Эрдсийг эрдэнэст
Ирээдүйг өндөр хөгжилд
Mining The Resources
Minding the future
Opinion

A most important information source

N.Enkhbayar: Advisor to the Prime Minister 

Service and agriculture were the dominant sectors in the Mongolian economy before 2008, with mining contributing relatively little. As commodity prices in the world market started to rise sharply around that time, investors sought to explore new areas for mineral resources, and Mongolia was one of their destinations, It was at this very interesting turning point for our mining sector that The Mongolian Mining Journal brought out its first issue, giving our country its first magazine specializing in mining, technology and mineral economics. 

We have had professional journals and publications focused on other sectors, but The Mongolian Mining Journal is distinguished by its innovative and breaking articles written according to international standards, and by the attractive way in which it presents information. I personally value this journal for having made a major correction in the way Mongolians see mining. 

This it has done by regularly publishing many interesting articles on conditions in the mining sector, its achievements, introduction of new technology, the commodity market, the large mining-related projects and programmes in Mongolia, and infrastructure. 

For policy and decision makers, investors, people in the financial and banking sectors, and employees in public institutions, The Mongolian Mining Journal has become a most important source of information.On the 10th anniversary of The Mongolian Mining Journal, I wish the very best to its team and all its readers. 


True source of information

D.Sumyabazar,Minister of Mining and Heavy Industry:

Delivering accurate information to the public about the mining sector, the base of Mongolia’s economy and development, is an integral contribution to that development. With that in mind, I have begun the practice of holding a press conference every month to let the public know the policy decisions we make. This helps make us accountable to the people.
 
The Mongolian Mining Journal has been successfully providing mining information in two languages for 10 years now. The articles published in its English section are especially important to foreign investors as they contain information on what the government is doing. This is a great achievement. 

I would like to congratulate the Mongolian Mining Journal on its 10th anniversary celebrations and wish its team more success. They have served as a true source of information on the mining sector, the foundation of our country.




A pioneer and leader


T.Gantumur, President of the Mongolian National Mining Association:

First of allI would like to congratulate The Mongolian Mining Journal on its 10-year anniversary on behalf of the Mongolian National Mining Association, its member organizations and myself. My sincere gratitude goes to all working for the first Mongolian journal specialized in mining, a pioneer and leader in its chosen sector.

Mining has become the foundation of Mongolia’s development and, more important, the engine of its economic growth. There is an essential need to distribute accurate and balanced information about this sector to the public. The Mongolian Mining Journal has been doing this very successfully for 10 years and I am confident that it will continue to do so for many decades to come. 

The Mongolian Mining Journal has created its own space of professional and independent journalism, where it focuses on developments in the Mongolian mining sector, analyzing issues and identifying mistakes and successes. All this is presented to the public in the best possible professional way. As a reader I see the journal as an important source of informationin the mining sector, which involves covering policy makers, economists, researchers and the private sector. The journal has been adding to its reputation by becoming an essential information source for foreign investors, who often quote it.  

It would not be out of place to mention a delightful tidbit from ten years ago. Our Association contributed to the printing cost of the first issue of The Mongolian Mining Journal. We spotted a winner and MMJ is now member of our Association and the most important source of information. 
Again, I wish a happy 10-year anniversary to your talented team. 

Establishing new standards

Mongolian Journalists’ Union is sending its warm greetings to the first Mongolian bilingual journal specialized in mining and economic topics on its 10-year anniversary. 

The Mongolian Mining Journal was born in 2008 at the time when Mongolia was building up its mining sector, seeing in its development the key to national economic prosperity and improving the life of people.  Today we should remember and honour its founder --Bolormaa Luntan. She made the following statement when she delivered the first issue to readers, creating a new image of Mongolian journalism: “We all wish for development, but there are different views on how to make it happen. The path to development will be shorter if all these different positions are brought closer and reconciled. MMJ will be a part of and report on this debate on development.”The Mongolian Mining Journal has since then been focusing on how to bring conflicting positions to a consensus for the sake of Mongolia’s development. 

MJU is delighted to recall that it once adjudged The Mongolian Mining Journal “The Best Journal of the Year” for its clear understanding of the urgent need for rapid development of the mining sector,for establishing new standards of professional journalism, and for consistently following an independent editorial policy. All this made for a new type of product in Mongolian journalism, one that was based on feedback from professional experts, researchers and, last but not least, the common reader. 
We once again express our warm wishes to The Mongolian Mining Journal’s team on its 10-year anniversary. 
May your pen be sharp. 

MONGOLIAN JOURNALISTS’ UNION 


Peter Ker, Journalist, Australian Financial Review

"The Mongolian Mining Journal offers good quality, on the ground coverage of one of the world"s most prospective and interesting jurisdictions. It is a very rare player in this niche."



An example for others

Julian Dierkes,School of Public Policy and Global Affairs, University of British Columbia:

As the mineral sector in Mongolia has been developing, an understanding of its operations and associated challenges has grown tremendously in Mongolia over the past ten years. The Mongolian Mining Journal has been a part of that learning.

Because good governance is generally seen as an important antidote to the resource curse, information is an essential piece of the counter-measures. A vibrant and knowledgeable press is instrumental in not just providing information, but also in evaluating that information, its veracity and relevance, as it is made available to the public.

All along, the MMJ, inspired by Bolormaa’s vision, has been scrupulous in maintaining a stance of critical distance from the mining industry and to government, yet it has also recognized the development potential inherent in the industry, in Mongolia’s case in particular. Beyond the content of the magazine itself, MMJ has been an example for other publications and journalists and thus an important part of the media landscape.

Keeping true to its founder’s lofty vision

B.Bold-Erdene, Deputy Director of School of Arts and Sciences, National University of Mongolia:

Today, being professional has become the most important principle of journalism. Being professional means to deliver accurate and fair information to the public, and to take a clear and specific position and then to maintain it in the face of social power and influence. In order to be professional a media tool has to specialize in some specific area or activity and cover it in depth,using a wide-angle lens. 

By now it is well recognized that The Mongolian Mining Journal was the pioneer in delivering reliable and unbiased information. The mining sector in Mongolia is huge and information on the issues in this sector has a special importance and is much in demand. MMJ has been organizing specific discussions and meetings on such issues to raise the level of public perception, apart from publishing articles and preparing TV programmes. It often goes beyond the mining sector, and provides perspectives on the national economy, and global market conditions and prospects. 

The founder of this journal – Bolormaa Luntan --was a graduate of our Department of Journalism. Her life was unfortunately brief but in the few years that she edited MMJ, Bolormaa left an indelible mark in following the practices of journalism in the west -- in methodology, choice of issues and news, and writing style. It is a matter of satisfaction that the journal has not strayed from its founder’s overall vision.

MMJ takes a holistic approach, not separating social concerns from the purely economic. I am proud of how it relates development of a large mining sector, and foreign investment in it, to our overall national interest.  It has shown that issues in mining are not limited to mining alone, and that we should always consider how an issue would develop with time and contribute to the nation, and also how poor countries rich in mineral resources can most prudently use them.Personally, I believe that it has not been easy for a journal here to be run in this way for 10 eventful years. I wish the Mongolian Mining Journal team all success in the coming years and fervently hope that they would not stray from their founder’s lofty ideals.