Mongolia's mining regenerating |
Amongst Asian countries, Mongolia ranks as one of the richest in terms of volume and variety of undeveloped mineral resources. Although enormous potential exists in mineral resources, the economic viability of developing much of this natural wealth has not yet been demonstrated. The mining sector is of great importance for Mongolia’s economic stability and for the physical infrastructure, especially in the energy sector which is heavily dependent on coal. Mongolia has witnessed an increased interest in the mining sector, as well as in copper production. In recent years, foreign companies have found a somewhat improved environment for investment. It can make a contribution to the sustainable development of Mongolia. But regenerating the land after mining extraction has been sluggish. Statistics from the Ministry of Environment show that of the 331 Mongolian and foreign invested mining companies, and of the 13718.5 hectares where mineral extraction has occurred, only 2553.2 hectares land have been regenerated. This means there has only been 18 percent of regeneration as of November 2007. Land which has not been regenerated reached 11200.0 hectares. Since 1999, 120 to 130 gold mining sites have extracted and 276 million meters have been excavated until now. As of October 31, of this year, 1038.3 hectares are expected to be extracted by 152 mining companies. They have planned to regenerate 862.02 hectares and 937.9 hectares as technical and biological regenerations, respectively.
The answer to using natural resources and minerals responsibly is to develop a mining plan in Mongolia. In recent years, this has become a positive trend. Parliament members and high ranking officials, specialists and officials of the Minerals and Petroleum Authority, mining companies and a group of reporters have been paying official visits to foreign countries where the mining field is highly developed. Through this, they can learn skills from others’ experiences in mining. In order to develop mining, the right information is important. The Asia Foundation has supported opportunities to study in the U.S. states of California and Colorado. Last November, Tg542.6 million were collected according to law, from mining companies who defaulted on their obligation for regenerating sites. Interestingly, one of the factors that is helping Mongolia’s economic growth is the surprising rate of direct foreign investment. According to a survey by the Ministry of Industry and Trade, from 1990 to 2006, 6,165 foreign invested companies from 93 countries were registered, with a total direct investment of about US$2 billion in the country. 47.7 percent alone are invested in the mining sector from China, Canada, South Korea, Australia, Russia and Japan.
Written by Sh.Batmonkh |
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Experts say copper prices to remain high for next two years |
Market observers believe Mongolian copper prices will remain high for at least the next two years. One of the main reasons given for the continuing high prices are delays to planned mining projects caused by increasing percentages of revenues being funneled off by governments in Mongolia and Africa. |