THE MINISTRY OF CONSTRUCTION
--------
SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF VIETNAM
Independence– Freedom – Happiness
--------------Hanoi, September 20, 2012
No. 04/2012/TT-BXD
CIRCULAR
GUIDING THE EXPORT OF MINERALS AS BUILDING MATERIALS
Pursuant to the Government's Decree No. 17/2008/NĐ-CP dated February 04, 2008, defining the functions, tasks,
powers and organizational structure of the Ministry of Construction;
Pursuant to the Government's Decree No. 15/2012/NĐ-CP dated March 09, 2012, detailing the implementation of
a number of articles of the Law on Mineral;
Pursuant to the Prime Minister’s Decision No. 105/2008/QĐ-TTg dated July 21, 2008, approving the Planning for
the exploration, extraction, and use of minerals for cement production in Vietnam by 2020;
Pursuant to the Prime Minister’s Decision No. 152/2008/QĐ-TTg dated November 28, 2008, approving the
Planning for the exploration, extraction, and use of mineral for building material production in Vietnam by 2020;
At the proposal of the Director of the Department of Building materials;
The Minister of Construction promulgates this Circular to guide the export of minerals for producing building
materials.
Chapter I
GENERAL PROVISIONS
Article 1. Scope of regulation and subjects of application
1. This Circular guide the activities related to the export of minerals for producing building materials, minerals for
producing cement, and minerals for producing common building materials, (hereinafter referred to as minerals for
producing building materials).
2. This Circular is applicable to domestic and foreign organizations and individuals eligible for participating in the
export of minerals for producing building materials in Vietnam (except for minerals for producing building materials
brought in non-tariff zones for building, repairing, or maintaining constructions in non-tariff zones).
Article 2. Interpretation of terms
The terms in this Circular are construed as follows:
1. State management agencies competent to issue mineral extraction licenses are the agencies prescribed in
Article 82 of the Law on Mineral No. 60/2010/QH12.
2. Mineral processing is the classification and enrichment of minerals, or other activities to meet the norms of
materials or products for various purposes:
3. Building sand is natural sand in mines, rivers, and streams, of which the SiO 2 content < 85% (except for silicon
white sand and salted sand) in the list of minerals for producing common building materials and sand from
crushed stone used for construction
4. Building stone is natural stone in the list of minerals for producing common building materials that is crushed
and classified by sized, and used as aggregate to make concrete, build embankments, foundations, walls, and
roads.
5. Stone blocks are natural stone that is not processed into a finished products, of which the volume ≥ 0.5 m 3 .
Chapter II
PROVISIONS ON THE EXPORT OF MINERALS AS BUILDING MATERIALS
Article 3. The list of minerals allowed to export
1. Minerals allowed to export are specified in Annex 1 of this Circular.
2. The Ministry of Construction shall report the demand for exporting minerals not in the list of minerals allowed to
be exported to Prime Minister for decisions
Article 4. Requirements for exporting minerals for producing building materials
1. The minerals in the list of minerals allowed to be exported must satisfy the conditions in Annex 1 of this
Circular, and not in the list of minerals for producing building materials banned from export in Annex 2 of this
Circular (except for minerals temporary imported for re-export).
2. The origins of minerals:
a) Minerals extracted from the mines of which the mineral extraction licenses issued by competent State
management agencies are unexpired at the time of extraction.
b) The minerals confiscated and liquidated by competent State management agencies with valid sale or auction
invoices.
c) Minerals temporary imported for re-export, or imported to process and then export, must comply with the Law
on Trade and its guiding documents. In this case, the enterprise must present the import declaration proving that
the minerals processed for export are produced from imported materials.
Article 5. The dossier of mineral export includes:
1. The goods export documents as prescribed by the Law on Customs.
2. The results of the tests on the mechanical, physical, and chemical norms of the minerals in accordance with
Annex 1 of this Circular, and certified by LAS-XD laboratories or the equivalent (except for paving stones, ashlars,
bituminous shale)
3. The documents proving the origins of minerals:
a) Enterprises extracting and processing minerals, or authorized to extract, process, and export minerals must
present the notarized copy of the mineral extraction licenses and Investment certificates of the mineral processing
projects. If the mineral extracting unit does not have a processing factory, it must provide the Investment
certificate of the processing unit hired to process minerals, and the mineral processing contract.
b) Enterprises purchasing minerals to process and export must present the notarized copy of the mineral
extraction licenses, VAT invoices, and Investment certificates of the mineral processing projects of the sellers.
c) Enterprises purchasing minerals to process and export must present the notarized copy of the mineral
extraction licenses, VAT invoices, and Investment certificates of the mineral processing projects of the sellers.
d) Enterprises importing minerals to process and export must present the import declaration proving that the
minerals processed for export are produced from imported materials.
