Rural Mongol Bank branches purchase 33 kg gold

Since the opening of the new gold assaying laboratories in Darkhan-Uul Province and Bayankhongor Province, 33 kilograms of gold have been sold to Mongol Bank branches in the two locations.

As of October 25, 25.6 kilograms of gold was sold to the Darkhan-Uul branch of Mongol Bank as the gold assaying laboratory offers easier access for gold miners to have their gold assayed.

The Bayankhongor branch of Mongol Bank purchased 7.4 kilograms of gold since the opening of the laboratory.

Before selling gold to Mongol Bank, miners are required to have the quality of the gold determined by a certified assaying laboratory. Officials say that the opening of this laboratory in a region where gold mining is prevalent such as Darkhan-Uul and Bayankhongor provinces will help increase sales to the central bank and help cut costs of miners. Mongol Bank underlines that this is a step forward in legitimizing gold trading and will help cut out middle men in gold sales to the central bank.

The central bank is planning to purchase 22 tons of gold by the end of this year, contributing an estimated 760 million USD to the foreign exchange reserve.