 2005, indicating a significant increase in industry concentration. At the same time, in terms of product structure, deep-processed products used in electronics, aerospace, petrochemicals, automobiles, and other fields have begun to take shape.
5. Significant improvement in technology and equipment levels. Bio-oxidation, raw ore roasting, and comprehensive utilization of tailings resources have been industrialized, with some processes and indicators reaching internationally leading levels. The recovery rate of gold from low-grade and difficult-to-extract metal ores has increased from 30% to over 70%, and exploration levels have continuously improved, with new prospecting methods widely applied. High-efficiency and energy-saving equipment such as large-scale excavators, gas reverse circulation drilling rigs, and electric hydraulic mining drilling machines have been put into use.
6. Effective construction of green mines. Through technological progress, increased environmental protection investment, and the implementation of the mine geological environment restoration guarantee fund system, the discharge rate of "three wastes" and the mine ecological environment restoration rate in the gold industry have increased year by year, and large-scale 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, the top ten gold enterprises in China produced a total of 184 tons of gold, a significant gap compared to the 240 tons produced annually by Barrick Gold Corporation of Canada. Among the more than 700 gold mining enterprises in China, those with an annual output of less than 10,000 taels account for about 70%, and their combined output accounts for only 15% of the total. Simultaneously, the product structure is single, and some high-end and sophisticated deep-processed products still need to be imported. China's gold deep processing technology, equipment level, product quality, and brand building still have a large gap compared with developed countries.
2. Low resource utilization rate. Due to the small scale and low technical level of enterprises, China currently consumes an average of 1.7 tons of reserves to produce 1 ton of gold, with large mines averaging around 1.5 tons and small mines as high as 2 tons or more, resulting in serious resource waste.
3. Heavy tasks in ecological construction and environmental protection. Due to the high proportion of small gold enterprises in China, insufficient environmental protection investment, wastewater pollution, vegetation damage, geological disasters, and tailings dam collapses frequently occur.
4. Low level of resource security. The growth rate of gold production does not match the growth rate of verified gold reserves, and the service life of exploitable reserves is short. For many years, China's basic gold reserves have remained around 1900 tons, with a static service life of only 4 years, a significant gap compared to other major gold-producing countries, such as South Africa with 6000 tons and a static service life of 12 years; Russia and Australia both have around 5000 tons, with a static service life of about 15 years.
5. The safety production situation remains severe. First, the safety foundation of gold mines is weak, with many old and outdated equipment and low equipment levels, resulting in a poor ability to withstand accident risks; second, some illegal mines that were shut down have been reactivated, with rampant illegal mining; third, there is a lot of illegal mining around large mines, some even stealing the security pillars and tailings of mines, posing great safety risks.

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 transformation from large to strong. China's gold industry faces rare development opportunities, but also some difficulties.
(I) The financial attribute of gold is further highlighted, and its strategic position is consolidated. Since the outbreak of the 2008 international financial crisis and the current European debt crisis, countries around the world have re-recognized the important role of gold that no credit currency can replace. Currently, the deep-seated impact of the international financial crisis is spreading continuously, global economic recovery is hampered, uncertainties and instabilities are increasing, and countries around the world are vying to increase their gold reserves from the perspective of national economic strategy to safeguard their national financial security. In 2010, central banks around the world have switched from 20 consecutive years of net gold sales to net purchases.
(II) Continued growth in gold demand, huge development space for the industry. With the increasing risk aversion function and the characteristics of realization, preservation, and appreciation of gold, consumption demand is strong, and it is estimated that China's gold consumption will exceed 1000 tons by 2015, but the estimated gold production will only reach about 450 tons, further widening the supply gap.
(III) Relatively poor domestic resource endowment, high difficulty in increasing gold production. Constrained by domestic gold reserves and the problems of scattered resources, low grades, difficulties in processing, high costs, low exploration of deep resources and surrounding resources, small enterprise scale, and high production costs commonly found in China's gold resources, it is difficult to significantly increase domestic production.
(IV) Restricted by various factors, the difficulty of enterprise mergers and acquisitions is high. Affected by factors such as interest-driven behavior and local protectionism, mine resource integration and enterprise restructuring are slow, and the progress of rectifying and closing down small gold mines with low resource utilization rates is slow.

III. Overall Approach
(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 improve national financial security and effective supply. The main task is to accelerate the transformation of the gold industry's development model, supported by technological progress, focusing on resource exploration, mergers and acquisitions, and environmental protection. We will accelerate the improvement of industrial policies for the gold industry, strengthen industry management, enhance regulatory measures, comprehensively adjust and optimize the industrial structure, actively engage in international cooperation, further improve resource security capabilities, enhance the core competitiveness and sustainable development capabilities of the gold industry, strive to build a resource-saving and environmentally friendly industry, and accelerate the transformation of China's gold industry from large to strong.
(II) Basic Principles
1. Adhere to resource priority. Increase investment in gold geological resource exploration, adopt advanced exploration technologies, deepen exploration in the eastern and central regions with potential mines, and strengthen resource exploration in western regions. Concentrate efforts to discover a number of large and extra-large deposits.
