GULF RESOURCES, INC. 10-K

Item 2. Properties. FIGURE 2.1 - REGIONAL MAP OF MINING PROPERTIES 21 FIGURE 2.2 – DETAIED MAP OF MINING PROPERTIES We do not own any land, although we do own some of the buildings on land we lease. Our executive offices are located at Level 11, Vegetable Building, Industrial Park of the East in Shouguang City, Shandong Province, P.R.C, which also is the headquarters of SCHC, SHSI and SYCI. These offices were purchased from Shandong Shouguang Vegetable Seed industry Group Co., Ltd. 22 SYCI concentrates its efforts on the production and sale of chemical products that are used in oil and gas field exploration, oil and gas distribution, oil field drilling, papermaking chemical agents, and manufacture and sell materials that are used for human and animal antibiotics in China. Currently, SYCI is closed according to the November 2017 Letter and currently under construction at Bohai Marine Fine Chemical Industry Park, Shouguang City, Shandong Province, China, where SYCI will be relocated to. DCHC is a registered company exploring and developing natural gas and brine resources (including bromine and crude salt) in China located in No.14 team, Liguanggou Village, Tianbao Township, Daying County, Suining City, Sichuan Province,China. In the first quarter of 2018, six out of its ten bromine factories completed their rectification process within factory areas (i.e. excluding crude salt field area) and were approved and scheduled for production commencement by April 2018 as verbally indicated by the local government. The remaining four factories were still undergoing rectification at that time. Three factories (Factory No. 3, Factory No. 4 and Factory No. 11) had to be demolished in September 2018 as required by the government and rectification for Factory No. 10 was completed in November 2018. The Company operates its bromine and crude salt production facilities through its wholly-owned subsidiary SCHC. SCHC has land use rights to one property (10,790 square meters, or approximately 3 acre) as bromine production area for Factory No. 1 and land lease contracts to seven properties (approximately 17,816 acre), totaling nearly 17,819 acre, located on the south bank of Laizhou Bay on the Shandong Peninsula of the People’s Republic of China. Each of the properties is accessible by road. The Yiyang railway line is within 50 kilometers and the Yangkou port is five kilometers away. Each of the seven properties contains natural brine deposits which are extracted through wells and are used to extract bromine and produce crude salt. Bromine is a simple molecular element which is produced by extracting the bromine ion from natural brine. Crude salt is sodium chloride. Bromine is an important chemical raw material in flame retardants, fire extinguishing agents, refrigerants, photographic materials, pharmaceuticals, pesticides, and oil and other industries. Crude salt, also known as industrial salt, is used in a wide range of chemical industries, is the major raw material in the soda and chlor-alkali industries and can be widely used in agricultural, animal husbandry, fisheries and food processing industries. Crude salt is also the main raw material for edible salt. Nature of Ownership Interest in the Properties All of the land in the PRC is owned by the state. Individuals and companies are permitted to acquire rights to use land or land use rights for specific purposes at no cost. In the case of land used for industrial purposes, the land use rights are granted for a period of 50 years. This period may be renewed at the expiration of the initial and any subsequent terms. Granted land use rights are transferable and may be used as security for borrowings and other obligations. The Company does not own any land but has entered into contracts with the local government and original owners of the land use rights to acquire their rights for a period of 50 years. The contracts required us to pay a one-time fee plus an annual rent. Mineral Rights The Chinese and provincial governments have enacted a series of laws and regulations relating to the natural resources sector over the past 20 years, including laws and regulations designed to improve safety and decrease environmental degradation. The “China Mineral Resources Law” declares state ownership of all mineral resources in China. However, mineral exploration rights can be purchased, sold and transferred to both domestic and foreign owned companies. Mineral resource rights are granted by the central government permitting recipients to conduct mineral resource activities in a specific area during the license period. These rights entitle the licensee to undertake mineral resource activities and infrastructure and ancillary work, in compliance with applicable laws and regulations, within the specific area covered by the license during the license period. The licensee is required to submit a proposal and feasibility studies to the relevant authority and to pay the central government a natural resources tax levied at 8% of sales. The Company was exempt from paying the fee prior to January 1, 2008. Shandong province has determined that bromine is to be extracted only by licensed entities. 