MIIT Issued Announcement of Criterions for Tungsten Industry (2016 No.1)

According to the certain laws and industry policies of China, criterions for tungsten industry is pronounced with the aim to strength tungsten industry management, to reduce low level and similar constructions, to standardize the existing operation order, to improve the usage ability of resource and energy conservation and to promote the development of transforming and upgrading.

Criterions for Tungsten Industry

Tungsten is one of the specified minerals of which protective mining is prescribed by the state. In order to strengthen protection, exploitation and utilization of tungsten, China begins to control the exploiting amount of tungsten. In order to fasten and adjust the structure of tungsten industry, to establish an unified and open market with orderly competition, to standardize market order, and to enhance the sustained development, criterions is made according to the relative laws and policies of tungsten industry.

1. Enterprises Distribution and Production Scale

1.1 Enterprises Distribution

The projects for dressing, smelting and processing of tungsten mines should conform to Chinese industry policies, local land usage policies, mineral resources policies, priority zone policies and development policies. When those projects are under construction, companies should determine the factory positions and the distance between surrounding living areas and sensitive regions in accordance with evaluation of environmental influence. The construction to dressing, smelting and further machining of tungsten mines would be evaluated in accordance with the environmental influence, so as to confirm the workshop location, the surrounding residents and sensitive regions.

1.2 Production Scale

When exploiting tungsten resources, companies should acquire legally mining licenses and safety production license, and obey laws and regulations about mineral resources and safe production, mineral resources policies and related policies. Mining-right owners shall follow the approved exploitation and utilization of mineral resources policies and the standards of green mine construction, the preliminary design and facilities safety to construct and develop mine. Over-exploitation and immoderately mining or mining without license is forbidden. The scale of construction of opening exploiting should have the amount of tungsten at least 150,000 tons per year, while the amount of tungsten exploited underground should be at least 60,000 tons per year. Both of constructions should serve over 10 years.

Tungsten smelting enterprises should not purchase, process and mine minerals illegally. The project of new construction, reconstruction of ammonium paratungstate should have the production ability of at least 5,000 tons/year, as well as the ferrotungsten production ability of at least 6,000 tons/year . New construction, reconstruction and existing smelting project about waste catalyst containing tungsten, the processing physical tungsten alloy scrap should be at least 500 tons/year. Other projects about secondary resources in smelters require the dealing of physical tungsten of at least 1,500 tons/year.

2.Quality, Technology & Equipment

2.1 Quality

Tungsten mine dressing, smelting and processing enterprises should build with complete product quality management system. The smelting and processing enterprises should be certified by ISO9000 quality management system. There are some quality standards for different tungsten products:

Tungsten Concentrate--（YS/T231-2007）

Ammonium paratungstate --GB/T10116-2007

Tungsten Powder--GB/T3458-2006

Tungsten Carbide Powder -- GB/T4295-2008

Reclaimed Tungsten Carbide Powder -- GB/T2605-2010

Tungsten Carbide Quality Standard--GB /T18376.1-200, GB/T18376.2-2001, GB/T18376.3-2001

The quality of other products should reach the standards of country, industry, locality, enterprise and contracts.

2.2 Technology And Equipments

New construction, reconstruction and existing tungsten resources mining and dressing projects should adopt advanced mining methods which are suited to the exploiting scales and technology. Enterprises are encouraged to use open-pit mining technology, total tailing filling method and large advanced energy saving equipments to improve the autoimmunization and to reduce manual slag removal and manual sorting process. Companies are encouraged to use advanced technologies such as mineral processing technology in accordance with classifications and compositions of minerals and column separation, because that can increase recovery and multipurpose utilization of minerals. In new construction, reconstruction and existing ammonium bromide smelting projects, companies are expected to adopt the technologies and equipment with the product features of effective, advanced, low energy consumption and high resource utilization such as ion-exchange method, extraction method and others. At the respect of clean technological techniques and equipments, fluoride ion removal and rectify from ammonia tungsten reactions are encouraged. New construction, reconstruction and existing wolfram hot electric furnace should adopt closed or semi-closed low hood with the voltage of transformer up to 2200kva to achieve the mechanization, and high automation. New construction, reconstruction and existing waste catalyst containing tungsten use closed tunnel kiln technology. Dealing with tungsten alloy scrap by electrolysis, Zinc melting process or oxidizing roasting in gas furnaces or other advanced technology is encouraged. It is forbidden to use reverberator. Gas or other clean energy will replace coal. It is better to use vacuum swing or vacuum screw dryer together, intelligent spay drying or other advanced mixing technology or equipment in new construction, reconstruction and existing tungsten deep processing. It is encouraged to use paraffin wax or polyethylene glycol or other new forming agent, to use intelligentized electric molders, static pressure extrusion or compression molding or warm pressing compound molding process and equipment. Vacuum or intelligent closed pressure sintering technology or equipments and  high precision and intelligent polishing and coating technology and equipment will replace out-dated steam vibration dryer, rubber forming agent, mechanical lever compressor and hydrogen sintering technology. Cemented carbide corporations should offer the complete solution to clients.

