BEIJING - China collected 20.37 billion yuan ($3.32 billion) in compensation fees for mineral resources in 2014, the second highest following the record of 21.25 billion set in 2013, the Ministry of Land and Resources said on Thursday.

The mineral resource compensation fee was introduced in 1994 and assessed at an average of 1.18 percent of sales revenues for miners.

One of the purposes in charging compensation fees for mineral resources is to safeguard the state's property rights and interests over mineral resources.

In 2014, the compensation for oil, natural gas and coal accounted for 63.4 percent of the total fee, slightly lower than the previous year. The drop was due to slower demand growth, decreasing prices and adjustment of tax policies, said the ministry.

Shanxi and Shaanxi provinces along with the Inner Mongolia autonomous region contributed more than 2 billion yuan separately in 2014.

Currently, mineral resource rents in China mainly take the form of resource taxes and resource compensation fees.