1 CHINA’S MONGOLIAN COAL IMPORTS UP 20% IN OCT, RUSSIAN IMPORTS SLIP 18% WWW.BRECORDER.COM  PUBLISHED:2025/11/21      2 S.KOREA-MONGOLIA JOINT COMMITTEE MEETING REAFFIRMS MINERAL COOPERATION WWW.KOREAPOST.COM PUBLISHED:2025/11/21      3 TEAM MONGOLIA FROM PHYSICAL ASIA: WHERE ARE THEY NOW? WWW.MOVIEDELIC.COM PUBLISHED:2025/11/21      4 N.UCHRAL: I’LL BE LENIENT WITH THE RIGHT, STRICT WITH THE WRONG WWW.GOGO.MN PUBLISHED:2025/11/20      5 MONGOLIAN BANKING SECTOR'S NET FOREIGN ASSETS DECLINE 16.1 PCT IN OCTOBER WWW.XINHUANET.COM PUBLISHED:2025/11/20      6 ON THE TALKS OF SECRETARY-GENERAL WITH THE MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF MONGOLIA WWW.ENG.SECTSCO.ORG PUBLISHED:2025/11/20      7 MONGOLIA UNIFIES TO COMBAT NEW THREATS TO SNOW LEOPARDS WWW.SNOWLEOPARD.ORG PUBLISHED:2025/11/20      8 AMERICAN-CANADIAN BILLIONAIRE OPENS $2-BILLION PLATINUM MINE IN SOUTH AFRICA WWW.AFRICA.BUSINESSINSIDER.COM PUBLISHED:2025/11/20      9 EDUCATION INFRASTRUCTURE: 12 SCHOOLS, 24 KINDERGARTENS SET FOR 2025 LAUNCH WWW.MONTSAME.MN PUBLISHED:2025/11/20      10 MONGOLIA JAPAN HOSPITAL INTRODUCES SELECTIVE LASER TRABECULOPLASTY SYSTEM WWW.AKIPRESS.COM PUBLISHED:2025/11/20      Н.УЧРАЛ: ХУУЛЬ ТОТООХ ДЭЭД БАЙГУУЛЛАГААС ХУЛГАЙН СЭЖИГТНҮҮД БИШ ХУУЛЬ ТӨРЖ БАЙХ ЁСТОЙ WWW.ITOIM.MN НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2025/11/21     ТЭРБУМ МОД САНГИЙН ТӨСЛИЙН СОНГОН ШАЛГАРУУЛАЛТ ЗАРЛАГДЛАА WWW.BILLIONTREE.MN НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2025/11/20     ОЙЖУУЛАЛТАД ХАМГИЙН ИХ ХӨРӨНГӨ ОРУУЛАЛТ ХИЙЖ БАЙГАА ХУВИЙН ХЭВШЛИЙН САНГААР ТЭРБУМ МОД САНГ НЭРЛЭЛЭЭ WWW.BILLIONTREE.MN НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2025/11/20     МОНГОЛД ГАДНЫ БАНК НЭЭХ НЬ ХЭРЭГЛЭГЧДЭД ӨГӨӨЖТЭЙ Ч ДОТООДЫН БАНК САНХҮҮГИЙН САЛБАРТ ЭРСДЭЛТЭЙ WWW.EGUUR.MN НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2025/11/20     ӨНГӨРСӨН САРД 11 УЛСЫН 240 ИРГЭНИЙГ АЛБАДАН ГАРГАЖЭЭ WWW.EGUUR.MN НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2025/11/20     Х.НЯМБААТАР: ГАНДАН ОРЧМЫГ НОГООН БАЙГУУЛАМЖ БҮХИЙ ЖИШИГ ГУДАМЖ БОЛГОН ТОХИЖУУЛНА WWW.ITOIM.MN НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2025/11/20     ОЮУ ТОЛГОЙ ТӨСЛИЙН ХУВЬ НИЙЛҮҮЛЭГЧДИЙН ЗЭЭЛИЙН ХҮҮГ БУУРУУЛАХ ХЭЛЭЛЦЭЭ ҮРГЭЛЖИЛЖ БАЙНА WWW.MONTSAME.MN НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2025/11/20     УИХ-ЫН ДАРГААР Н.УЧРАЛ СОНГОГДЛОО WWW.ITOIM.MN НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2025/11/20     "ЧИНГИС ХААН" ОДОН ХҮРТЭЖ БУЙ С.НАРАНГЭРЭЛ ГЭЖ ХЭН БЭ WWW.ITOIM.MN НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2025/11/20     ОХУ-ЫН БАНК САЛБАРАА МОНГОЛД НЭЭХ ҮҮ? WWW.NEWS.MN НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2025/11/20    

Category

Events

Events

Name organizer Where
MBCC “Doing Business with Mongolia seminar and Christmas Receptiom” Dec 10. 2024 London UK MBCCI London UK Goodman LLC

