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Opinions of the National Mine Safety Administration on Standardizing Construction Teams Engaged in Mining and Excavation (Stripping) Operations at Metal and Non-Metallic Mines
National Mine Safety Administration Regarding Standardization
Opinions of the mining and excavation (stripping) construction teams in metal and non-metal production mines
Mineral Safety [2026] No. 78
To the mining safety regulatory authorities of all provinces, autonomous regions, municipalities directly under the central government, and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps; to the provincial-level bureaus of the National Mine Safety Administration; and to relevant central enterprises:
In order to implement the provisions of the “Opinions of the General Office of the CPC Central Committee and the General Office of the State Council on Further Strengthening Work on Mine Safety Production,” which stipulate that “producing mines shall establish their own mining (stripping) construction teams or entrust the comprehensive management of such operations to enterprises meeting the requisite conditions,” and to continuously standardize operational safety in metal and non-metallic production mines (hereinafter referred to as non-coal mines), enhance the level of safety management in these mines, and effectively prevent and curb the occurrence of production safety accidents, the following recommendations are hereby put forward.
I. General Requirements
Guided by Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, we will thoroughly implement the spirit of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China and the resolutions of all plenary sessions of the 20th Central Committee. Upholding the principle of coordinating development and security, we will standardize construction teams engaged in mining and stripping operations at non‑coal mines. By May 1, 2027, self‑built teams at underground non‑coal production mines shall be brought into compliance; by May 1, 2028, self‑built teams at open‑pit non‑coal production mines shall likewise be brought into compliance. Alternatively, these mines shall entrust qualified enterprises to assume comprehensive management (hereinafter referred to as “integrated trusteeship”). Through these measures, we aim to achieve a substantial improvement in the level of safety management at non‑coal mines, markedly enhance the competence of workers, and significantly strengthen their sense of gain, happiness, and security.
II. Definitions of In-House Team Formation and Full-Scale Outsourcing
(1) In-house team formation. These measures primarily include recruiting and hiring mining (stripping) construction personnel, taking over entire teams of mining (stripping) contractors, jointly establishing a holding company with legal person status together with mining (stripping) contractors, and utilizing specialized construction teams that belong to the same parent company. Non‑coal mines are encouraged to, based on their specific circumstances, adopt one or more of these approaches to gradually achieve self‑reliant workforce development.
(II) Definition of Comprehensive Trusteeship. whole Contractual management refers to the comprehensive and unified oversight, conducted by a qualified entrusted party in accordance with applicable laws and regulations and the terms of the entrusted management contract, over the safety management, technical management, and production operations of the entrusting party’s non‑coal mines.
III. Standardizing In-House Teams
(3) Recruiting construction personnel for mining and excavation (stripping) operations. Non‑coal mines may independently establish mining (stripping) operation teams through methods such as public recruitment and internal job transfers. Non‑coal mines are encouraged to shift from hiring workers to enrolling students, giving priority in employment to graduates from relevant majors at colleges, secondary vocational schools, and technical schools. For newly hired personnel, non‑coal mines shall, in accordance with the law, enter into labor contracts, organize centralized safety education and training, and ensure that employees are familiar with the mine’s safe production conditions, potential risks and hazards, emergency evacuation routes, and self‑rescue and mutual‑rescue procedures. Furthermore, employees must, in compliance with national regulations, pass the required safety education and training before taking up their posts.
(4) Accept, as a whole unit, the personnel of mining (stripping) construction contractors. For non‑coal mines that take over entire mining and stripping contractors, they shall directly enter into labor contracts with all workers in accordance with the law, make insurance contributions as required, and fully integrate these workers into the mine’s production scheduling, safety management, skills training, and labor‑management systems. No dispatched workers may be employed underground in non‑coal mines.
(5) Establish a company with legal person status. Non‑coal mines may, in joint venture with mining and stripping contractors—enterprises holding Grade II or higher general contracting qualifications for mine engineering—establish a specialized, legally incorporated company wholly owned by the non‑coal mine. The company shall obtain a work safety production license in accordance with applicable regulations, set up a work safety management organization, appoint a “five‑position” mine manager and “five‑specialty” technical personnel, and assemble a workforce comprising specially trained operators and highly skilled employees. It shall also establish and refine a comprehensive system of full‑staff work safety responsibilities and work safety management procedures, formulate job‑specific safety operating guidelines, and assume overall responsibility for safety‑technical management, production, and operations at the non‑coal mine.
(6) Utilize specialized construction teams that belong to the same parent company. The specialized construction team and the non‑coal mine it serves are both under the management of the same parent company. The parent company assumes unified responsibility for the safety management of both the non‑coal mine and the specialized construction team, bearing the corresponding liabilities, and is tasked with clarifying and delineating the respective responsibilities of each party. It shall also refine and improve systems and mechanisms related to production safety management at the non‑coal mine, including the approval of technical measures and the establishment of assessment, reward, and penalty frameworks. Furthermore, the parent company shall conduct regular inspections and oversight of the non‑coal mine to ensure that safety management responsibilities are effectively implemented.
