This paper introduces the historical evolution, five legislative purposes and six mining management systems of Canadian federal and provincial governments. Some countermeasures and suggestions are put forward, such as defining the rights and responsibilities of the central and local governments, designing preferential policies for mining investment with low threshold, and taking the road of sustainable development of mining industry.
Keywords Canada; Mining legislation; Management system; Mining activities; finance
With a land area of 9.97 million square kilometers and a population of less than 30 million, Canada is a veritable mining country with abundant resources per capita. Among the 62 minerals that have been developed, the minerals with the highest output in the world are 1 1 species, namely potassium, uranium, asbestos, sulfur, nickel, zinc, gypsum, titanium, aluminum, steel and platinum group elements. Canada's mineral products production is mainly used in international trade, and its export volume accounts for 80% of its 1999 output, with a mining trade surplus of 7 billion Canadian dollars. This paper briefly introduces the legislative purpose and management system of Canadian mining industry, and puts forward some suggestions on defining the rights and responsibilities of central and local governments, designing preferential mining investment policies with low thresholds, and taking the road of sustainable development of mining industry.
1 Canadian mining legislation
Canada is a federal country, and the federal constitution stipulates that the federal government and the provincial government have their own independent legislative power. Due to the separation of surface rights and underground rights in Canada, most of the land belongs to provincial jurisdiction or private ownership, so the mining laws of each province are relatively independent.
Canada's mining law was formed in Ontario and Saskatchewan. At first, the federal mining law mainly stipulated how to transport and store tailings with few restrictions. In 1950s, Canadian mining law allowed foreign investors to explore their own mineral resources, and they could develop these resources as long as Canadians participated. Since the late 1970s, the implementation of policies such as collecting and purchasing local taxes (20%), increasing examination procedures, hiring local people and using local materials has made Canada a high-risk country for mining investment, which led to a sharp decline in foreign mining investment in the early 1980s. In the late 1980s, the policy of encouraging mining investment was gradually implemented.
At present, both federal and provincial mining laws and regulations adhere to the legislative purpose:
(1) One department controls mining activities, and the relevant departments only provide assistance, so that the contact between investors and the government and the enforcement of laws are relatively more coordinated and direct;
(2) Ensure that the laws that can be followed are relatively intuitive, so that everyone can read them without having to be interpreted by a lawyer;
(3) There should be as few restrictions or qualification requirements for mineral exploration and mine occupation as possible, such as residents or citizens, capital or technical ability, whether there are exploitable ores, etc.
(4) Set various fees on the basis of serving "users" to minimize the related service fees of investors;
(5) Keep a wide range of public data records, including records of geological work completed by government and private prospectors. These materials are public and can be reproduced at will, and only a nominal reproduction fee is required.
2 Canada's mining management system
Canada's mining management department is divided into two levels, namely federal and provincial. The two levels have division of labor and cooperation, and perform their duties according to their respective legislative management authority, except for issues involving social public interests or inter-provincial coordination such as environment and mine reclamation. The industry management department of the federal government is mainly the Federal Ministry of Natural Resources, which is mainly responsible for mining activities related to state-owned enterprises; Mining activities on state-owned land or sea areas; International trade and international investment; Fiscal and monetary policies; Environmental protection and protected areas; Unify and coordinate the cooperative actions of the Federation and the provinces on mining policy issues; Information and statistics on national mining activities; Nuclear energy, including uranium mining.
The functions of provincial mining management departments include the whole process of mineral resources exploration and development, mine construction management, cleaning, transformation and closure.
2. 1 Procedures for mining activities
The first is to apply for a census card. /kloc-Canadian citizens or companies over the age of 0/8 can apply for exploration rights on federal or provincial land in Canada; For private land, it is generally negotiated to enter. In Ontario, the general scope of application does not exceed 1 10,000 hectares; Once the target area with resource prospect is found, it will enter the second stage.