NEWS

64x64

G. Damdinnyam: Mongolia will smelt copper domestically and produce final products www.en.mininginsight.mn

“Mining Insight” magazine’s N. Ariuntuya sat down with Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources G. Damdinnyam for an interview. This conversation with the Minister marks his very first in-depth interview with the press since his appointment as the Minister of the sector. He candidly discussed the challenges that have accumulated in the sector, as well as possible solutions, and openly shared his vision of the future direction of Mongolia’s mining and industrial policies. From the Minister’s detailed interview, readers can gain a clear outlook on how the sector’s development roadmap will take shape in the coming years.
A POLICY CANNOT BE BASED ON JUST ONE OR TWO PRODUCTS. A SEPARATE POLICY NEEDS TO BE DEVELOPED FOR EACH MINING PRODUCT’S CHARACTERISTICS
Since your appointment as Minister, you have visited quite a few mines and factories, and met with many stakeholders. You must have gained a broad picture of the sector’s overall situation. In your view, what are the most urgent issues that need to be changed, and how?
I am not new to this sector. I had already studied and worked closely with the sector. I had studied mining policy and governance before, so there was nothing particularly surprising or shocking to me. Although people often say that Mongolia’s economy depends on mining that currently it puts food on our table I see that the sector needs strong professional leadership and special approaches to ensure it communicates itself properly to society and maintains social consensus. I had this thought before, but now that conviction has only deepened. That said, this issue of social license is not unique to Mongolia; it is a challenge faced by every mining country. This is not a new thing. One key obstacle to investment is that the sector has failed to communicate its role to society in the right way. Beyond talking about its contribution in terms of economic figures, we need to explain why mining is important, why it is being pursued, what mining actually is, how the revenues are distributed, and how these revenues are allocated at the local level. Many of today’s disputes arise because people do not understand these things. I observed that the sector’s public engagement and communication work has been weak. Our sector must operate on a balanced triangle of three parties: the government, companies, and citizens. If the government focuses too heavily on its own interests, the sector stalls. If private companies chase only profit, progress is also blocked. And if policies lean excessively toward citizens that is, populism the industry cannot move forward either. This is not only Mongolia’s challenge but a common dilemma in all countries with mining-based economies. Those who manage to overcome it are the ones advancing. Those who can’t are left behind. The way to address it is through professional policy and governance. And that responsibility to regulate it with sound policies lies with the government: to strike the right balance between the state, citizens, and companies, and to govern accordingly. 
As coal prices fall and export revenues slow, the risks of our economy’s overdependence on mining are becoming increasingly evident. In this situation, how do you see the path to keeping the mining sector as a driver of sustainable economic growth?
Mining is an industry that always exists within price fluctuations, so I do not view this downturn cycle as entirely good or bad. To joke a little, I might be the only minister who welcomes the period of falling commodity prices. Why? Because it means that the many problems in our sector, which have long been discussed but never properly addressed, are now recognized more clearly by all stakeholders both the public and the government as issues that must be solved. In this sense, a crisis should be seen as an opportunity. A downturn forces us to look at the sector with differentl approach, to acknowledge its accumulated problems, and to realize that they must be genuinely resolved. From that perspective, this is not such a bad time for us. Secondly, in order to pursue sound policies in industry and mineral resources, Mongolia must develop seperate policy for each mining product it has. For rare earth elements, gold, copper, iron, and others, we need to calculate and develop tailored strategies. Building an economy and sector based solely on coal has been a mistake, pushing us into a very vulnerable position. We now have an economy that is measured by how many trucks of coal cross the border each day an extremely fragile situation. This is a very big risk, very big mistake. Countries with diverse mineral resources craft distinct policies for each product, thereby cushioning themselves against cycles. In Canada, where I studied and graduated, as well as in mining leaders like Australia, it can be seent that high-volume bulk commodities are governed by one set of policies, while high-value, low-transport-cost commoditi such as gold and rare earth elements follow separate policies. One interesting pattern is relevant to us. That is when iron ore prices fall, coal prices also decline; but at the same time, prices of base metals like gold and copper often rise. However, we have essentially imposed a ban on foreign investment in the copper sector. This means that we need to develop both together. This means our policy must focus on developing new minerals, building competitiveness. The revenues we currently rely on from coal should eventually be replaced by income from other resources. We need to diversify mining with multiple mineral products. That way, we will not fear downturns, and be able to have stability. One example: Canada’s Teck Resources operates coal, iron ore, and base metal mines. No matter what economic conditions arise, the company remains stable and operational. That is what mining policy and professional operations look like. In Mongolia, this has not been done yet. But we will aim to do it.
When and how will the new mining policy be developed, and in what order? How will it differ in principle from the 2014 “State Policy on the Minerals Sector”?
We are a country competing on the global stage. Gold, copper, coal, uranium, and rare earth elements are not found only in Mongolia. More than 90 other countries in the world have similar resources. To compete with them, we must offer investors better opportunities than those countries. How we do this is the homework for our government. We need a comprehensive natural resource management policy that defines what kind of economy to build based on our resources, which sectors to prioritize, which deposits to develop, which products to promote, and in what sequence. It must also set out which areas we will emphasize for exploration, what size of investment we are creating a favorable environment for, which lands we will preserve for tourism, which for livestock and agriculture. At the moment we do not have this. In other words, we must “measure our blanket before stretching out our legs” carefully assess our capacity and then decide which direction to move in. If we just drift with short-term trends, we will fail to implement stable policies, fail to ensure stable operations, and fail to secure stable revenues. This also means we will fail to be a stable partner, And without stable partnerships, no one will want to invest. Without investment, no new deposits will be developed, no mines will be built. That means no new jobs, no new housing, no new schools, kindergartens, or hospitals, no new roads, and no increase in salaries and pensions. This is why mining policy is so critical. We must therefore have a proper policy document, and under its framework we must make the necessary legal amendments. We need to look 10, 20, 30 years ahead: what level will Mongolia’s mining reach, and to what degree will we process the raw materials we extract? This must be calculated and planned. Such work must be carried out not by politicians but by researchers both from international research institutions and from our own academic community. We have already started this process, holding discussions and seeking cooperation with other ministries and international donor organizations. By contrast, the policy approved in 2014 consisted of just two pages. To claim that the mining policy of an entire country could fit into that space was, frankly, “remarkable.” A true national resource policy should determine which areas to leave untouched, which to protect, which to develop, which to mine and rehabilitate, and which to preserve as water resources. It is, by nature, a much broader and more comprehensive undertaking. That is exactly what we are now trying to accomplish.
You mentioned that the Minerals Law will not be fully revised but amended. Yet within the sector there were clear understanding and expectations of major changes under a full revision. Why amendments instead, and which of the sector’s many challenges are you aiming to address first?
