BEIJING — The top auditing authority has found violations of laws in mineral rights management in 391 cases in six provincial regions.

Illegal activity was found in mineral rights approvals and acquisitions of mines, and resource protection, which damaged state-owned assets and spoiled the environment, the National Audit Office (NAO) said Jan 28 in a report.

The violations were discovered after an NAO inspection last year at coal and non-ferrous metal mines in Liaoning, Shandong, Sichuan, Gansu, Qinghai and Xinjiang.

The NAO said it had ordered those involved to rectify the situation, and it will track their process.

The inspection is the third since 2013.