IV. Strict Comprehensive Custody
(7) Standardize the scope of comprehensive trusteeship for non-coal mines. Overall entrusted management shall take an independent production system as the minimum unit, covering all production systems of non-coal mines, as well as the operational management of facilities and equipment directly supporting production, including dispatch rooms, safety monitoring rooms, hoisting machine rooms, ventilation (pressurization) fan rooms, filling stations (sites), spoil grounds, power supply and distribution facilities, and transportation systems. The entrusting party and the entrusted party shall enter into a contract in accordance with relevant national laws, regulations, and other applicable provisions.
(8) Strictly enforce eligibility criteria for entrusted parties. The entrusted party shall possess legal person status, hold valid and compliant licenses and certificates, and not be listed on the roster of entities with serious breaches of work safety regulations. In principle, it should be a large-scale non‑coal mining enterprise or an enterprise holding a Grade I or higher general contracting qualification for mining engineering construction. For entrusted projects involving non‑coal mines characterized by complex geological conditions, medium‑to‑high‑level hydrogeological types, severe cold‑climate hazards, rockbursts, thermal hazards, or other serious risks, the entrusted party must demonstrate the requisite technical expertise in hazard mitigation and relevant experience in safety management.
(9) Clearly define the safety production responsibilities of both parties. The commissioning party and the contracted party shall clearly define their respective responsibilities in the contract. The commissioning party shall assume primary responsibility for workplace safety, ensure adequate funding for safety-related expenditures, conduct technical briefings with the contracted party, assign appropriate supervisory and management personnel based on its own management needs, and strengthen safety oversight of the contracted party. The contracted party shall bear overall responsibility for workplace safety at the construction site, establish a safety management organization as required, appoint a “five‑position” mine manager, deploy specialized technical personnel across five key disciplines, and assemble a workforce of specially trained operators and highly skilled employees. It shall also establish and完善 a comprehensive system of safety production accountability covering all employees and a robust set of safety regulations, and formulate detailed safety operating procedures for each position. For full‑scale outsourcing, production may only commence after obtaining the requisite safety production license in accordance with applicable regulations; subcontracting or further sub‑contracting of the outsourced non‑coal mine is strictly prohibited. The contracted party’s parent enterprise shall exercise unified safety management and oversight over the outsourced non‑coal mine.
V. Strengthening Implementation and Organization
(10) Strengthen the principal responsibility of non-coal mines. Non‑coal mines must, in accordance with regulatory requirements, promptly clarify the organizational structure of their mining (and stripping) construction teams, define a clear implementation roadmap, work backward from target deadlines, adopt visual management through progress‑tracking charts, and put in place concrete measures to ensure that either self‑built teams or full‑scale outsourced management are established within the prescribed time frame. During the rectification process, it is essential to strengthen safety management by thoroughly anticipating potential challenges—such as labor shortages, inadequate team coordination, public‑relations and petition‑related issues, constraints on total payroll, and a resurgence of accidents—and to develop corresponding safety protocols. At the same time, proactive efforts should be made to expand recruitment channels, foster a robust corporate culture, scientifically schedule production plans, enhance hands‑on training for personnel, and proactively address public concerns, thereby ensuring a smooth and orderly transition.
(11) Implement the responsibilities of regulatory authorities. All levels of safety supervision authorities for non‑coal mines shall conduct a comprehensive assessment of the current state of safety management for outsourced projects within their jurisdictions, and ascertain the progress schedule for establishing in‑house workforces or implementing full‑scale entrusted management. They should integrate law enforcement with service provision, assist in resolving difficulties and issues arising during the rectification process, and guide and facilitate the timely completion of in‑house workforce establishment or full‑scale entrusted management. Furthermore, they must strengthen regulatory enforcement, rigorously investigate and prosecute illegal and non‑compliant practices such as substituting contracting for management, undertaking management without effective oversight, illegally subcontracting or re‑subcontracting, using shell companies to obtain construction qualifications, and employing dispatched workers underground. For non‑coal underground production mines that remain non‑compliant after May 1, 2027, and for non‑coal open‑pit production mines that remain non‑compliant after May 1, 2028, orders shall be issued, in accordance with laws and regulations, to suspend operations for rectification.
(12) Strengthen national security oversight. All provincial bureaus of the National Mine Safety Administration shall prioritize the standardization of mining and stripping construction teams in non‑coal mines as a key focus of national mine safety supervision and governance. They are to urge and coordinate relevant departments to provide policy support for accelerating the development of in‑house mining teams or comprehensive outsourced management, and to ensure that local regulatory responsibilities are effectively fulfilled. In conjunction with the annual inspection plan, they shall organize and carry out spot checks and inspections on workplace safety in non‑coal mines, and, for cases where progress is inadequate or slow, shall, in accordance with the law, submit recommendations to the relevant local governments or competent authorities to strengthen and improve safety oversight of non‑coal mines.
These Opinions shall take effect from the date of their issuance.
National Mine Safety Administration
2026 year 6 month 25 day