The idea of revising the Minerals Law has been discussed for years, but never implemented. A full revision essentially means rewriting the law almost entirely. For a sector like mining, where stability and predictability are key to attracting investment, rewriting the rules wholesale is risky. If we suddenly introduce an entirely new framework, convincing domestic and foreign investors to accept and adapt to it becomes very difficult. In essence, we would be gambling with our economy. My current position is to identify the four or five most urgent issues and fix them. The rest can be done in stages. Passing amendments is Parliament’s role. If Parliament succeeds, conditions will improve; if not, at least the sector will remain at its current level of stability. In other words, changes will be made for better, will not worsen the current situation, will maintain stability. For investors and businesses, stability even without improvement is already highly valued, since mining requires long-term planning and large capital investment. This sector does not like turbulence. One of the first priorities is exploration sector. There is often public concern, especially on social media, that “all our land has been given away under licenses.” But in reality, 80 percent of Mongolia’s territory cannot be licensed for mining. Only about 20 percent of total land is open to exploration, of which currently 3.1 percent is covered by exploration licenses and 1.3 percent by mining licenses. Yet paradoxically, the number of exploration licenses is half that of mining licenses. This is a serious distortion. 
Our generati acquiring a license will become easier, but holding it will be more expensive on is burdening future generations with the consequences of our actions. 
Today, Mongolia’s mining revenues which fund salaries, pensions, social insurance, schools, kindergartens, hospitals, and energy are based largely on revenue that came from mining and selling from large deposits discovered through exploration carried out before 1990. However, since we have pursued policies that stifled the exploration sector, we have failed to do the work of studying and preparing resources for future generations, thinking only of our immediate interests instead. Exploration should always be done at least a decade ahead of actual mining. It provides not just geological data but also vital information on that land’s soil, water, and environmental risks. Its findings can even support agriculture by mapping soil composition and water availability. Yet this foundational work has been chronically underfunded. The normal process is that the National Geological Survey identifies prospective areas, hands them over to the Mineral Resources and Petroleum Authority (MRPA), which then auctions them for exploration licenses. But since we are still living off pre-1990 exploration results, and exploration licenses are half as many as mining license, the outlook is troubling not only for future generations but also for international partners. In healthy mining economies, exploration licenses should outnumber mining licenses five- to tenfold, ensuring a pipeline of future mines and shaping the policy according to that. By neglecting this, we are failing in our duty to future generations. To fix this imbalance, we must first build public understanding. We are preparing a program to restructure the licensing system. At present, acquiring a license is expensive, but keeping it is cheap. A license can be held for 10, 20, 30, even up to 100 years at minimal cost and be traded. Licenses are usually won at auction by those with the most money or foreign entities while citizens or small-sized domestic companies are shut out due to prices. Many holders never conduct actual exploration, instead hoarding licenses for speculation or trade. We will flip this model and bring to the international standard: acquiring a license will become easier, but holding it will be more expensive. Only those who actively conduct drilling, exploration, and resource validation with the intent to establish a mine will remain in the sector. For passive speculators, license-holding will become prohibitively costly and nor profitable. This is not just my idea, nor only my ministry’s or the government’s initiative. It is an international best practice followed by successful mining jurisdictions. Aligning with that standard is beneficial for all stakeholders. Secondly, we will establish clear policies for critical minerals. Thirdly, we will resolve outstanding issues related to royalties and the development of processing plants.
Could you clarify the second and third issues you mentioned? Specifically, what kind of policy will Mongolia adopt on critical minerals? And regarding royalties, expectations are high within the sector, society has a different perception, and politics yet another. How will you balance these interests while making changes?
First, royalties are essentially a fee for using land that belongs to the people. In practice, they are almost a barometer of the sector’s health and the state budget’s stability. If royalties are set too high, investors will not come, exploration will stall, mines will not operate, and revenue will not generated. If they are too low, citizens will not see enough benefit from their natural wealth. We must strike the golden balance. That is the direction we are moving in. At present, our system effectively discourages processing and favors raw extraction. Yet we need factories that add value to produce steel from our iron, to smelt our copper. Current regulations, taxes, and royalties in fact penalize processing plants. We will propose change this. We will submit a draft law amendment that will make it profitable to invest in processing, create more jobs, broaden the taxpayer base, and ensure Mongolia becomes not just an extractor, but a producer. As for critical minerals, every country with natural wealth defines which resources are “critical” and creates a tailored investment environment for them. For Mongolia, iron, coal, copper, and gold are already critical, and rare earth elements are increasingly under discussion. We are studying, consulting, and drafting the policy framework for critical minerals, which will then be embedded into law. 
Will Mongolia publish and announce a list of critical minerals?
Yes. The United States, Canada, and China have all announced their lists of critical minerals, and Mongolia will move in the same direction. We need to formulate policy hat defines how to attract investment and how to support exploration in this field. 
Strategic products will be under special state policy. In other words, we will move away from the uniquely Mongolian concept of a “strategic deposit,” which does not exist internationally, and shift toward the global norm of “strategic minerals.” 
The term “strategic deposit” has been politically and socially charged in Mongolia. Over the past year, government decisions to establish state ownership stakes in strategic deposits have created significant uncertainty for the sector and for investors. Many expected that this policy might change with a new government, but recent cabinet decisions suggest it may continue. For instance, the government has announced state participation in secondary copper deposits, revoked certain licenses, and transferred them to Erdenes Mongol. Will this trend continue?
We need to separate two issues. The first concerns the Tugrug Nuur deposit. This site had 19 licenses, of which four were held by Tugrug Nuur Energy. The company committed repeated legal violations of both the Minerals Law and the Law on the Protection of River Headwaters. As a result, its licenses were revoked. It simply means that the provision of the law requiring the cancellation of licenses when holders fail to comply with the law has been enforced. Because this deposit is included in Annex 2 of Parliament Resolution No. 27, the licenses will be given to Erdenes Mongol. This was a lawful process, not a political decision. The revocation was due to repeated non-compliance failing to submit reports, failing to pay fees. It was inevitable, and it applies not only to Tugrug Nuur but to all deposits. The second issue concerns the stockpiles at Erdenet Mining Corporation. These are oxidized, low-grade ores being processed by three different companies. Each operates under a different arrangement: one buys the stockpile, another pays  royalties on its production, while the third uses it for free. The fair approach is to establish a single, standard arrangement for all, which will also benefit the people more. In my view, instead of asserting state ownership over secondary deposits, the better system would be to sell them openly through the commodity exchange established by Law on Mining Prodcut Exchange. These stockpiles are already the full property of the state-owned “Erdenet Mining Corporation”. It makes no sense to divide them into 34% or 51% stakes. That debate applies to companies, not to the resource itself. The plants processing the ore are private companies, not state-owned. The resource, however, belongs to the state, and the right, non-disputed way forward is to auction it through the exchange. Anyone could bid, pay their taxes and fees, and compete on equal terms. This would avoid disputes. The ways see it is If we start dividing ownership into 34% and 51%, we will only prolong endless controversy.
