MIIT: Strengthen green and efficient utilization of resources, and promote the recycling of retired PV modules

Recently, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) and eight other departments issued the Notice on Issuing the Implementation Plan for High-Quality Development of the Gold Industry (2025-2027). The Notice specifies advancements in high-end new material applications, including: semiconductor-grade ultra-pure low-carbon gold (silver) targets and evaporation materials, solar PV silver pastes, gold pastes for core components like low-temperature co-fired ceramics and chip-type multilayer ceramic capacitors, biomedical gold (silver) materials, electrical contact gold (silver) and alloy materials, and environmentally friendly gold-based catalysts, focusing on quality improvement and application promotion.

The Notice further emphasizes strengthening green and efficient resource utilization. Adhering to the principles of "source reduction, process control, end-of-pipe treatment, and resource recycling," it promotes green exploration, mining, and production, advocates clean energy substitution, and establishes green mines and factories. The plan supports collaborative cyanide residue disposal and full-component utilization, encourages enterprises to accelerate technological transformation demonstrations in cyanide gold leaching process optimization, cyanide residue harmless filling/backfilling, and cyanide-containing wastewater recycling. It also backs comprehensive utilization of low-grade, refractory, and associated resources to enhance recovery rates of gold, silver, and associated valuable elements like copper, lead, and zinc. Secondary resource development from gold tailings ponds is encouraged, utilizing tailings for valuable metal recovery and building material preparation. The recycling of gold and silver from waste electrical and electronic equipment, decommissioned PV modules, spent gold-silver catalysts, and discarded gold-silver products is advanced.

Original Text:

Notice from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and Eight Other Departments on Issuing the Implementation Plan for High-Quality Development of the Gold Industry

(2025-2027)

MIIT Lian Yuan [2025] No. 86

To the industrial and information technology, development and reform, natural resources, commerce, emergency management, state-owned assets supervision and administration, and market regulation authorities of all provinces, autonomous regions, municipalities directly under the Central Government, cities with independent planning status, and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps; to the Guangdong Sub-administration of the General Administration of Customs and all customs offices under its jurisdiction; and to all provincial bureaus of the National Mine Safety Administration:

We hereby issue the Implementation Plan for High-Quality Development of the Gold Industry (2025-2027) for your implementation in light of actual conditions.

Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT)

National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC)

Ministry of Natural Resources

Ministry of Commerce

Ministry of Emergency Management

State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council

General Administration of Customs

State Administration for Market Regulation

National Mine Safety Administration

March 26, 2025

Implementation Plan for High-Quality Development of the Gold Industry (2025-2027)

Gold, as a strategic mineral resource with both commodity and monetary attributes, holds significant importance for safeguarding national industrial and financial security. China is the world's largest producer and consumer of gold. In recent years, there have been continuous advancements in deep mining and efficient beneficiation and smelting technologies, effectively enhancing industrial concentration and continuously expanding the scale of the industry. However, at the same time, issues such as insufficient resource security capabilities and the inability of key core technologies and equipment to meet demand have become prominent. To promote the high-quality development of the gold industry, this implementation plan has been formulated. This implementation plan focuses on gold while also considering silver, with an implementation period from 2025 to 2027.

I. Overall Requirements

Guided by Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, this plan thoroughly implements the spirit of the 20th CPC National Congress and the second and third plenary sessions of the 20th CPC Central Committee, comprehensively implements the deployment of the National Conference on Promoting New-Type Industrialization, and is based on the new development stage. It fully, accurately, and comprehensively implements the new development philosophy, accelerates the construction of a new development pattern, coordinates high-quality development with high-level security, adheres to the bottom lines of industrial security and financial security, strengthens protective development, high-quality utilization, and standardized management. Based on resource security, with technological innovation as the fundamental driving force and standard improvement as the guide, it promotes the development of the industry towards high-end, intelligent, green, and secure directions, accelerates the formation of new quality productive forces, and drives the high-quality development of the gold industry.

