Item 2. Properties
Item
2. Properties.
FIGURE
2.1 - REGIONAL MAP OF MINING PROPERTIES
31
FIGURE
2.2 – DETAILED 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
(it had been sold in December, 2025). These offices were purchased from Shandong Shouguang Vegetable Seed industry Group Co., Ltd.
32
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 acres, 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.
33
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 was 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,
2025. 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, 2025
28.25
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
years
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, 2025
5
Years
Prior
Fees Paid for Land Use Rights
Not
applicable
Annual
Rent
RMB5,000,000
Mining
Permit No.:
Under
application
34
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, 2025
27
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
years
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, 2025
15.7
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, 2025
29
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, 2025
33.17
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
years
35
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, 2025
33.66
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, 2025
34.5
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, 2025
6.0
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.
36
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)
2025
Utilization Ratio
2024
Utilization Ratio
Factory No.
1
—
6,442
6,681
25 %
11 %
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
25 %
11 %
Factory No. 8
September 7, 2009
2,723
4,016
25 %
4 %
Factory No. 9
June 7, 2010
759
2,793
31 %
16 %
Factory No.4 (originally named as Subdivision
of Factory No. 1)
January 1, 2011
1
3,186
24 %
3 %
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.
2025
2024
Bromine
Produced
Sold
Selling price
Produced
Sold
Selling price
Facility
(in
tons)
(in
tons)
(RMB/ton)
(in
tons)
(in
tons)
(RMB/ton)
Factory No.
1
1,663
1,664
27,481
721
728
17,633
Factory No. 2
—
—
—
—
—
—
Factory No. 3**
—
—
—
—
—
—
Factory No. 4**
—
—
—
—
—
—
Factory No. 7* (originally
named as No. 5 and No. 7) *
1,741
1,743
27,343
791
792
17,640
Factory No. 8
1,008
988
27,180
145
168
16,906
Factory No. 9
874
876
27,211
459
465
17,571
Factory No. 4 (originally
know Subdivision of Factory No. 1)
753
753
26,752
80
97
17,462
Factory No. 10
—
—
—
—
—
—
Factory
No. 11**
—
—
—
—
—
—
Total
6,039
6,024
2,196
2,250
* 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.
37
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.
2025
2024
Crude
Salt
Produced
Sold
Selling
price
Produced
Sold
Selling
price
Facility
(in
tons)
(in
tons)
(RMB/ton)
(in
tons)
(in
tons)
(RMB/ton)
Factory
No. 1
1,910
1,910
186
1,090
1,090
214
Factory
No. 2
6,420
5,847
184
3,850
6,153
194
Factory
No. 7* (Originally Named as No. 5 and
No. 7) *
32,060
34,866
184
28,960
31,694
185
Factory
No. 8
32,040
32,040
183
20,000
20,000
200
Factory
No. 9
17,610
19,253
184
15,380
18,353
181
Total
90,040
93,916
69,280
77,290
*
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.
Text extracted from the filing as submitted to EDGAR. Formatting, tables and exhibits are simplified for reading; the original document is authoritative for anything you rely on.