Mineral resources constitute an essential material foundation for economic and social development, with their exploration and exploitation bearing significant implications for the national economy, people’s livelihood, and security. The Mineral Resources Law enacted in 1986, serving as the fundamental legislation governing mineral resource development, utilization, and protection, underwent partial amendments in 1996 and 2009. However, it ultimately failed to transcend the specific limitations of planned economy-era legislation, proving inadequate in comprehensively addressing emerging situations and challenges within the mineral resources sector. The new Mineral Resources Law implemented on July 1, 2025, represents the first comprehensive revision since its promulgation, serving not only as a crucial legal safeguard for high-quality development in the mining industry but also as a vivid manifestation of China’s persistent efforts in constructing a legal framework for mineral governance. Mining rights stand as the core conceptual framework within the Mineral Resources Law, forming the pivotal support for its institutional architecture. The legislative configuration of this concept constitutes a critical issue in the legal system construction of mineral resources.The new Mineral Resources Law completes the transformation of the real right of mining rights by legislative resettlement, and realizes the fundamental transformation of mining rights from the “three rights in one”into the “right of de-certification”. The establishment, alteration and elimination of mining rights comply with the real estate rights change rules established by the Property Law, highlighting the institutional function of mining rights registration. The content composition strengthens the exclusive features of mining rights, adds a “through train” mode of converting prospecting rights into mining rights, and clarifies the system incentives for comprehensive exploration and integrated utilization. The legislative main line of the new Mineral Resources Law switches the power-centered system design to the rights-centered system design. Although this amendment is more appropriate for the legislative reset of the concept of mining rights, there is still further space for improvement in the construction of the system. For the supplement of the rules, for the “exploration to mining” fees, the new Mineral Resources Law designed to regulate the system is still in the rough framework structure, the specific types of fees, collection methods and collection of the amount of content are required to the financial sector and natural resources departments in charge of the cooperation and joint efforts. Specifically, whether mining rights transfer proceeds should be levied during “prospecting-to-mining”transitions must principally consider whether prospecting rights have undergone compensated disposition. For prospecting rights acquired through priority application in unexplored areas, “exploration encouragement” should serve as a key determinant in deciding such charges. Regarding the establishment of mining rights for newly discovered mineral resources, while emphasizing the implementation of institutional incentives for “comprehensive exploration, integrated utilization, and rational extraction”, vigilance must be maintained against potential distortions into pathways evading competitive allocation of mining rights. At the legislative follow-up level, synchronized advancement of the “establishment, reform, and abolition” within the supporting legal system proves imperative. The “establishment” and “abolition” as the mineral resources legal system reconstruction of the grasp, has the urgency of synchronization. Comprehensively abolish the system of norms that are contrary to the spirit of the amendment, and at the same time strengthen the construction of supporting norms behind a large number of authorization clauses involving different subjects.