By 2027, resource security capabilities and the innovation level of the industry chain will be significantly improved. Gold resource reserves will increase by 5% to 10%, and gold and silver production will increase by over 5%. Mines with a daily ore processing capacity of over 500 mt will account for over 70% of the national total.

The comprehensive utilization rate of gold solid waste will increase to over 35%. A batch of key common technologies and equipment will be broken through, and mining, beneficiation, and smelting technologies and equipment such as mining at depths below 2000 meters and cyanide-free gold extraction will be applied. The supply capacity of high-end new materials for gold and silver used in fields such as next-generation electronic information, aerospace, high-end medical devices, and new energy will be significantly enhanced. A batch of high-quality enterprises will be cultivated and formed, the standard system will be continuously improved, and the industrial structure will be further optimized.

Looking ahead to 2035, a high-quality development pattern will be fully formed. The comprehensive resource security capabilities will be significantly enhanced, and a globally leading technological and industrial system will be established.

II. Key Tasks

(1) Promote the increase in domestic resource reserves and production. Solidly advance the new round of strategic actions for breakthroughs in mineral exploration, intensify geological exploration and mineral prospecting efforts, strengthen the exploration of gold resources in key western regions, increase new resource reserves, and promote mineral exploration in the deep and peripheral areas of existing large and medium-sized mines to reasonably extend their service lives. Accelerate the protective development of key gold and silver mines, strengthen the guarantee of production factors such as land for gold and silver mine development and tailings ponds under the premise of ensuring ecological environmental protection and production safety, and promote the expansion of production capacity of mines in operation, the commissioning of mines under construction, and the construction of new mines. ((Responsible parties: Ministry of Natural Resources, National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Ministry of Ecology and Environment, and National Mine Safety Administration, based on their respective responsibilities)

Column 1: Key Domestic Gold Resource Development Directions

Key resource exploration areas: Eastern Kunlun in Qinghai, southern Gannan in Gansu, southern Ailao Mountain in Yunnan, western Tianshan in Xinjiang, gold resource areas in Xuefeng Mountain in Hunan, Qulong-Jiama polymetallic resource areas in Tibet, polymetallic resource areas in northeastern Anhui, and copper-gold polymetallic resource areas in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, among others.

Key resource development areas: Gold resource areas in Laizhou-Zhaoyuan in Shandong, Zhenfeng-Pu'an in Guizhou, Pingjiang-Liling in Hunan, northern Hebei-western Liaoning, southern Jilin-eastern Liaoning, etc.; gold-silver polymetallic resource areas in Xiaoqinling-Xionger Mountain in Henan and Shaanxi; and the Jinshan gold-copper polymetallic resource area in Longyan, Fujian, among others.

Key mines for development: Xincheng, Sanshandao, Jiaojia, Linglong, Haiyu, Penglai, Shaling, Xiling, Xiadian, Dayingezhuang, Lingnan-Fushan in Shandong; Laowan in Henan; Zaozigou, Daqiao, Liba-Jinshan, and Yidinan in Gansu; Woxi and Wangu in Hunan; Jinshan in Jiangxi; Wulashan-Hadmen, Jinchanggouliang, Bilihe, and Haoyaoerhudong in Inner Mongolia; Jinshan and Saiwayalton in Xinjiang; Jiama, Duolong, Bangpu, and Xiongcun in Tibet; Dachaidan in Qinghai; Beiya in Yunnan; Yixingzhai in Shanxi; Shuiyindong and Nibao in Guizhou; and Dadonggou in Liaoning, among others.

(II) Strengthen the research on key technologies and equipment. Based on China's resource endowment characteristics of low-grade and refractory gold ores, we will focus on issues such as shaft construction, hoisting, water hazards, and rock bursts during the deep mining process in mines. We will strengthen collaboration among industry, academia, research institutions, and users to conduct research on key common technologies for deep and ultra-deep well exploration and mining, as well as green and efficient smelting. We will encourage gold enterprises and equipment manufacturing enterprises to form innovation consortia to jointly tackle key equipment challenges such as ultra-deep mining, large-scale rock drilling, and high-precision ground pressure monitoring. We will promote customized equipment development for small and medium-sized enterprises and guide them in equipment upgrades and technological transformations. (Responsible parties: National Development and Reform Commission, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Ministry of Natural Resources, and National Mine Safety Administration, based on their respective responsibilities)