3. Resources Complex Utilization And Energy Consumption

3.1 Mine Exploitation

Tungsten mining and dressing, smelting and processing enterprises should have a sound energy management system. The energy calculators should be up to the standards of energy-using units（GB17167-2006）and the regulations. In accordance with Limit of Energy Consumption per Unit Product of Tungsten Concentrate（GB31340-2014）, some qualified companies should establish energy resource management center.

In the mining and dressing project of new construction, reconstruction of tungsten mines, Rational Exploitation rates of the resources should reach the minimum requirement proposed by Ministry of Land and Resources. Exploitation rates include actual mining rate, recovery rate and comprehensive utilization rate. Comprehensive energy consumption of run-of-mine ore of open-pit mining is less than 1.2kg of standard coal. That of pit mining is less than 2.8kg of standard coal. That of mineral separation is less than 1.7 of standard coal.

3.2 Smelting And Processing

In the project about new construction, reconstruction of tungsten smelting, the recovery of ammonium paratungstate should not be less than 96%. Comprehensive energy consumption is less than 0.9 tons of standard coal. Recycling rate of water should be more than 80%. The recovery of tungsten from tungsten iron alloy should not less than 97%. The electricity consumption in smelting process should be less than 3000 KWH/ ton.

There are some standards in the smelting project of new and reconstruction of secondary resources containing tungsten. Firstly in the project of dealing waste tungsten catalyst (containing tungsten 8% or above), recovery rate of sodium tungsten should not be less than 90%. The recovery rate of ammonium paratungstate should not be less than 85%. Comprehensive energy consumption of dealing waste tungsten catalyst should be less than 0.8 tons of standard coal per ton.

In the project of processing tungsten scrap metal or alloy (containing 30% or more of tungsten), recovery rate of sodium tungsten should not be less than 98%. The recovery rate of ammonium paratungstate should not be less than 95%. During zinc melting process, the recovery of tungsten carbide should not be less than 98%. In electric melting process, the recovery of tungsten carbide should be more than 98.5% Comprehensive energy consumption during dealing wasted tungsten tons of scrap metal or alloy should be less than 0.85 tons of standard coal.

In the project of new and reconstruction of deep processing of tungsten, the recovery of tungsten power should be more than 99.5%. Comprehensive energy consumption should be less than 0.65 tons of standard coals per ton. The recovery of tungsten carbide should be more than 99.5% with comprehensive energy consumption less than 0.32 tons of standard coal per ton. The recovery of tungsten and cobalt metal of cemented carbide enterprises should be more than 98.5%.

Existing tungsten mining and dressing, smelting and processing enterprises should reach all the requirements by the end of 2017.

4. Environmental Protection

Tungsten mines’ mining&dressing, smelting and processing enterprises should comply with environmental protection laws, regulations and policies, all new construction and renovation projects should be strictly implement the Environmental Impact Assessment System(EIAS)and the environmental protection measures, production projects should be prohibited to go into operation without acceptance by the Department of Environmental Protection. Enterprises should transact the “Emissions Permit’ according to the provisions (except the areas without implementing Emissions Permit) before taking the production and sales and other business activities, emissions with the permit, emissions according to the permit. The enterprises should have the sound environmental management agency, which can develop the effective environmental management system for enterprises, the smelting and processing enterprises must be recognized by the ISO1400 Environmental Management System. Tungsten mines’ exploitation should emphasize the protection of land and environment, meanwhile according to the principle of “governance as mining&dressing.” Besides, mine geological environment treatment must be strictly executed, restore the security payments system, establish the plan of mine geological environment protection and recovery management, simultaneously according to the plan to execute mine ecological and geological environment recovery management and the mining land reclamation.

Tungsten mines’ mining&dressing, smelting and processing enterprises should possess the capabilities of feasible pollutant treatment technology, complete treatment facilities, complete operation and maintenance records, synchronous operation with the main production facilities. In addition to conduct monitoring voluntarily of the emission of pollutants, to report to the environmental protection departments regularly, and to placard the monitoring results to the vulnerable areas surrounding. Smelting, processing emissions should up to the "Industrial Furnaces Air Pollutant Emission Standards" (GB9078-1996) and "Air Pollutant Comprehensive Emission Standards" (GB16297-1996), wastewater emissions should be in line with "Integrated Wastewater Discharge Standard" (GB8978-1996), the total discharge pollutants of the enterprises do not allow to exceed the total control targets that approved by environmental protection department, smelting and processing solid waste produced by enterprises should be properly used and handled, the hazardous waste shall be administered in accordance with the relevant national standards. The enterprises should be in accordance with the relevant provisions to conduct Environmental Risk Assessment of environmental emergencies and investigation and management of environmental risks, to formulate the environmental emergencies preplan and to put on record to the environmental protection departments at the same time.

