The ministry said in a statement published on its Web site at www.mlr.gov.cn it had distributed oversight of 31 mineral exploration projects to provincial governments.

China, suffering from a lack of mineral resources such as concentrates for copper, zinc, lead, tungsten and antimony, is trying to curtail excessive mining. The sector is also notorious for polluting the environment and has a poor safety record.

"We are regulating minerals exploration at the provincial level to ensure that exploration of mineral resources is beneficial to the development of our economy," said Pan Wencan, director of the ministry's planning development department.

"The establishment of the programmes will improve the efficiency of exploration and make better use of China's mineral resources," Pan said in the statement. "It will also encourage firms to adopt environmentally friendly mining practices."

Under the new system, only mines of a certain size will be allowed to be developed, Pan said, as part of a government pledge to clamp down on haphazard mining.

Environmental protection standards will also apply. For instance, exploration in the northern province of Qinghai would have to ensure that the environment along the Yangtze, Yellow and Lancang rivers is well protected, Pan said.

China has slashed the number of mines in the country to 150,000 from more than 200,000, the statement said.