You’ve said that the syndrome of taking “strategic deposits” into state ownership must be changed. Some in the sector argue that the concept itself should be abolished and that mining projects should be governed by new principles. What is your position?
To be frank, I hold a fundamentally different view on the concept of a “strategic deposit.” With the passage of the National Sovereign Wealth Fund Law, the constitutional principle that citizens are the true owners of Mongolia’s natural wealth must now be realized. Yet, what we currently see is unfair: if a deposit is large, the state takes more from it; if it is small, it takes less. Second, the most reliable, risk-free source of revenue that should go directly to the people is the mining royalty. But today, part of this revenue is pulled into the state budget. The state captures the most rsik-free income regardless of whether a mine is profitable or not. Meanwhile, the share that should flow to citizens, Accumulation Fund is only given money if the state budget runs a surplus or if state owned companies declare dividends. But in a developing country, the budget should not be in surplus it should be expanding to fund investment in schools, hospitals, and major projects. This means little or nothing ever flows into the fund. On top of that, very few state-owned enterprises are profitable, and even those that are often have their small profits redirected to meaningless things like uneconomic railway projects before reaching the public. Thses decisions made by their Boards, not reaching the Parliament. Since nothing actually reaches the citizens, it is fair for them to say that they have not received anything. On the other hand, mining companies do pay sufficient taxes and fees to the state. Yet the government takes these revenues and spends them elsewhere, creating a situation where the public and the mining companies are pitted against each other The state takes the least risky revenues straight from the middle and funnels them into projects with or without real substance, leaving little direct benefit for the people. On the other hand, when the perception spreads that anything state-owned will automatically benefit you, it naturally fuels demands that the state should own everything. As a result, there is now a tendency to say that all profitable enterprises should be taken over by the state. If this were to happen, it would only work once after that, mining companies would stop operating. Why? Because no one wants to be robbed. This is an extremely harmful policy both for the sector and for the country. So first, the revenue allocation formula for the Wealth Fund must be changed. The portion now siphoned off into the state budget should instead come from dividends of state-owned companies. That way, the government will be forced to ensure its SOEs are run profitably, instead of simply capturing the safest revenues while pushing companies and citizens against each other. Companies pay their taxes to the state, but nothing reaches the people; the state takes everything, and this must change Second, the distribution of royalties must change: a fixed portion can go directly to all citizens, ideally as monthly payments. In addition, royalties should be given more the provinces, soums, and bags where mining takes place. If people’s ancestral pastures have been disrupted by mining, yet their local soum lacks a school or local bag lacks a doctor, of course herders will be angry. How can citizens in Tsogttsetsii, which almost single-handedly powers 10% of Mongolia’s economy, accept the situation when their school building is literally collapsing? Third, the idea that the state should claim the entirety or more than others just because a deposit is large is wrong. These are natural endowments. Large or small, state-owned or private, all should pay royalties into the Wealth Fund according to scale. Bigger projects pay more, smaller projects less, but everyone pays according to their sizes. This will both expand the fund and make the system fairer. From there, we can redistribute to citizens. Those local governments bags, soums, provinces that support responsible mining should receive more, while those that reject mining should receive less. We cannot say that nature in Umnugovi is not nature, while in Arkhangai it is. People can also make a living from tourism without mining. In that case, they simply should not receive a share from royalty revenues It is not fair for Umnugovi, whose land is directly affected, to lack schools, while a province with no mining gets new schools built with mining revenue. This is also the established international best practice Because this has not been the case, the mining sector remains stuck: no progress, no social license, citizens resentful, companies dissatisfied. This is the fault of flawed state policy, and it must be corrected. We are working towards that.
When Prime Minister G. Zandanshatar was appointed, he first raised the issue of a Resource Tax in Parliament. You’ve expanded on this in much greater depth. Should we take this to mean that the National Sovereign Wealth Fund Law will be amended?
Yes.
You’ve also said geological prospecting and exploration will be intensified. Is there a concrete plan to make it more effective and faster?
Of course. The National Geological Survey and the Mineral Resources and Petroleum Authority will expand the areas they prepare. We will also allocate funding for prospecting. In next year’s state budget, a significant amount has already been earmarked for baseline studies. On top of that, there is a need to issue exploration licenses through multiple channels both by application and through tender. The entire process will be made transparent and highly open. Only then can we reinvigorate exploration. At present, on one hand, exploration license issuance has been restricted, and on the other hand, those who hold licenses are afraid to conduct exploration. They fear that if their project grows, the state will suddenly step in and claim 34%, 51%. But if we move away from state grabs and instead require all big or small to simply pay a resource tax, then exploration will proceed without fear, and companies will start working with aim to begin operation. That is the direction we are moving in.
There are quite a few mining projects technically ready for production, but they have not started operating. What is the Ministry’s policy to move these forward?
“Ready” is a relative term. If a project is truly ready, it will start operating. There is no barrier being imposed by the government on private sector projects. In the case of Gatsuurt, it is located within a specially protected area, so it cannot move forward. For other deposits, the bottlenecks lie in investment and management. For copper projects, the main issue is the excessively high royalty regime. As I mentioned earlier, this must be resolved. Our economy has become dependent on coal. An economy built on a single commodity is the most vulnerable. Therefore, the next product we must bring forward is copper, along with gold, rare earths, and uranium. Among these, copper has the greatest potential. The world is going green, and demand for batteries and semiconductors is soaring. An electric car, for instance, requires twice as much copper as a gasoline-powered car. In places like Saudi Arabia, where women have only recently gained the right to drive, car demand is skyrocketing. Global population growth is also driving consumption across all sectors. Copper plays a critical role in all of this. Therefore, we must bring our copper deposits into production. 
But with an unprecedentedly high 20% royalty on copper, no investor will enter the sector. 
This rate must be brought down to international levels. The 20% rate was originally imposed specifically on Erdenet Mining Corporateion. Now that the state owns 100% of Erdenet, it must review this tax. Otherwise, the copper industry will not expand. Without a strong copper sector, Mongolia’s economy will remain stuck in coal dependency and exposed to crisis. Choice is ours. 
You are not only the Minister of Mining, but also the Minister of Industry. Where will your industrial policy, based on mining, begin?