Column 2: Key Directions for Research on Key Technologies and Equipment

Key technologies: exploration technologies such as deep 3D induced polarization detection, deep high-precision magnetic surveys, ultra-deep drilling, offshore exploration, deep-penetrating geochemical surveys, and AI-based geological prospecting predictions; mining technologies such as deep ground pressure monitoring and control, deep well refrigeration and temperature reduction, heat hazard control, deep well filling, intelligent unmanned mining, and waste-free and tailings-free mining; and beneficiation and smelting technologies such as pre-concentration of low-grade gold ores, cyanide-free gold extraction, efficient recovery of low-grade associated gold, resourceful utilization of high-silicon tailings, and environmental risk control during the cyanide tailings filling (backfilling) process.

Key equipment: exploration equipment such as airborne gravity gradiometers, high-performance seismic exploration instruments for mining, ultra-deep well exploration drilling rigs, and modular drilling rigs; mining equipment such as ground pressure monitoring systems, underground mining drones, low-cost deep well cooling systems, intelligent ventilation systems, ultra-deep well hoisting systems, and large-scale rock drilling jumbos; beneficiation and smelting equipment such as large-scale crushing and grinding machines, pressure oxidation systems, short-wave infrared mineral analyzers, and high-precision sensors; as well as equipment for the green and efficient separation, refining, and purification of secondary resources.

(3) Enhance the supply of high-end products. Focusing on the specific application needs of new-generation electronic information, aerospace, high-end medical devices, new energy, and other fields, strengthen collaborative innovation between upstream and downstream industries, accelerate breakthroughs in technologies such as ultra-high purity and low-carbon raw material preparation, high-precision processing and forming, and ultra-pure micro-nano powder preparation, to form a batch of "shelf products" of high-end new materials. Improve the construction of innovation platforms and enhance the high-quality utilization of gold and silver. Encourage gold and silver new material enterprises to collaborate with downstream users to improve the stability and consistency of high-end new material product quality, conduct application evaluations, and enhance effective supply capabilities. (Responsible departments: Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC))

Column 3 Key Directions for Research and Application of High-End New Materials

Research on high-end new materials: high-precision gold and gold alloy solders, low-temperature pressureless silver (gold) nano solder pastes, gold (silver) bonding wires with high service reliability, low (or no) cyanide gold electroplating solutions, gold (silver) nano powders, and other materials.

Application of high-end new materials: quality improvement and promotion of high-purity and low-carbon gold (silver) targets and evaporation materials for semiconductors, silver pastes for solar PV modules, gold pastes for core components such as low-temperature co-fired ceramics and chip-type multilayer ceramic capacitors, biomedical gold (silver) materials, electrical contact gold (silver) and alloy materials, environmentally friendly gold-based catalysts, and other materials.

(4) Strengthen the green and efficient utilization of resources. In accordance with the principles of "source reduction, process control, end-of-pipe treatment, and resource utilization," promote green exploration, mining, and production, advance the substitution of clean energy, and establish a number of green mines and green factories. Promote the collaborative disposal and full-component utilization of cyanide residues, support enterprises in accelerating the demonstration of technological transformations such as cyanide leaching process improvements, cyanide residue harmless filling (or backfilling), and cyanide-containing wastewater recycling. Support the comprehensive utilization of low-grade, refractory, and co-associated resources to improve the recovery rates of gold, silver, and associated valuable elements such as copper, lead, and zinc. Encourage the development of secondary resources from gold tailings ponds, utilizing tailings to recover valuable metals and prepare building materials. Promote the recycling of gold and silver from discarded electrical and electronic equipment, retired PV modules, gold and silver-containing waste catalysts, and waste gold and silver products. Establish and improve the gold recycling ledger and transaction reporting system, encouraging gold refining enterprises to engage in entrusted recycling business with recycling companies, and perfecting the gold recycling market system. Support industry organizations in researching and formulating implementation standards and guidelines for the recovery of gold and other precious metals, standardizing the recycling behavior of individuals and enterprises. (National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Ministry of Natural Resources, Ministry of Ecology and Environment, Ministry of Commerce, State Administration for Market Regulation are responsible according to their respective duties)