The second stage-mine declaration. This is the "patent-free" statement of the holder of the prospecting certificate to the promising mine, that is, the underground piles or demarcation around the mine to delimit the scope of his statement. The significance of mining declaration is that the holder of the declaration has the right to carry out evaluation work, and has the right to extend the validity of the declaration and apply for mining lease if it meets the legal requirements. The results of the evaluation work should be reported to the mineral registrant and announced to the public as appropriate. At this time, the estimated area is usually several hundred to 1000 hectare, and the minimum exploration investment per unit area is completed according to government regulations.
The third stage-mining leasing. There are two ways to deal with mining leases that prove to be economic deposits, namely, transfer (the lease holder can freely transfer all or part of them, and the transfer is completed through private agreement between the lessee and the transferee) or self-mining. At this time, according to the legal requirements, two tasks must be completed: mine environmental assessment and reclamation plan when the mine is closed, which are very concerned by the federal government and the provincial government. If either party fails to pass the examination, mining activities cannot be carried out.
2.2 Financing of mining activities
There are three main ways of mining financing in Canada:
(1) Bundle financing, that is, small companies persuade large companies to buy part of mining rights or participate in the exploration of promising mines; Or raise exploration funds in the name of large listed companies on the stock exchange.
(2) Small companies use their exploration results to persuade banks to apply for exploration loans directly from banks;
(3) Large companies will use part of the profits from production mines for the construction of new mines.
Usually, mining financing is a combination of the above three forms, not a single one.
2.3 on the qualification system of mining activities supervision
Canada's supervision of mining activities is the whole process (that is, from application for prospecting to reclamation after pit closure), institutionalized and open, and the system of supervisors and qualified personnel is clearly stipulated in laws and regulations. Supervisors are professionals (such as environmental experts) entrusted by government agencies and supervise several mines at the same time. They can conduct regular inspections or temporary spot checks. Once illegal mining areas are found, they will immediately put forward measures to stop or correct them. If it fails to meet the requirements of laws and regulations within a certain period of time, it will immediately issue a notice to stop production, otherwise it will be handed over to the court for legal treatment.
In February, 20001year, the Canadian Securities Regulatory Commission (CSA) issued the New Standards for Information Dissemination of Mining Projects, which clearly stipulated the qualification requirements and responsibilities of information publishers in mining and exploration industries.
Qualified personnel refer to "engineers or geologists, who have at least 5 years working experience in mining exploration, mine development or management, mining project evaluation or some of the above fields, have experience related to mining projects and technical reports, and are well-known members of professional associations. "Qualified personnel are responsible for preparing technical reports and providing scientific and technical advice according to professional and industrial standards. Qualified personnel can be employees of the company, responsible for daily affairs. However, if major issues are handled, such as increasing geological reserves and submitting feasibility reports, independent qualified personnel (qualified personnel unrelated to the company) are needed to complete them. When reviewing the report, several qualified people can review it and sign it together, and submit it to the relevant departments for press release.
2.4 On mining tax and preferential policies
Canada's mining tax system not only considers the taxes of general enterprises and individuals, but also pays attention to the particularity of mining tax, and designs a preferential tax system to encourage mining investment and ensure the investment benefit of mining production. Canadian mining tax includes three levels of tax: federal enterprise income tax; Provincial enterprise income tax; Provincial mining tax or royalty.
Federal taxes are collected by Canadian customs and tax authorities, and provincial taxes are collected by provincial finance departments. The natural resources department of the federal government supervises the tax system and makes suggestions to the government on measures to ensure Canada's competitive position in the global investment market; The mining department of the provincial government also has the function of policy advice.
When calculating the tax base, the advantages include:
(1) Capital cost subsidy. First, based on the high investment and high risk of mining investment, the investment in mining machinery, plant selection facilities, infrastructure and mine development is deducted from the income quickly, and the depreciation period is generally 4-5 years; The second is to allow new mines or mines with output growth of more than 25% to be deducted from the maximum operating profit of new mines. This effectively eliminates any federal income tax required to operate the new mine until the operating income pays off the capital investment.
(2) Resource subsidies. This is a consumption subsidy based on limited resources. This subsidy has been revised several times. Before 1972, deduct 33% of the operating profit. Later, it was changed to "net investment income": 1990 65438+ 10/,and 25% of the resource profit (sales income of mineral products-operating cost-capital cost subsidy) was deducted from the mining operating income.