2. Adhere to structural adjustment. Focus on adjusting and optimizing the 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. Take the construction of a resource-saving and environmentally friendly industry as the focus of 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 science and technology in the development of the gold industry, and strive to break through the efficient utilization of low-grade and difficult-to-treat resources and high value-added deep-processing technologies and deep-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 informatization and industrialization. Take the integration of informatization and industrialization as an important measure for industrial structure upgrading, give full play to the role of informatization in digital mines, technological progress, and safe production, and improve the level of intelligent production, process automation, and management information.
(III) Main Objectives
During the 12th Five-Year Plan period, the adjustment of the gold industry structure and the upgrading of industrial transformation achieved significant progress, with the industrial added value growing by an average annual rate of over 12%, and the scale and quality of industrial development further improved.
1. Breakthrough in resource exploration. During the 12th Five-Year Plan period, by strengthening resource exploration, the newly added gold reserves will reach 4,000-5,000 tons, deducting the consumption of approximately 3,000 tons of gold mining, and by 2015, the total national gold reserves will reach 8,000-9,000 tons, an increase of more than 20% compared to the 11th Five-Year Plan period.
2. Continued 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%, and by 2015, gold production will reach 420 tons, striving to achieve 450 tons. During the 12th Five-Year Plan period, 1,900-2,100 tons of gold will be produced, an increase of more than 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 1 gold enterprise group company of 50 tons, 2 of 40 tons, 1 of 30 tons, 1 of 20 tons, and 2 of 10 tons. By 2015, the output of the top ten gold group companies 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 level of low-grade and difficult-to-treat gold mine resources. By the end of the 12th Five-Year Plan period, the overall resource utilization rate of 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 restoration guarantee fund 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. Main Tasks
(I) Strengthen Gold Mine Geological Exploration
With national public interest geological work as a guide, guide and support various enterprises to increase investment in gold geological exploration, forming a multi-channel investment mechanism, and actively guiding more funds into the field of gold resource exploration. According to the progress of the exploration work, in areas with greater resource potential and the conditions for large-scale exploration, select a batch of integrated exploration areas in a timely manner, strive to achieve rapid breakthroughs, significantly increase resource reserves, and form a batch of new resource bases.
(II) Promote Resource Conservation and Energy Conservation and Emission Reduction
Gold production enterprises should place resource conservation, energy conservation and emission reduction, and the development of a circular economy in a prominent position. The recovery rate of underground mining of gold mines should reach more than 80%, and the impoverishment rate should not exceed 15%. The recovery rate of open-pit mines should reach more than 85%, and the impoverishment 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 smelting enterprises, the comprehensive utilization of tailings, the comprehensive utilization of smelting slag, and the utilization of smelting waste heat. The comprehensive recovery rate of easily treated gold mines and low-grade and difficult-to-treat gold mine 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
Under government guidance, with enterprises as the main body, and market-oriented operations, adhere to comprehensive planning, and on the premise of taking into account the interests of the central government, local governments, and enterprises, support large backbone enterprises to use capital as a link to carry out cross-regional and cross-ownership enterprise mergers and acquisitions and resource integration. Mining rights should be preferentially given to large gold backbone enterprises, and mergers and acquisitions between more than two enterprises within existing mining areas should 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, resolutely eliminate mercury amalgamation gold extraction processes, small cyanide pool leaching processes, native 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 develop high value-added gold products. Relying on leading backbone enterprises, build new large-scale gold production bases in areas with conditions, expand scale, and increase production.
(V) Promote Deep Integration of Informatization and Industrialization
Accelerate the integration of "Informatization and Industrialization." Make the integration of informatization and industrialization a key driver for upgrading the gold industry. Encourage enterprises to strengthen their information technology teams and actively develop digital production equipment, intelligent production processes, enterprise information management, online environmental monitoring and control, and wireless sensor networks. Fully utilize the role of informatization in promoting technological advancement 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 of mining production.
(VI) Enhance Scientific and Technological Innovation Capabilities
Focusing on the key priorities and challenges in the development of the gold industry, accelerate the establishment of a technological innovation system in areas such as mineral resource exploration, efficient utilization of low-grade and difficult-to-smelt resources, energy conservation and emission reduction, safe production, environmental protection, and deep processing. This system should be enterprise-led, market-oriented, and integrate production, academia, research, and application. Vigorously cultivate the applied technology research and development and innovation capabilities of enterprises, innovate investment mechanisms, strengthen the construction of common technology research platforms, and promote joint efforts among enterprises, research institutions, and universities to tackle cutting-edge and common technological challenges. Focus on breaking through core and key technologies and common fundamental technologies to fully leverage the role of technology in supporting industrial upgrading and enhancing the industry's core competitiveness.
(VII) Actively Develop the Gold Service Industry
Vigorously support gold enterprises with strong technological capabilities in extending 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 products, develop gold e-commerce, and improve gold trading platforms and methods. Encourage the development of intermediary services such as gold industry testing and certification, energy-saving certification, and technological achievement promotion.
