Following approval by Parliament,the new government’s manifesto for its entire term has become the formal map for the country’s direction in the coming four years. We give below an English version of the parts of it that are of interest to our specialised readership. The translation is free rather than literal but it is accurate. However, it has not been authorised or authenticated by any competent authority. We start with the section related to mining, and then go to other areas, thus changing the order in the original document.
Mining
Sustainable development of the sector will be ensured through annually increasing the budget investment for territorial geological mapping, exploration and prospecting, enriching the geo database, and increasing the reserve of the minerals.
• By 2016,40% of the total territory will be covered in a 1:50,000 geological map and by state-funded general exploration work to identify territorial geological formations, distribution characteristics of mineral elements and their future prospects.
• A new Mongolian National Geology Department will be set up to modernise the organisational structure of the geological sector.
The following will be made legally mandatory:
- Obtaining local residents’ opinion when issuing mineral licences;
- Issuing exploitation licences on the basis of Government resolutions;
- Putting limits on the number of mineral licences granted to economic and legal entities;
- Granting mining exploration licences only for areas authorised by the state;
- Ensuring that the mining products are first sold initially to domestic manufacturing factories at market prices;
- Entitling Mongolia to own up to 51% of a company established to exploit strategically important deposits explored with financing from the state budget;
- Not issuing permits to mines found economically non-viable in feasibility studies, or likely to cause unacceptable environmental damage;
- Granting the right to exploit a deposit to an economic entity only after it guarantees that it has the financial means to do restoration work in line with the applicable standards;
- Further elaborating the definition of “strategically important deposits” stipulated in the Minerals Law on the basis of a survey, and implementing a special policy in regard to energy and coking coal, copper, iron ore and rare earth elements after including them in the list of strategically important deposits;
- Pursuing a policy to exploit deposits with geologically combined formation in a comprehensive and consolidated manner;
- Installing an integrated “Single Window” service for minerals exports;
- Ensuring that domestic economic entities receive preference as supplier or sub-contractor to mining projects;
- Revising the list of strategically important deposits and accelerating the process to put large deposits into economic circulation;
- Consolidating the state ownership of strategically important deposits by imposing a corporate structure, and providing citizens with preferential shares in them in accordance with provisions of the Law on Human Development Fund;
- Ensuring that the extraction, storage and trading of gold are transparent;
- Further elaborating the regulations governing micro mining and enforcing compliance;
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Following approval by Parliament,the new government’s manifesto for its entire term has become the formal map for the country’s direction in the coming four years. We give below an English version of the parts of it that are of interest to our specialised readership. The translation is free rather than literal but it is accurate. However, it has not been authorised or authenticated by any competent authority. We start with the section related to mining, and then go to other areas, thus changing the order in the original document.