23 Our mineral rights are issued by the local government and allow for a one year period of mining. The rights provide us with the exclusive rights to explore and extract natural brine under the leased land and produce bromine and crude salt. The government performs an annual inspection of the company’s previous year’s state of production & operations at beginning of each year. The annual inspection reviews: (1) whether the production is safe and if any accidents occurred during the previous year; (2) whether the natural resources tax and other taxes were timely paid; (3) whether employees’ salary and welfare benefits were timely paid; and (4) whether the Company meets environment protection standards. Only those companies who pass the inspection receive mineral rights for another one year term. For those companies who do not pass the inspection, additional mineral rights are not allocated until they can meet the requirements. If there is major safety accident, the government may revoke the mining permit. The mining certificate were renewed in July 2021 with production limit of 24,000 tons of bromine production per year. On September 21, 2018, we received a closing notice from the People’s Government of Yangkou Town, Shouguang City informing us that we had to shut down our three bromine factories (Factory No. 3, No. 4, and No. 11.). The following is a description of the land use and mineral rights related to each of the nine properties held by SCHC as of December 31, 2023. All of the bromine factories are under rectification process without production. Property Factory No. 1 – Haoyuan General Factory Area 6,442 acres Date of Acquisition February 5, 2007 Land Use Rights Lease Term Fifty Years Land Use Rights Expiration Date 2054 (for mining areas only) The number of remaining years to expiration of the of the land lease as of December 31, 2023 30.25 Years Prior fees paid for land use rights RMB8.6 million Annual Rent RMB186,633 Mining Permit No.: C3707002009056220022340 Date of Permission: July 2018, subject to renewal per three years Period of Permission: Three year Property Factory No. 4 ( originally named as Subdivision of Factory No. 1 ) – State-owned Shouguang Qinshuibo Farm Area 0.79 acres Date of Factory lease January 1, 2011 Factory Lease Term Twenty Years Factory lease Expiration Date 2030 The number of remaining years to expiration of the of the factory lease as of December 31, 2023 7.0 Years Prior Fees Paid for Land Use Rights Not applicable Annual Rent RMB5,000,000 Mining Permit No.: Under application 24 Property Factory No. 2 – Yuwenbo Area 1,846 acres Date of Acquisition April 7, 2007 Land Use Rights Lease Term Fifty Years Land Use Rights Expiration Date 2052 The number of remaining years to expiration of the of the land lease as of December 31, 2023 29 Years Prior Fees Paid For Land Use Rights RMB7.5 million Annual Rent RMB162,560 Mining Permit No.: C3707002009056220022340 Date of Permission: July 2021, subject to renewal per three years Period of Permission: Three year Property Factory No. 2 – State Operated Shouguang Qingshuibo Farm Area 568 acres Date of Acquisition December 30, 2010 Land Use Rights Lease Term Thirty Years Land Use Rights Expiration Date 2040 The number of remaining years to expiration of the of the land lease as of December 31, 2023 17.7 Years Prior Fees Paid for Land Use Rights Not applicable Annual Rent RMB172,500 (increase 5% per year) Mining Permit No.: Under application Property Factory No. 7 (originally named as No. 5)– Wangjiancai Area 2,165 acres Date of Acquisition October 25, 2007 Land Use Rights Lease Term Fifty Years Land Use Rights Expiration Date 2054 The number of remaining years to expiration of the of the land lease as of December 31, 2023 31 Years Annual Rent RMB176,441 Prior Fees Paid for Land Use Rights RMB8.3 million Mining Permit No.: Under application, written consent obtained from local land and resources departments Property Factory No. 7 – Qiufen Yuan Area 1,611 acres Date of Acquisition January 7, 2009 Land Use Rights Lease Term Fifty Years Land Use Rights Expiration Date 2059 The number of remaining years to expiration of the of the land lease as of December 31, 2023 35.17 Years Prior Fees Paid for Land Use Rights Not applicable Annual Rent RMB171,150 (increase 5% per two years) Mining Permit No.: C3707002009056220022340 Date of Permission: July 2018, subject to renewal per three years Period of Permission: Three year 25 Property Factory No. 8 – Fengxia Yuan Area 2,723 acres Date of Acquisition September 7, 2009 Land Use Rights Lease Term Fifty Years Land Use Rights Expiration Date 2059 The number of remaining years to expiration of the of the land lease as of December 31, 2023 35.66 Years Prior Fees Paid for Land Use Rights Not applicable Annual Rent RMB347,130 (increase 5% per two years) Mining Permit No.: Under application, written consent obtained from