The policy on royalties and taxes is essentially management of whether we will just extract and sell raw ore, extract and sell semi-processed products, or go further and sell final products. That’s why the Government recently made a temporary corrective decision regarding the issues caused by the royalty system. Previously, royalties on coal, iron, and fluorspar were calculated based on a “reference price” the average price on international exchanges rather than on the actual contract price. This was unfair. But when it came to using contract prices, some of our private companies engaged in bad practices: they signed domestic contracts at artificially low prices, paid low taxes, exported across the border, sold to affiliated companies, and then resold at much higher prices effectively evading taxes. For this reason, the Ministry of Finance had little choice but to impose reference prices. If companies don’t pay royalties based on real prices, they collapse. And if companies collapse, the economy collapses. At that time, there was no benchmark or trusted mechanism to determine real prices. Now, with the new Law on the Mining Products Exchange, true valuations are being established not as high as reference prices, not as low as contract prices, but a reliable benchmark in between. That’s why we submitted, and the Government approved, a resolution to support companies accordingly, giving big support to our sector. Secondly, the Law on the Mining Exchange had only been designed to support exports, while restricting domestic sales. In practice, this meant no processing, no new jobs, and no increase in the number of taxpayers. The policy was just to mine and sell. During the pandemic, this was the helpful policy we were in especially difficult situation. But today the situation has changed. We need to produce domestically, to create new jobs and new factories. Therefore, the Law on Mining Products Exchangemust be revised. Domestic sales must be supported. The next issue is final products. The Minerals Law already defines final products. There used to be an issue where final products were exempt from the royalties, but semi-processed products were subject to them. As a result, the semi-processing stage was neglected. Without semi-processing, full processing could not take place, making industrial development impossible. The Ministry of Finance recognized this problem and issued a resolution to address it. Between raw ore and a final product, there is an intermediate stage: semi-processing. Because semi-processing is not addressed in tax policy, such plants cannot develop in Mongolia. But without this stage, you cannot produce final products. This is why our industrial sector has not advanced. We will put regulations in place to bridge this missing link. Only in this way will one of the obstacles holding back industrialization be removed. Secondly, two major projects will be advanced. The government led by Prime Minister G. Zandanshatar will soon move forward with the copper smelting plant project adjacent to ‘Erdenet Mining Corporation’, which had been stalled in the study phase for 36 years. Its feasibility study (FS) was delayed for a long time due to unreasonable reasons. Since taking office, I convened the Ministry’s Professional Council to urgently finalize and approve the FS. An international tender will soon be announced. This copper plant will be built within two years. As a result, Mongolia will smelt copper domestically and produce final products in large volume. This will be a major industrial project. In the Darkhan–Selenge region, the work will begin to build an iron plant. This project is included in the Government Action Plan. Preparations are underway to launch an international tender for both the feasibility study and plant construction. The work to build this plant is moving forward actively.
There have been separate projects to build copper smelters for both “Erdenet Mining Corporation” and “Oyu Tolgoi”. Once the Erdenet Mining Corporation’s project moves forward, what will happen to the other project?
According to the Law on Industrial and Technology Parks, there is a legal regulation for the state to providing the necessary infrastructure, while private companies and other stakeholders to come together to build the plant. Within the framework of the Erdenet Industrial and Technology Park, all essential infrastructure electricity, heating, clean and wastewater systems has already been completed. Now the only question is the construction of the plants themselves. If the private sector proposes additional facilities, those will be discussed further. A lot of years were lost because of disputes over location and other minor issues Let’s get to work. At this point, the only way forward is to push the project decisively. 
The oil refinery project has been under discussion for years, with repeated delays. What new policy will your Ministry pursue to ensure its implementation?
The oil refinery is a project that must be carried out at any cost. Currently, Mongolia is 100% dependent on imports of fuel and petroleum products. The issues that had been delaying the oil refinery project have been resolved, and the project is now moving ahead rapidly. The foundation infrastructure works are essentially complete, order of the major technological equipment is done, transportation will soon begin. Once completed, this refinery will supply around 70% of Mongolia’s domestic petroleum demand. It is a critically important project that will reduce our dependency by 70%. On the supply side, oil exploration must be accelerated. There was a long standing dispute with “PetroChina Daqing Tamsag” over the Production Sharing Agreement signed in 1993, because it did not comply with legal and regulatory requirements introduced later. We are working to resolve this dispute. I am chairing the working group, and we have already begun meetings with the investor. The work is moving forward.
The Government has also assigned large scale development projects to individual Cabinet members. You have been tasked with overseeing the uranium project. It has been some time since the Investment Agreement was signed with “Orano Mining”. What progress has been made on this project?
Alongside the Investment Agreement, a Mining Agreement must be signed. This agreement is the responsibility of the Mineral Resources and Petroleum Authority (MRPA). It has been finalized and is essentially complete. Work will proceed in accordance with the contract.
Public opposition to this project has been significant. How do you plan to address it?
The sector must work to build understanding. Labeling local communities or civil society as “anti-development” will not solve anything. The government’s responsibility is to facilitate dialogue, bring people to the table, and work out solutions together. Efforts will be made to explain, inform, and advise..
The “Mongolia Mining Week,” the largest annual gathering of the sector, is about to take place, bringing together key investors. What new messages will you share as Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources regarding the investment climate?
I will convey the very points we have discussed in this interview. 
During the autumn parliamentary session, amendments to the Minerals Law will be subimtted. 
We are also planning broad, socially oriented initiatives. Competing internationally requires government, private sector, and even political parties to work together, regardless of affiliation. We all have one homeland. The “Mongolia Mining Week” will be held September 11–13. The Prime Minister, Speaker of Parliament, and relevant ministers will all participate, meeting with investors and industry stakeholders. Our entire ministry will be involved. I encourage all interested parties and individuals to attend actively. 
Looking ahead, what do you see as the main goals for the mining sector development? By the time you conclude your tenure as Minister, what milestones would you like to see achieved?
I hope expectations will remain modest. I dislike making lofty promises or empty commitments. To be honest, for the person in charge of this work, it is easier for people to talk about it negatively than positively Creating unrealistic expectations in the sector can be dangerous, and I intend to work on that principle. That said, I will strive to deliver outcomes that exceed expectations. During my tenure, I hope to see the Copper Smelter and the Oil Refinery brought into operation. I would like to see the Minerals Law revised, investment flowing in, geological exploration booming, and major new deposits discovered on the scale of Oyu Tolgoi and Tavan Tolgoi. I want the National Sovereign Wealth Fund’s revenues benefiting the people directly to grow significantly. Of course, challenges will arise. But without challenges, there is no work. I took on this position to tackle problems. I will work, resolve issues, and see things through I’m pushing forward with this determination.
Thank you for the interview. Our readers will look back at your answers in the years ahead to see how they compare with reality. We wish you success in your work.