Chapter IV
IMPLEMENTATION ORGANIZATION
Article 6. Reports on the export of minerals for producing building materials
1. Enterprises exporting minerals must make and send reports to provincial People’s Committees under the form
in Annex 3 of this Circular before January 15 every year. Provincial People’s Committees shall make and send
reports to the Ministry of Construction before January 30 every year for summarizing and sending reports to the
Prime Minister. A report is made annually, starting from January 01 until the end of December 31 of the reporting
year.
2. Apart from implementing the reporting regime as prescribed, exporters must make irregular reports on the
export of minerals at the request of relevant State management agencies to serve their management.
Article 7. Inspection and handling of violations
1. The Ministry of Construction shall cooperate with relevant Ministries and sectors to organize periodic and
irregular inspection of the adherence to law provisions on exporting minerals for producing building materials in
localities.
2. Provincial People’s Committees must direct functional agencies to carry out periodic and irregular inspection of
the export of minerals for producing building materials as prescribed by law.
3. Organizations and individuals that violate this Circular must incur to administrative penalties, pay
compensations, or liable to criminal prosecution as prescribed by law.
Article 8. Effects
This Circular takes effect on November 06, 2012, and supersedes the Circular No. 18/2009/TT-BXD dated June
30, 2009 of the Minister of Construction, guiding the export of minerals for producing building materials.
Organizations and individuals are recommended to send feedbacks on the difficulties arising during the course of
implementation to the Ministry of Construction for consideration and settlement./.
FOR THE MINISTER
DEPUTY MINISTER
Nguyen Tran Nam
ANNEX 1
LIST OF MINERAL
EXPORTED AS BUILDING MATERIALS
(promulgated together with Circular No. 04/2012/TT-BXD dated September 20, 2012 of the Ministry of
Construction)
No.
List of minerals
Export standards
1
Sand
1.1
White sand
SiO2 content ≥ 99 %
1.2
Yellow sand for making
casts and filtering water
SiO2 content ≥ 95%. Grain diameter ≤
2.5mm
1.3
Ground sand
Grain diameter ≤ 5mm
1.4
Salted sand
Cl- content ≥ 0.05 %
TiO2 content ≤ 1000 ppm
2
Limestone: materials for
Grain diameter ≤ 200 mm
producing building
glasses, metallurgy, lime
burning…
3
Paving stones
Thickness ≤ 100 mm
4
Stone (limestone,
Grain diameter ≤ 20 mm
marble…)
5
ashlars, bituminous
Condition
The project is allowed by the
Prime Minister and not used by
the locality
Not in the Planning of minerals
for producing cement and
building materials
Processing, polishing decorative
surfaces
Thickness ≤ 50 mm
shale
6
Building stone
Grain diameter ≤ 60 mm
7
dolomite
MgO content ≥ 18%. Grain diameter ≤
60 mm
8
Quartz
Grain diameter ≤ 1 machinery, SiO2 ≥
85%
The mines outside South-East
and South-West provinces.
9
Kaolin
Al2O3 ≥ 28 %, Fe2O3 ≤ 3 %
Grain diameter ≤ 1 mm
10
Pyrophyllite kaolin
Al2O3 ≥ 17 %
Grain diameter ≤ 100 mm
ANNEX 2
LIST OF MINERAL AS BUILDING MATERIALS BANNED FROM EXPORT
(promulgated together with Circular No. 04/2012/TT-BXD dated September 20, 2012 of the Ministry of
Construction)
No.
List of minerals
1
Limestone and additives in the Planning of minerals for producing cement
2
Building stone from the mines in South-East and South-West provinces.
3
Stone blocks
4
Salted sand
5
Building sand (natural sand)
6
Gravel
7
Felspat
8
Clay,