The first is a unified understanding of the role of establishing geological exploration funds.
The Decision of the State Council on Strengthening Geological Work (hereinafter referred to as the Decision) defines the tasks of commercial geological exploration, such as "highlighting energy mineral exploration", "strengthening non-energy important mineral exploration" and "doing well mine geological work". The decision also made it clear: "improve the mechanism of commercial mineral exploration", "establish the dominant position of enterprises in commercial mineral resources exploration" and "the government will no longer invest in commercial geological exploration projects that enterprises can invest in".
At the same time, the "Decision" proposes: "Establish a virtuous cycle mechanism for investment in mineral resources exploration", "increase financial investment in mineral resources exploration, and pay attention to giving play to the guiding role of social funds. The state has established a geological exploration fund (working capital), which is mainly used for the preliminary exploration of key minerals and key metallogenic belts. "
The "Decision" clarifies the long-term goal of the reform of the geological work system and mechanism, and points out the transitional measures facing the reality. Establishing geological exploration fund is one of the important transitional measures. The establishment of geological exploration fund is of great significance for the early exploration of important mineral resources that the country bears investment risks during the transition period of geological work system and mechanism, which has both important prospecting significance and far-reaching mechanism significance. From the perspective of deepening reform, what is more important is the significance of the mechanism. Its main function is to give full play to the guiding role of social funds and establish a virtuous circle mechanism of mineral resources exploration investment.
Two, seriously study the difficulties of establishing geological exploration fund.
The establishment of geological prospecting fund in the period of reform and transformation should not only adhere to the direction of reform, but also face the social reality. We should not only pay attention to the imperfect market system, the imperfect legal system of mining management, the irregular market system of mining rights, the underdeveloped market economy in China, and the just-started commercial exploration of mineral resources. It is also necessary to prevent the problems caused by the lack of the market itself, that is, market failure. Too many administrative measures and too many national arrangements may lead to a return to the old system; Similarly, if the problem of market failure is not overcome, it will cause new chaos; In addition, how to follow both geological and economic laws, and how to combine them properly and timely, is also a difficult problem to be studied and solved.
The geological prospecting cycle is long, and it is necessary to arrange geological prospecting work in12 five-year plans in advance on the basis of predicting the market demand in 5 ~ 10 or a little longer, which has the characteristics of futures; Geological exploration is risky. Under the current scientific and technological conditions, the prospecting rate (the success rate of prospecting projects) in the world is less than 10%. If you can't find the mine, you have to take risks. If you find a mine, you will often get high returns and have the characteristics of a game. In addition, geological prospecting should not only follow the laws of geological work, but also be a dynamic process. Few projects fully meet the design expectations. It is frequent to increase or decrease investment or even change technical methods. The input-output ratio can only show regularity in a long period (such as a prospecting cycle) and a large space (such as a region or a metallogenic belt), which is different from other production activities. All these should be fully considered in the design of the operational mechanism of geological prospecting funds in order to achieve the expected purpose.
Third, carefully design the operational mechanism of geological prospecting funds.
1. Operation and management of geological exploration fund
Geological exploration fund is the product of the transition period of reform, and it is the bridge between public welfare geological exploration and commercial mineral resources exploration, and its role determines that its management is dynamic; Its difficulty determines that its perfection cannot be achieved in one step, but should be operated in two stages, and gradually improved with the deepening of reform.
In the first stage, the government led the implementation of enterprise management. Under the leadership of the government, it is managed by public institutions. At the beginning of its establishment, the geological prospecting fund was mainly funded by the government, and the direction of fund use reflected the will of the government and the trend of macro-control. The government should not only solve the problems caused by the immature development of market economy and incomplete relevant laws and regulations, but also prevent the problems brought by the market itself, that is, market failure. Mineral resources exploration investment is venture capital, and the establishment of geological exploration fund by the state is essentially the establishment of national venture capital guidance fund, that is, "parent fund", which attracts all kinds of social funds to carry out mineral resources exploration venture investment through government demonstration guidance fund. This guiding role cannot be realized by the market itself; In addition, the effectiveness of prospecting can only be revealed after 3-5 years (a general prospecting cycle), and the fund can only be exchanged after the profit (transfer of mining rights after finding the mine) and loss (cancellation of the fund after finding the mine) in this cycle. Government investment is the main contribution, so it needs to be stable for a period of time (a general survey and prospecting cycle), so that the fund can maintain a relatively stable state.
This period is the initial stage when the state supports the early exploration of important mineral resources, and the main risks are borne by the state, which generates income (transfer of mining rights) and forms the capital invested by the state in commercial mineral resources exploration.
The second stage, market allocation, company management. With the input and output of geological prospecting funds, a large number of social funds have entered, and the conditions for implementing the management of geological prospecting fund company system are ripe, and geological prospecting investment companies have been established for management. At this time, the benefits generated by the state's early investment (the share of mining rights transfer) and the new funds invested by the state are invested as state equity in geological exploration investment joint-stock companies with a large amount of social capital investment. Investing in the operation of joint-stock companies is conducive to giving play to the basic role of the market in allocating resources, avoiding risks and giving play to investors' autonomy. Shareholders' supervision of investment behavior can not only preserve and increase the value of state-owned assets (state equity), but also promote the investment in commercial mineral resources exploration to enter a virtuous circle, thus ensuring a major breakthrough in geological prospecting and realizing the benefits of mineral resources exploration.
2. Work arrangement and project selection of geological prospecting fund
First of all, whether the use direction of geological prospecting fund is correct, whether the work deployment is reasonable and whether the geological prospecting fund projects are selected or not not not not only determines the prospecting effect, but also relates to the success or failure of the fund mechanism. The general principle is to deploy in key minerals and key metallogenic belts determined by the national mineral resources development strategy. For example, there are 16 minerals such as energy and non-energy important minerals determined by the state and 40 important metallogenic belts planned by the state.
Secondly, we should concentrate our efforts, ensure the key points, follow the geological laws, queue up after screening according to the scale of funds, and carry out the work in a planned and step-by-step manner. In the selected area, for the units currently conducting exploration, it is necessary to integrate forces (if they have registered to obtain exploration rights, cooperate with the original exploration rights holders) and make unified arrangements.
Third, the determination of geological prospecting fund projects should be fully demonstrated, with good metallogenic background, great resource potential and large storage space (such as in a belt), and it is possible to find large mines. Prevent the project from being scattered, repetitive, small and complete. After the project is determined, it is necessary to invest a lot of money, apply modern metallogenic theory and comprehensively apply various advanced methods and technologies. Be tough, dare to persist, be patient, compare repeatedly, avoid impetuousness and rush for success.
General survey work level, the design cycle is generally 3 ~ 5 years.
3 to undertake the determination of geological exploration fund project units
Determine qualified project undertakers through bidding. There are two forms to undertake geological exploration fund projects. One form is that the undertaking unit carries out the construction according to the established design book (compiled by the project design department of the fund management institution), and only undertakes the labor service, and neither undertakes the prospecting risk nor participates in the distribution of prospecting income; In the second case, the undertaking unit will design in the designated area first, and then organize the implementation after approval. The project undertaker should not only bear certain exploration risks (such as paying risk money), but also reflect the characteristics of mineral resources exploration risk investment; It is a form in which knowledge, technology and other factors participate in the income distribution (a certain proportion of the income from the transfer of mining rights).
(The original "Expert Suggestions of the Consulting and Research Center of the Ministry of Land and Resources", June 2006 15)