(V) Guide Enterprises to Strengthen, Optimize, and Expand. Support the integration of key gold mining areas in Shandong, Gansu, Henan, Liaoning, Jilin, and Guizhou, guiding the construction of "regional mines" from multiple, small, and scattered ore bodies, and carrying out "decentralized mining and centralized smelting" based on local conditions. Legally phase out backward and inefficient capacity and processes, and enhance the level of intensive development. Encourage newly built independent beneficiation plants, heap leaching sites, and gold concentrate smelters to have daily processing capacities of no less than 500 mt, 2,000 mt, and 200 mt, respectively, to increase the production scale of enterprises. Encourage gold enterprises to integrate through capital ties, strengthen policy guidance on environmental protection and safety, promote the concentration of resources towards leading enterprises, and foster globally competitive corporate groups. Encourage gold and silver new material enterprises to focus on niche markets, deepen professional expertise, and cultivate specialized, refined, unique, and innovative "little giants" and single-item champion enterprises, promoting the integrated development of large, medium, and small enterprises. (Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Ministry of Natural Resources, Ministry of Ecology and Environment, State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council are responsible according to their respective duties)

(VI) Enhance Safety Production Levels. Deepen the three-year fundamental safety production campaign, strengthen the control of safety risks at the source, and strictly manage the risk management of critical links such as deep and ultra-deep well mining, tailings ponds, mined-out areas, and smelting. Promote enterprises to strictly implement their primary responsibility for safety production, improve the quality of risk and hazard identification and rectification, and establish and improve the enterprise's standardized safety production management system. Urge and guide mining enterprises to intensify the investigation and treatment of hidden disaster-causing factors, taking practical and effective measures to control safety risks. Intensify the dynamic clearance of major accident hazards, promoting enterprises to establish a routine mechanism for self-inspection and self-correction of major accident hazards, and improve the closed-loop rectification and accountability mechanisms. Focus on continuously enhancing "human defense, technical defense, engineering defense, and management defense" measures, improving the intrinsic safety levels of enterprises and the safety awareness and skill levels of employees, and strengthening the formulation and drills of emergency plans. (Ministry of Emergency Management, National Mine Safety Administration are responsible according to their respective duties)

(VII) Accelerate Digital Transformation and Upgrading. Support gold enterprises in applying digital twin, artificial intelligence, cloud computing, blockchain, and other new-generation information technologies, conducting collaborative planning and design for geological survey and mining, establishing geological resource databases and 3D models, promoting autonomous operation of underground mining equipment, production auxiliary systems, and fixed facilities, and implementing intelligent upgrades such as microseismic monitoring of rock masses, early warning of ground stress, safety production systems, digital and intelligent perception and decision-making for beneficiation and smelting, and remote sensing monitoring of tailings ponds, to drive digital transformation. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Natural Resources, the Ministry of Emergency Management, the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council, and the National Mine Safety Administration shall be responsible according to their respective responsibilities.)

(8) Strengthen the guiding role of standards. Focus on formulating standards in areas such as deep-well mining, green and low-carbon practices, digital empowerment, and new materials. Accelerate the conversion of scientific and technological achievements into standards, including green mining, low (or non-) cyanide gold extraction, comprehensive utilization of gold scrap and residue, and gold nanocatalysts. Strengthen the promotion and implementation effect assessment of standards, and lead the optimization and upgrading of the gold industry through standard improvement. Enhance the coordination between standards for new materials in gold and silver and the design and application specifications in downstream fields. Promote the conversion of China's advantageous and characteristic standards in the gold industry into international standards, and accelerate the bidirectional conversion and mutual recognition of gold standards. Actively track the development trends of international rules in environmental, social, and governance (ESG) aspects, as well as responsible supply chain audits, explore the establishment of a gold supply chain audit standard system, and research and formulate guidelines for the responsible development of the gold industry. Strengthen the systematic integration and fusion application of quality infrastructure, promote the construction of a national metrological testing center in the gold field, and provide forward-looking metrological testing services covering the entire traceability chain, entire industry chain, and entire life cycle for the gold industry. (The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Commerce, the State Administration for Market Regulation, and the National Mine Safety Administration shall be responsible according to their respective responsibilities.)

