Mineral Resource Authority says mining exploration licenses can be provided for 31.8 million hectares

The Mineral Resource Authority of Mongolia reported that of the 31.8 million hectares available for mining, the previous administration of J.Erdenebat provided licenses for 13.6 million hectares.

Since the beginning of 2017, 71 special licenses have been approved. The government had plans to provide licenses to over 600 companies but the online registration system malfunctioned, causing the process to stop temporarily.

The selection process entailed a 10 billion MNT revenue and the licensing fee contributed 17.1 billion MNT to the state budget. Around 6.5 percent of Mongolia’s land is being explored while one percent of land has been permitted for mining activities.

Recently, in an address to Parliament at the commencement of the fall session, President Kh.Battulga made his stance on mining licensing clear. He spoke to the unfair nature of mining license ownership and the exploitations of a wealthy few using that system.

“The Law on Mineral Resources creates a situation where foreigners and few powerful figures can get hold of the natural resources. We have to immediately put an end to this. Regardless of our hope in mining, which is deemed the most promising economic sector of Mongolia, the situation became worse than it had been before,” he stated.

The President believes that the mining policy of the government desperately needs an overhaul.

“It is hard to call a policy a correct one when it created a debt of three trillion MNT for people who had no apparent debt before the mining boom,” he added.