 

...


64x64

Korea pushes mineral cooperation with Mongolia www.koreatimes.co.kr

Korea’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy Monday called for deeper cooperation with Mongolia in the minerals sector during the Mongolia-Korea Critical Minerals & Mining Investment Forum 2025 in Seoul.
The forum brought together government officials, business leaders and industry stakeholders from the two countries to discuss bilateral cooperation in critical minerals and promote sustainable investment, aiming to reshape the global supply chain.
“Recently, amid global instability in critical mineral supply chains from the U.S.-China strategic rivalry and China’s export controls, as well as major transformations in the energy market, Korea and many other countries are accelerating efforts to strengthen the security of critical minerals,” Vice Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Lee Ho-hyeon, who oversees energy policy, said at the forum.
He noted that the two countries share mutually beneficial opportunities as Mongolia holds abundant reserves of minerals such as molybdenum, nickel and tin, while Korea has skilled professionals and advanced technologies in industries such as semiconductors, electric vehicles and batteries that rely on those critical minerals.
“Our cooperation (should further) lead to concrete joint development and investment projects between private enterprises,” the vice minister said, adding that such projects will contribute to the sustainable economic development of Mongolia and stability of the critical mineral supply chain for Korea.
“The Korean government will also expand its support for overseas resource development, including financing for overseas resource exploration, as well as tax, policy and financial measures, in order to actively support the entry of Korean companies into Mongolia.”
Uchral Nyam-Osor, Mongolia’s first deputy prime minister and minister of economy and development, speaks during the Mongolia-Korea Critical Minerals & Mining Investment Forum 2025 in Seoul, Monday. Courtesy of Embassy of Mongolia in Seoul 
Uchral Nyam-Osor, Mongolia’s first deputy prime minister and minister of economy and development, speaks during the Mongolia-Korea Critical Minerals & Mining Investment Forum 2025 in Seoul, Monday. Courtesy of Embassy of Mongolia in Seoul
A series of memorandum of understanding signings were held during the forum between the two countries’ participating companies, including Mongolia’s state-owned Erdenes Mongol and Korea’s Korea Mine Rehabilitation and Mineral Resources Corp. and Samsung C&T, laying the groundwork for joint development and supply of critical minerals.
“We are working to combine Mongolia’s abundant natural resources with Korea’s high-tech industries, processing capacity and advanced technologies, thereby creating a stronger partnership and enabling businesses of both countries to compete together on the global market,” Uchral Nyam-Osor, Mongolia’s first deputy prime minister and minister of economy and development, said in his opening remarks.
“Mongolia is open to trade and investment, implementing favorable conditions to attract and secure foreign capital … We are confident these efforts will encourage more foreign investors in Mongolia.”
The forum featured presentations highlighting Mongolia’s evolving mining policy and the country’s strategic commitment to building a robust and value-added mining supply chain, as well as Korea’s strategy for securing stable access to essential resources.
Damdinnyam Gongor, Mongolia’s minister of industry and mineral resources, also announced the upcoming opening of a joint research center on rare metals between the two countries in November.
“I am confident that once operational, this joint center will greatly advance rare metal research, exploration, processing and development,” he said.

