Mongolia is a landlocked country in the heart of the Asian continent. It has a population of 2.5 million and vast tracts of desert, semi-desert and mountainous terrain. Agriculture and mining are the dominant economic activities. 

The mining sector is a major contributor to the economy, accounting for about 9 percent of GDP, 9 percent of industrial output, and 40 percent of export earnings.  The formal mining industry sector employs over 12,000 people and the informal (artisanal) mining sector may involve more than twice this number.

Mongolia’s geology is complex and its mineral potential vast; over 6,000 mineral showings/ deposits of 80 different minerals are known. The most economically significant of these are base metals, gold, and fluorite. The mining industry’s historic output is largely based on copper and gold.

There has been a rapid rise in mineral exploration in Mongolia. This is in part due to the 1997 Minerals Law, which has played a pivotal role in attracting foreign exploration companies. Other important factors were the government’s abolition of a 10 percent gold tax, and the widely publicized discovery of the Oyu Tolgoi copper/gold deposit in 2001.

Since this discovery, the number of exploration licenses held and the amount of land held by licensees has increased fivefold. There are now 2,595 exploration licenses in Mongolia covering 40 million hectares, 26 percent of its territory.

Delegates