5. Working Safety And Occupational Disease Prevention

Tungsten mines’ smelting and processing projects should follow the provided laws and regulations of " Production Security Law," "Mine Security Law," "Occupational Disease Prevention Law", etc, meanwhile implementing and ensuring the national standard or industry standard of the production security and occupational disease prevention; the security facilities of new construction or reconstruction projects and occupational disease prevention should strictly fulfill the "three simultaneous" procedures. Enterprises should participate in the insurances of pension, unemployment, medical, maternity, industry injury and some other types of insurances accordance with the law, as well as to pay the fully relevant insurance costs for employees. Enterprises need to develop the standardization works and to strengthen the enterprises’ infrastructure with production security.

Enterprises of tungsten mines should obey the relevant provisions of "Production Security License Regulations," only after achieving the production security license can enterprises engage production activities. The mechanical smoke and dust removal system also should be established, for ensuring the air quality downhole, which must correspond with the relevant requirements of “Concentration of Respirable Rock Dust in The Air of Workplace Regulations.”

6. Standardized Management

6.1 Specification Conditions in Application, Check And Notice of Tungsten Industry’s Enterprises

6.1.1 The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology(MIIT) carry out the notice management for the mining &dressing, smelting and processing enterprises of tungsten mines which are in line with the specification conditions. The mining &dressing, smelting and processing enterprises of tungsten mines, which applied for being listed in the notice should draw up the “Application Report of Tungsten Industry Specification And Condition Notice” in addition to submit the relevant materials as required.

6.1.2 The industry administrations of the provinces, autonomous regions, municipalities and the cities with independent planning are responsible for receiving the application, trial and reporting of the specification conditions’ notice of the relevant enterprises of local regions. Central enterprises can directly apply to the MIIT, and be responsible for their own trial while attaching the opinions of domicile provincial industry authorities.

6.1.3 According to this specification conditions, MIIT should check the applied enterprises, or solicit the opinions of the Ministry of Environmental Protection(MEP)if necessary, that is to publicize the enterprises that are in line with the specification conditions, while if there is no objections, then placard it.

6.2 Placard The Enterprises’ List of Names, implement dynamic management

MIIT implement the dynamic management for enterprises’ list of names. Industry authorities of local levels should have the annual supervision and inspection for the specification conditions executed circumstances of the mining &dressing, smelting and processing enterprises of tungsten mines. MIIT needs to spot-check the public enterprises, and encourage the all sectors of the community to participate in supervising. If the publicized enterprises have any circumstances as follows, MIIT can withdraw its announcement:

6.2.1 Having any fraudulent acts when filling in the relevant information;

6.2.2 Refusing to accept the inspection;

6.2.3 Can not maintain the specification conditions;

6.2.4 There has been happened one or more great production safety accidents or environmental emergencies, which caused severe social impacts;

6.2.5 Existing the backward production capacity that was eliminated by the state.

MIIT should inform the relevant enterprises and listen to their statements and arguments before making the announcement revoked decision.

Listing the names of the enterprises, which are in line with the specification conditions into the list of names as the fundamental basis of the relevant policies support.

7.Supplementary Provisions

7.1 The specification conditions are applicable to the mining &dressing, smelting and processing enterprises of tungsten mines that founded in the territory of People's Republic of China (excluding Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan regions).

7.2 The relevant standard involved in this specification conditions if were revised, executing the new revised standard.

7.3 The specification conditions is going to be implemented since February 1, 2016, simultaneously abolishing the “Tungsten Industry Access Conditions”, which was issued by National Development and Reform Commission(NDRC).(the announcement No. 94 of NDRC, Dec.22,2006, the access conditions of Tin-free, Sb-free). If the provisions about relating tungsten smelting enterprises of "The MIIT issued provisional announcement of the tungsten,ti, antimony’ smelting enterprises access notice management" (Ministry of the original (2010) NO.475) are inconsistent with this specification conditions, executing in accordance with this specification conditions.

7.4 The tungsten smelting enterprises in the specification conditions refers to the smelting enterprises which use the tungsten concentrates and tungsten-based secondary resources as raw materials.

7.5 The MIIT reserves the right of final explanation to this specification conditions and can revise timely based on the industry development status.

 

 

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