...


64x64

Industrial output falls by 5.8% www.ubpost.mn

According to the latest data released by the National Statistics Office, Mongolia’s industrial sector recorded total production of 27.1 trillion MNT in the first eight months of 2025, according to preliminary data, down 1.7 trillion MNT or 5.8 percent from the same period a year earlier. The decline was largely driven by weaker performance in mining and quarrying, which fell 2.4 trillion MNT or 10.7 percent year-on-year.
Production in the mining and quarrying sector amounted to 20.4 trillion MNT, reflecting sharp decreases in hard coal and lignite mining, which contracted by 4.8 trillion MNT or 32.9 percent, and in oil extraction, which dropped 105.1 billion MNT or 13.6 percent. While the output of commodities such as iron ore concentrate, zinc concentrate, fluorspar, and copper concentrate increased by between 10.5 and 77.4 percent, declines were recorded in lignite, hard coal, crude oil, unrefined gold, and silver concentrate, which fell by between 9.7 and 34.7 percent compared with the previous year.
In the manufacturing sector, production of liquid milk, flour, cement, lime, cathode copper, and combed cashmere rose strongly, with gains ranging from 5.3 to 93.9 percent. However, output of other key goods, including beverages, meat products, alcohol, knitwear, cigarettes, and charcoal briquettes, decreased by between 2.6 and 29.6 percent.
Despite the contraction in overall production, sales of industrial products reached 34 trillion MNT in the first eight months of the year, up 106.2 billion MNT or 0.3 percent from a year earlier. The rise was supported by an increase of 706.1 billion MNT or 13.1 percent in manufacturing sales, as well as a 1.0 trillion MNT or 3.9 percent increase in mining and extractive industry sales. This growth was largely attributed to higher sales of metal ore, which rose 5.9 trillion MNT or 63.1 percent, and mining support activities, which increased by 55.7 billion MNT or 19.4 percent.
Foreign market sales totaled 23.6 trillion MNT, of which 22.7 trillion MNT came from the mining and extractive sector. Coal accounted for 37.5 percent of those exports, metal ore for 58.1 percent, oil for 2.8 percent, and other minerals for 1.6 percent.
The industrial production index, adjusted for seasonality, stood at 275.8 in August 2025 (2015=100), representing a 2.5 percent decline compared to the same month last year.

...