(3) Pre-tax deduction for special consideration. Allow all exploration expenses in Canada and 10% foreign exploration expenses to be deducted before tax; When calculating the tax base, deduct 60% of the production capacity and continuously produce the mining investment for 6 months.
After deducting the above (1) ~ (3), the effective income tax rate of federal mining enterprises is reduced from 28% to 2 1%. Provincial mining enterprise income tax calculation and tax payment rules comply with the federal tax system, and the tax rates vary from province to province. The range is from the lowest 8% to 9% to the highest 17%. The average tax rate is 13.5%, and the actual effective tax rate after deducting the preferential treatment is only about 10.2%.
(4) Mining tax and processing subsidy. The provincial mining tax is based on the return of mineral resources to the province, which is basically equivalent to royalties. Except Saskatchewan, most of them are calculated on the basis of profit. Mineral tax concessions are mainly used to stimulate enterprises to give priority to deep processing in this province, and the mineral tax of each province is generally between 18%-20%. Different provinces have different preferential degrees of processing subsidies. Taking Ontario as an example, according to the content and location of commercial activities, the investment in mineral processing and smelting is as follows:
If only engaged in mineral processing, the subsidy rate is 8%; 12% if smelting is included; Including oil refining, it is16%; If refining and processing are counted in northern Ontario, the subsidy rate is as high as 20%.
2.5 Mine environmental assessment system
Canada believes that mine environment is an important aspect of sustainable development strategy and an important part of mining license. Before the mine is put into production, it is necessary to put forward the mine environmental protection plan and the environmental protection measures to be taken. According to different mine development projects, the evaluation methods adopted are as follows:
Screening: that is, screening the environmental protection schemes and measures proposed by the mine, which is suitable for small-scale mining projects;
Mediation: for mining projects that may have an environmental impact on mine development and involve fewer parties, mediators designated by the Ministry of Environment will coordinate;
Comprehensive review: the possible environmental impact of mine development, involving large-scale mining projects in multiple departments or across several regions, must be comprehensively reviewed by federal organizations;
Special panel review: it is applicable to any public review project that requires an independent panel composed of any government agency or the public.
2.6 mine closure and reclamation system
This is the focus of Canada's mining sustainable development strategy. Provinces usually require that before issuing mining licenses, mines put forward closure plans, that is, closure, reclamation and subsequent treatment, or supervise cost estimation and implementation plans. It is understood that this year, Ontario plans to invest 27 million yuan in three years for the reclamation of more than 7,000 abandoned mines in its jurisdiction.
Because reclamation is a long-term and expensive investment, some mines are difficult to implement as planned, so many ways are often adopted:
Cash payment: charge according to unit output, accumulate funds and return them after operation;
Asset mortgage: mortgage mine reclamation funds with assets not mortgaged elsewhere;
Letter of credit: the bank issues letters of credit to the buyers of state institutions on behalf of mining companies, and guarantees the performance of the contracts between them;
Bonds: Mining companies provide bonds to reclamation management departments in the form of insurance;
Legal person guarantee: guaranteed by a legal person with a financial ranking higher than a certain level or a company with good credit.
3 some enlightenment
(1) Defining the responsibilities of government management departments at all levels and pursuing the same goal is the basis for ensuring the order of mining activities. Although the development and management of mineral resources in Canada are decentralized by the federal government and the provincial government, and the boundary of benefit distribution is clear, and the power of the province is greater than that of the federal government, they are consistent in management purposes and objectives. The federal management authority is specific, and the geographical scope of direct management is mainly the Yukon and other three northern provinces in Canada. It is reported that the federal government has been considering decentralization in order to give full play to the role of provinces; The powers of the provinces are detailed and comprehensive. Except for uranium mines, no matter how much mineral resources are, from the application for exploration license to the closure of mines, it is basically handled by the provinces, and the federal government does not interfere in the specific process, unless it involves the coordination of inter-provincial relations, environmental issues with strong citizens' opinions, and reclamation issues. This gives us the enlightenment that:
① Clarify the mining management authority, management content and management objectives of governments at all levels, and give full play to the management initiative and consciousness of local governments;
(2) Based on serving mining activities, reducing management levels and transparent management procedures; Expand the scope of supervision and reduce fees;
(3) Collect and sort out mineral information within the jurisdiction, and make it public in popular science language for free inquiry; Give full play to the network function and announce it to the world.