Special Column 4 Key Directions for Standard Formulation

National Standards: Regenerated gold raw materials, gold-carbon catalysts, etc.

Industry Standards: Green factory evaluation requirements for the gold refining industry, green factory evaluation requirements for the gold beneficiation and smelting industry, water-saving enterprises in the gold beneficiation and smelting industry, and other green and low-carbon standards; general technical requirements for digital simulation in the gold industry, general technical requirements for fire assay detection automation systems, technical requirements for intelligent factories in gold refining, and other standards for digital and intelligent transformation.

Group Standards: Technical specifications for grouting and sealing of high-pressure fracture water inflow in gold mine shafts, technical specifications for prevention and control of rock bursts in deep gold mines, technical requirements for the durability of support materials in gold mine tunnels, technical requirements for the excavation process of super-large-diameter shafts at depths below 1,000 meters in gold mines, technical specifications for ventilation and cooling in deep gold mines, and other deep-well mining standards; guidelines for responsible gold disclosure and other social responsibility standards.

(9) Deepen overseas investment cooperation. Encourage enterprises to jointly build the "Belt and Road" with high quality, leverage their advantages in gold technology, equipment, standards, and services, strengthen international mutually beneficial cooperation in accordance with market principles, integrate into the global gold industry chain and supply chain, and enhance their transnational operational capabilities and levels. Encourage enterprises to sign long-term supply cooperation agreements with foreign miners and expand import sources of primary mineral products such as gold ore sands. Guide enterprises to actively fulfill their social responsibilities, carry out public welfare activities in the countries where they invest, support environmental protection and sustainable development, establish mutually trusting and beneficial community relationships, and promote win-win cooperation. (Responsible departments of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), Ministry of Commerce, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Ministry of Natural Resources, and General Administration of Customs shall undertake their respective responsibilities according to their duties.)

III. Safeguard Measures

(1) Strengthen organizational leadership. Relevant departments of the State Council shall, in accordance with their respective responsibilities, strengthen the coordination and collaboration between fiscal, financial, investment, import and export policies, and industrial policies, and improve supporting measures. Key provinces (autonomous regions) shall earnestly fulfill their responsibilities, integrate the main objectives and key tasks outlined in this plan into relevant local industrial plans and lists of major projects based on local realities, clarify responsible entities and progress requirements, and formulate supporting policies and measures for resource development, technological innovation, and industrial integration according to local conditions. (Responsible departments shall undertake their respective responsibilities according to their duties.)

(2) Enhance policy support. Utilize existing funding channels to support the development of key technologies in the gold and silver industry chains. For nature reserves with significant gold resource potential, conduct a new round of optimization, adjustment, and assessment, explore policies for three-dimensional and stratified management of nature reserves, and achieve parallel ecological protection and rational resource development. Leverage the role of the national industry-finance cooperation platform to encourage banks and other financial institutions to provide financing support for gold mining projects in accordance with market-oriented and legal principles. (Responsible departments shall undertake their respective responsibilities according to their duties.)

(3) Foster a favorable development environment. Leverage the role of relevant industry organizations as bridges and links, establish a self-regulation mechanism for the gold industry, research and formulate industry self-regulation conventions, strengthen industry operation monitoring, and guide enterprises to operate in a standardized manner. Closely track changes in gold prices, industry trends, and the development of new technologies and products, guiding enterprises to make rational investments and scientific decisions. Improve public services such as information statistics, supply and demand matching, metrological testing, standard development, and the transformation of scientific and technological achievements to serve enterprise development and government decision-making. (Responsible departments shall undertake their respective responsibilities according to their duties.)