According to the actual situation in China, geological exploration can be divided into public welfare and commercial. Geological exploration for the purpose of seeking mining rights and pursuing profits belongs to commercial geological exploration, and its industrial orientation should be part of mining industry. That is, the second industry category B in the National Economic Industry Classification (GB/T 4754-2002) is called "Mining Industry". The reason is:
(1) From the perspective of the complete production process of the mining industry, it must include two major stages, namely mineral exploration and mineral exploitation. Because most of the mineral resources are buried underground and have the characteristics of concealment, their quantity, quality and spatial position are unknown without exploration. Therefore, for hidden mineral resources, before mining, we must first find it and find it out. Prospecting is for mining and mining must be prospecting. In reality, many prospecting and mining activities are carried out by a team, which is called "combination of exploration and mining", such as PetroChina, Sinopec, CNOOC and Zijin Mining. With the combination of exploration and mining, the separation of exploration and mining cannot change its industrial nature.
(2) From the perspective of capital compensation, all the compensation for investment in exploration and mining rights ultimately comes from the sales income of mineral products. In "exploration and mining" enterprises, the cost of exploration and mining rights gradually enters the cost of mineral products through amortization; In enterprises with "separation of exploration and mining", the price of exploration right and mining right is purchased by mining enterprises, forming assets and then gradually entering the cost of mineral products. Their differences are as follows: "the combination of exploration and mining" comes at the cost; "Separation of exploration and mining" means price entry (with appreciation). But no matter what form it enters the cost of mineral products, the final compensation must be solved from the sales income of mineral products. Theoretically, if mineral products can't be sold, the capital chain of prospecting and mining will be broken. In this sense, the real long-term mechanism of mineral exploration investment must be based on its correct industrial orientation.
(3) From the correlation of economic benefits, the costs of prospecting and mining can be complementary. When the price of mineral products is relatively fixed, if the prospecting cost is high and the mining cost is low, the sum of the two is profitable and acceptable. For example, if a crisis mine is looking for mines nearby, it can accommodate higher exploration costs. If the exploration cost is low and the mining cost is high, the combination of the two is unprofitable and unacceptable. This shows that the price of exploration right mainly lies not in the comparison with other products, but in the affordability of the cost of self-produced mineral products.
This orientation shows that since commercial geological prospecting is a part of mining industry, it must follow the law of industrial economic activities under the socialist market economy system. Combined with the actual situation of geological exploration, we should pay special attention to the following four points:
(1) Commercial mineral exploration must accept market allocation. One of the fundamental differences between socialist market economy and planned economy is that the market plays a fundamental role in resource allocation. Most of China's mineral products production has always been market allocation, that is, where to mine and what to mine, which is not determined by the government at the micro level, but by enterprises according to market demand. This pattern inevitably requires that the production of mining rights, as a factor of mining production, must accept the allocation of the market. However, in reality, in the operation of the "separation of exploration and mining" system, a considerable number of non-enterprise geological prospecting units do not attach importance to market allocation. In their view, as long as the mine is found, it can alleviate the bottleneck of resources and make contributions to the country. As for whether the mine meets the market demand after finding it, it is not important. Therefore, they strongly urge the state to invest in prospecting and not be bound by the market. This is very dangerous for commercial geological prospecting subjects, because it will cause the break of the capital chain.
(2) Commercial geological prospecting investment must be capitalized. Under the market economy system, according to accounting theory, if the benefit time of an expenditure is longer than an accounting period, it should be capitalized and included in long-term assets, and recognized as an expense during the period when the long-term assets are consumed; If the benefit of an expenditure is limited to an accounting period, it should be regarded as a revenue expenditure, that is, it should be recognized as an expense during the expenditure period. Obviously, a large number of exploration and mining rights belong to the former. However, at present, a considerable part of the investment in solid mineral exploration in China is not capitalized, but expensed, that is, all exploration investment is written off in the current period. This serious violation of the laws of the market economy is very harmful. First of all, it can't truly reflect the cost of mining rights, and can't avoid natural risks and market risks through cost constraints. In this way, high-cost and low-income mining rights will inevitably be formed. Secondly, this practice makes people who invest capitalization face unfair market competition and be squeezed out of the market. In this way, the mining right market is not the survival of the fittest.
(3) The results of commercial geological prospecting must be investors and beneficiaries. Under the market economy system, business activities are all carried out with capital as the core, pursuing the appreciation of capital, and the state protects the legitimate rights and interests of capital through laws. This right is unique to mining rights, that is, the surplus of all income MINUS all costs. Costs include interest on bank loans, wages and benefits paid to employees, raw material expenses consumed, depreciation expenses extracted, management fees, etc. These fees have been paid before the mining right gains income through transfer. As a factor of production, it got its own return in the initial distribution and cleaned up with investors. As for whether the income obtained after the transfer of mining rights is surplus or loss compared with the cost, they are not responsible. This is the exact meaning of "whoever invests will benefit". However, in the reality of geological prospecting, there is a proposition that technical services should share capital gains, and it is supported by "intellectual property rights".
Obviously, this requires specific analysis: if investors agree to share in shares with technology and knowledge, or agree to share a certain proportion of profits, of course; If the mining right is intellectual property and requires profit sharing, it cannot be established.
(4) The property rights of commercial geological exploration achievements must be protected. Protecting the legitimate rights and interests of owners' property is the cornerstone of market economy theory. The Property Law of People's Republic of China (PRC) has made it clear that the exploration right and mining right belong to the usufructuary right in the property right, and the owner has the power stipulated by law, and his legitimate rights and interests must be protected. But in practice, this kind of property right is often violated, which seriously interferes with the normal operation of mining rights. Infringers often use "state investment" or "state ownership of resources" as an excuse to forcibly buy out or occupy mining rights. This is not allowed. Even if it is funded by the state, it is not directly invested by the state, but through state-owned geological prospecting units, and the government cannot recover it. Because it belongs to the property right of legal person, it is also protected by law. It is the recognition and protection of the legitimate rights and interests of mining rights holders that can constitute the system and mechanism under the socialist market economy system.