(2) Designing a flexible financing and tax preferential system that conforms to the characteristics of mining production is an effective medicine to stimulate the vitality of mining industry and even its extended industries. Canada's unique resource advantage lies in its huge prospecting potential and many world-class large mines, but its management mechanism is more attractive.
① Attracting mining investors with policy mechanism. Complementing each other in scale and giving full play to their respective advantages are important manifestations of Canada's mining policy flexibility. Low barriers to entry and government-supported policies have laid the foundation for attracting many investors into the mining sector. The federal government has special funds for geological survey every year; The provincial government uses the mineral exploration fund to support the exploration activities of small companies every year (according to the exploration design and project deployment submitted by the applicant, the general funding amount is 6.5438+0 million Canadian dollars, and in return, the funding department requires the applicant to submit exploration results).
Because the tax in Canada is paid by the company, it is allowed to deduct the cost of mineral exploration before tax when collecting the income tax of mining enterprises, which greatly encourages large mining companies to invest in exploration, especially the enthusiasm of professional exploration companies to find promising mines; The two parties (or several companies) reach an agreement on the transfer of mining rights or an agreement on cooperation/joint venture exploration through consultation (the government does not impose any restrictions on this). On the other hand, after the mine is officially produced and profitable, the joint venture/cooperative company is allowed to change its system and can apply for the establishment of a joint-stock cooperative company.
② Use economic lever to adjust mining economic activities. Deductions and subsidies based on the characteristics of mining activities make the tax burden level of mining enterprises close to other industries. As mentioned above, the nominal tax rate of federal government income tax is 28%, and the effective tax rate is only 21%after deducting asset cost subsidies, resource subsidies and exploration costs; The effective tax rate of provincial income tax is 2.3 percentage points lower than the nominal tax rate (the average effective tax rate is10.2%); The average tax rate of mining industry is 14%. In addition, it is reported that the Canadian government helps mining enterprises with incomes below 15% to reach the minimum profit level.
The above enlightenment to us is:
① From the height of mining development, according to the characteristics of mining production, design tax systems and preferential measures with different connotations. According to statistics, in 1993, the tax burden of China's extractive industries was relatively light, with an average of less than 5% of sales revenue. In 1994, it jumped to about 12%, while the overall tax burden of the national industry exceeded 7%. Canadian mining tax is based on the profit of resources after deducting operating costs, and the tax burden accounts for 6.5% ~ 10% of sales revenue. Affected by the overall tax burden level and irregular charging items, the actual profit level of China's mining industry has decreased and the profit risk has increased. Therefore, we should learn from Canada's experience to design the tax system, including high investment and high risk in mining industry, so that mining investment can be recovered quickly; According to the particularity of cash flow in mining production, design phased tax burden and corresponding preferential policies; On the premise of adhering to economies of scale, encourage the fine processing and deep processing of mineral products; Wait a minute.
② The tax reduction and exemption policy is a subsidy and deduction policy suitable for the characteristics of mining production.
(3) Establishing the concept of national sustainable development is an important strategy to ensure the coordinated and healthy development of mining activities. Sustainable development is "a development model that can meet the needs of contemporary people without affecting future generations to meet their needs". Its significance at least includes: finding enough resources that can be exploited in reality or in the foreseeable future; Reasonable allocation of consumable resources in each time period; Reduce pollution and maintain a good ecological environment in the actual mining process. The sustainable development strategy of Canadian mining industry is obvious in economic encouragement policy, environmental protection and land reclamation. In this regard, we should:
① Expand the public welfare geological working face, increase capital investment, and strive for a breakthrough in urgently needed mineral exploration;
(2) In view of China's unique metallogenic conditions and the distribution of proven minerals, adhere to the principle of "large, medium and small" and never blindly pursue large mines;
③ Using economic lever to solve the problems of mine environment and closed pit reclamation.