local land and resources departments Property Factory No. 9 – Jinjin Li Area 759 acres Date of Acquisition June 7, 2010 Land Use Rights Lease Term Fifty Years Land Use Rights Expiration Date 2060 The number of remaining years to expiration of the of the land lease as of December 31, 2023 36.5 Years Prior Fees Paid for Land Use Rights Not applicable Annual Rent RMB184,200 (increase 5% per two years) Mining Permit No.: Under application, written consent obtained from local land and resources departments Property Factory No. 10 – Liangcai Zhang Area 1,700 acres Date of Acquisition December 13, 2021 Land Use Rights Lease Term Ten Years Land Use Rights Expiration Date 2031 The number of remaining years to expiration of the of the land lease as of December 31, 2023 8.0 Years Prior Fees Paid for Land Use Rights Not applicable Annual Rent RMB1,376,000 Mining Permit No.: Under application Leased Facility On November 5, 2010, SCHC entered into a Lease Contract with State-Operated Shouguang Qingshuibo Farm. Pursuant to the Lease Contract, SCHC shall lease certain property with an area of 3,192 square meters (or 0.8 acres) and buildings adjacent to the Company’s Factory No. 1. There are currently non-operating bromine production facilities on the property which have not been in production for more than 12 months. The annual lease payment for the property is RMB 5.0 million, approximately $705,950, per year and shall be paid by SCHC no later than June 30th of each year. The term of the Lease Contract is for twenty years commencing January 1, 2011. The Lease Contract may be renewed by SCHC for an additional twenty year period on the same terms. The Lessor has agreed to permit SCHC to reconstruct and renovate the existing bromine production facilities on the property. 26 The chart below represents the annual production capacity and annualized utilization ratios for our bromine producing properties currently leased by the Company, which are all located in Shouguang City, Shandong Province, China. There are no proven and probable reserves located on our properties. Bromine Property Facility Acquisition Date Acres Annual Production Capacity # (in tons) 2023 Utilization Ratio 2022 Utilization Ratio Factory No. 1 — 6,442 6,681 33 % 36 % Factory No. 2 April 7, 2007 1,846 4,844 — — Factory No. 7* (originally named as No. 5 and No. 7) October 25, 2007/ January 7, 2009 3,776 6,986 34 % 35 % Factory No. 8 September 7, 2009 2,723 4,016 33 % 3 % Factory No. 9 June 7, 2010 759 2,793 41 % 54 % Factory No.4 (originally named as Subdivision of Factory No. 1) January 1, 2011 1 3,186 28 % 43 % Factory No. 10 December 22, 2011 1,700 3,000 — — * Bromine production for Factory No. 5 and Factory No. 7 were combined in early 2010 as both factories are located adjacent to each other, and renamed Factory No. 5 (which was previously considered part of Factory No. 7) as Factory No. 7 on May 2019. The following table shows the annual bromine produced and sold for each of our production facilities and the weighted average price received for all products sold for the last two years. 2023 2022 Bromine Facility Produced (in tons) Sold (in tons) Selling price (RMB/ton) Produced (in tons) Sold (in tons) Selling price (RMB/ton) Factory No. 1 2,223 2,220 23,760 2,401 2,402 51,184 Factory No. 2 — — — — — — Factory No. 3** — — — — — — Factory No. 4** — — — — — — Factory No. 7* (originally named as No. 5 and No. 7) * 2,403 2,405 23,783 2,433 2,434 51,185 Factory No. 8 1,314 1,300 23,574 116 108 51,327 Factory No. 9 1,142 1,147 23,715 1,504 1,506 51,193 Factory No. 4 (originally know Subdivision of Factory No. 1) 879 879 24,072 1,367 1,367 51,181 Factory No. 10 — — — — — — Factory No. 11** — — — — — — Total 7,961 7,951 7,821 7,817 * Bromine production for Factory No. 5 and Factory No. 7 were combined in early 2010 as both factories are located adjacent to each other, and renamed Factory No. 5 (which was previously considered part of Factory No. 7) as Factory No. 7 on May 2019. ** Factory No. 3, 4 and 11 were demolished in September 2018. 27 The following table shows the annual crude salt produced and sold for each of our production facilities and the weighted average price received for all products sold for the last two years. 2023 2022 Crude Salt Facility Produced (in tons) Sold (in tons) Selling price (RMB/ton) Produced (in tons) Sold (in tons) Selling price (RMB/ton) Factory No. 1 1,750 3,250 216 4,790 3,780 272 Factory No. 2 5,930 6,650 238 7,480 3,330 239 Factory No. 7* (Originally Named as No. 5 and No. 7) * 42,160 41,280 215 111,740 109,210 258 Factory No. 8 23,900 23,900 205 17,880 17,880 256 Factory No. 9 20,440 22,021 221 56,470 50,320 255 Total 94,180 97,101 198,360 184,520 * Bromine production for Factory No. 5 and Factory No. 7 were combined in early 2010 as both factories are located adjacent to each other, and renamed Factory No. 5 (which was previously considered part of Factory No. 7) as Factory No. 7 on May 2019 Our SYCI’s production facilities did not produce or sold any chemical products for the last two years.