(VIII) Implement a "Going Out" Strategy
While focusing on domestic resource exploration, gold enterprises should strengthen resource allocation globally, focusing on countries surrounding China, Africa, and Latin America. Through international cooperation, conduct research on the metallogenic laws of important metallogenic belts, resource potential assessment, and overseas exploration and development to form a number of overseas gold resource exploration and development bases.

V. Safeguarding Measures
(I) Strict Enterprise Qualification Management
Enterprises engaged in gold mining, selection, and smelting should improve their professional level in production and operation management. The controlling shareholders and actual controllers 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 to meet their production needs. Professional and technical personnel and personnel in special trades must undergo specialized skills training and be certified before taking up their posts, and account for 70% (inclusive) 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) Increase Industry Entry Scale
To improve the level of gold resource development and utilization, it is necessary to further increase the scale of enterprise production and operation. The minimum scale of gold mining, selection, and smelting enterprises is: open-pit mines (existing 200 tons/day, new 300 tons/day), underground mines (existing and new 100 tons/day); independent selection plants without supporting mining systems (existing 200 tons/day, new 300 tons/day); independent cyanide enterprises with less than 50% self-supplied raw materials (existing 100 tons/day, new 200 tons/day); independent heap leaching without supporting mining systems (existing 750 tons/day, new 1500 tons/day); independent gold smelters without supporting mining systems (existing concentrate processing capacity of 100 tons/day, new 200 tons/day).
(III) Strengthen the Management of Gold Mining Approval Documents
Strictly implement relevant regulations such as the "Guiding Catalog of Eliminating Backward Production Processes, Equipment and Products in Some Industrial Sectors," the "Guiding Catalog for Foreign Investment Industries (2011 Revision)," and the "Regulations on the Management of Approval Documents for Gold Mining." Based on the "Catalog of Industrial Structure Adjustment (2011 Edition)," strengthen the management of gold mining. For new mines, one mining right is set up for one ore deposit, and it is developed by one legal entity. Different mining right holders shall not carry out vertically overlapping mining in the same area. Strengthen the qualification examination of applicants for gold mining, issue gold mining approval documents to those who meet the requirements, and the minimum validity period is 3 years, except for mines nearing closure. The competent authorities of the gold industry in each province (autonomous region, municipality) should strengthen the dynamic inspection and supervision of existing enterprises that have obtained gold mining approval documents, rectify enterprises that do not meet the requirements, and will not handle the renewal of gold mining approval documents otherwise.
(IV) Strengthen Resource Development Management
In accordance with the national regional development strategy, considering gold resource endowment conditions, socio-economic development needs, and the requirements of the main functional areas, scientifically divide the mining planning blocks. Areas with relatively concentrated gold resources and good resource endowment and development and utilization conditions should be designated as key mining areas. Key planning and coordination of gold resource exploration and development activities should be carried out, and infrastructure construction should be accelerated to 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 Environmental Protection Efforts
Strengthen environmental protection supervision of gold mining and smelting enterprises and strictly implement national and local pollutant discharge standards. Construction projects that have not been approved for environmental impact assessment shall not be started; enterprises without pollution control facilities, facilities operating abnormally, exceeding standards, or exceeding the total control index of key pollutants shall be ordered to stop production immediately, be given a time limit for treatment, and those that fail to complete the treatment tasks within the time limit shall have their relevant licenses revoked in accordance with the law. Industry management should aim at promoting ecological design and development, clean production processes, efficient resource utilization, and minimal environmental impact. Supervise enterprises to achieve green and low-carbon development through ecological protection, land reclamation, mine geological environment management, smoke dust detoxification, cyanide wastewater detoxification, and tailings comprehensive utilization, so as to implement the concept of green and low-carbon development throughout the industry's development process, 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, strengthen leadership, address the 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, explosives warehouses, sodium cyanide warehouses, well ventilation, goaf, and major equipment, focus on hidden danger investigation, adopt effective measures, and resolutely curb the occurrence of major and particularly serious accidents. At the same time, crack down on illegal and unlawful production activities. Those who have not obtained a safety production license or have not passed the "three simultaneous" acceptance of safety facilities shall be immediately ordered to suspend production for rectification, and those that still fail to meet the standards after rectification shall be resolutely closed down in accordance with the law.
(VII) Improve the Standard System
Strengthen industry standardization work. Based on the need for the gold industry to accelerate structural adjustment and develop green industries, establish, revise, and improve technical and product standards. Further improve the formulation of energy consumption, safety production, and clean production standards. Increase efforts to participate in international standardization work, achieving alignment and two-way conversion of international and domestic standards.
(VIII) Strengthen Industry Coordination Management
All levels of gold industry management departments should strengthen the supervision and implementation of industrial policies, plans, and standards of the gold industry, and promptly resolve major problems arising in the development of the industry. Establish and improve the gold industry operation monitoring network and index system, strengthen industry information statistics and information release. Actively leverage the role of associations in information exchange, technological innovation, standardization, and integrity 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