64x64

Insurance that works only at death’s door www.ubpost.mn

In Mongolia, the story of everyday life is not one of thriving, but of enduring. For decades, citizens have faced a harsh paradox. Despite paying into the country’s social insurance system, they often fail to receive the health care and basic services promised to them. Across sectors, from government offices to hospitals, work is entangled in bureaucracy, favoritism and corruption. To get anything done, connections are essential. Even in hospitals, patients must call in favors, or discreetly hand over a few money to secure proper care. Every month, Mongolian workers see a portion of their salaries deducted for mandatory health insurance. In theory, this system is meant to embody solidarity, pooling contributions to protect citizens against financial risks during illness. In reality, the benefits rarely materialize.
“There is little difference between those who have paid their health insurance and those who haven’t,” frustrated citizens say. Many now pay into the system unwillingly, not out of faith, but because the deductions are automatic. This has eroded public trust. While other nations with mandatory health insurance, such as Japan and most European countries, provide citizens with timely, affordable and reliable services, Mongolia’s system falls short.
Japan, often cited as a model, requires all citizens to carry health insurance. There, insurance covers 70 percent of medical costs, with the patient covering the rest. Europeans enjoy similarly robust protections. In contrast, the US reliance on private insurance means uninsured citizens face devastating bills, yet even there, the difference between being insured and uninsured is clear. In Mongolia, by comparison, paying into health insurance offers little tangible advantage. Citizens still queue, plead and pay informally to receive care that should already be guaranteed. Beyond health care, the pattern repeats across public life. From education to workplace rights, Mongolians often find themselves navigating systems that seem designed to obstruct rather than support. For many, life feels less about enjoying the benefits of citizenship than about sheer survival.
Take the case of a woman who went to the First Central Hospital seeking treatment. Instead of care, she was told the earliest doctor’s appointment was in a month’s time. For someone sick, even a day of waiting can worsen a condition, a month can turn an illness into a fatal crisis. In the country’s largest state hospitals, the wait is often worse: two or three months to see a doctor is not unusual. This is not an isolated frustration. Many Mongolians spend 10, even 20 years working in state organizations, with health and social insurance contributions deducted from every paycheck. Yet when they finally seek medical help, they are brushed aside with the now-familiar words, “There is no time. The funds have run out.” Faced with this neglect, citizens are forced to turn to expensive private hospitals. The contrast is stark, the state system promises solidarity but delivers scarcity, while the private sector thrives on those left behind.
For instance, last year, a single citizen managed to receive a discounted 202 million MNT from the Health Insurance Fund, which is proof that the system holds resources. But why should only one person access this “pie”, while millions of others pay in for decades without a meaningful return? Medicines and vaccines are often out of stock, doctors are unavailable, and services are delayed until patients are at death’s door. The bitter reality is that insurance contributions, extracted monthly without consent, rarely translate into the protection they were meant to guarantee. Instead, the gap between what citizens pay and what they receive continues to widen, fueling a sense of betrayal.
The Minister of Health has announced that the health insurance fund has been depleted, state hospitals are running out of medicines and vaccines, and it is no longer possible to receive patients. It has been exactly 100 days since J.Chinburen, who eagerly sought the ministerial post, took office, but so far nothing has been done to improve the sector. Instead, he has replaced the head of the National Health Insurance Center and now has turned his attention to the General Department of Health Insurance. He has informed the Prime Minister that he will not cooperate with the department’s Director S.Enkhbold, who was appointed by the previous minister. Yet, despite his role in bankrupting the insurance fund, S.Enkhbold cannot be dismissed. In the meantime, citizens are left to suffer the consequences, denied even the right to be hospitalized.
The General Department of Health Insurance began 2025 with no debt, but by the end of the first eight months it had accumulated arrears of 142 billion MNT. Those who have not been paid are now refusing to supply medicines and vaccines to state hospitals, and citizens are already feeling the pain. Insulin injections for diabetics have been interrupted, expensive treatments halted, and family hospitals are unable to perform even basic blood and urine tests due to shortages of reagents.
At the same time, the Health Insurance Fund has continued to channel money into private hospitals. In the first eight months of this year, financing for private facilities already exceeded 160 billion MNT, which is the amount intended to last for the entire year. The Ministry tried to provide an additional 40 billion MNT in both September and October, but by then the fund had already been emptied. While the government blames the depletion on earlier spending, the outcome is the same: public hospitals are collapsing while private hospitals benefit from the flow of public money.
Private hospitals in Mongolia, which have absorbed vast sums of money through the health insurance system, rarely deliver the benefits citizens are entitled to. The phrase “health insurance funding has run out” has become a convenient excuse, repeated so often it now sounds almost “beautiful” in its familiarity. In reality, patients seeking care under health insurance find that many private facilities refuse to provide even a single diagnostic test.
Few private hospitals, for example, offer MRI or CT scans through health insurance. Because these services are costly, when citizens request them at the discounted insurance rate, they face waiting lists stretching three to four months. Yet the same scans can be obtained immediately, at any hour of the night, if patients pay in cash. This stark two-tier system, where access depends on money rather than medical need, has left citizens exhausted and embittered.
The consequences are severe in a country already facing one of the world’s highest rates of cancer incidence and mortality. Doctors and experts often warn that patients arrive too late, seeking help only in the advanced stages of disease. But citizens say the system itself is to blame. Preventive care is almost nonexistent. Hospitals often dismiss patients with early symptoms, telling them their illness is “not severe”, only to treat them later when it has already progressed to a critical stage. Oncology hospitals have even halted bone marrow transplant surgeries due to lack of funding, depriving patients of life-saving options.
The situation is no better in general state hospitals. Reports are constant that major facilities are charging for care that should be covered. ENT surgeries, once part of insurance coverage, now require direct payment. In fact, funding for entire categories of diseases and disorders has been withdrawn. The General Department of Health Insurance has even introduced a quota system for planned surgeries. Patients whose operations fall outside the limit must pay for them on their own, regardless of their financial situation. For many, this means abandoning treatment altogether, allowing their conditions to worsen, and in some cases, leading to preventable deaths.
The most tragic aspect is the treatment of chronic diseases. These conditions, which should be managed and prevented long before they escalate, have instead been pushed into the category of services that face new restrictions. Elderly people and those with long-term illnesses are finding it increasingly difficult to secure hospital care under health insurance. By denying coverage for the very diseases that require consistent attention, the system has turned its back on those who need it most.
Everyone knows that the budget of the health insurance fund is limited. But if the money that citizens pay every month were properly managed and distributed fairly, the fund would not be depleted, and hospitals would not be left without basic supplies. Instead, citizens watch in dismay as leaders more concerned with personal interests squander resources that should have been used to safeguard their health.
The Minister of Health has echoed the same tone of indifference once voiced by the Minister of Education, who blamed the growth of the population for shortages in schools and kindergartens. Now the health minister claims that rising numbers of people with chronic diseases are overwhelming the system and stretching the budget beyond its limits. The message is the same: blame lies not with the government, but with the people.
This logic places the burden of failure on citizens themselves. It is their fault, officials imply, that they have grown ill. Their fault for paying insurance premiums on time from wages earned with sweat and sacrifice. Their fault for relying on a system that only seems to function at the very brink of death. When citizens are forced to raise donations to send loved ones abroad for treatment, officials say nothing. When taxpayers cannot benefit from the services they have already paid for, the silence is deafening.
Meanwhile, corruption scandals and evidence of mismanagement continue to surface within government ministries and agencies. Funds are misused, contracts are tainted by bribery, and the health insurance fund is treated like a leaky vessel. Yet those responsible face little accountability. Leaders escape blame while ordinary people are left to bear the cost in their bodies, their families, and their lives.
In this environment, health insurance has become a hollow promise, a system that extracts money from citizens but returns little in moments of need. For Mongolians, the bitter truth remains: they have done their part, paying faithfully every month, while those in power squander their trust.
What is happening in Mongolia today is more than a crisis of health insurance; it is a crisis of values. A nation that once promised equality and solidarity has allowed those ideals to rot under the weight of corruption and neglect. The insurance fund should have been the safety net that protected every citizen, rich or poor, young or old. Instead, it has become a sieve, draining away public resources while leaving the people exposed.
The tragedy is not only in the empty hospitals or the long queues, but in the erosion of trust between the state and its citizens. People have grown tired of being told to be patient while officials fight over positions and power. They have grown tired of being told that shortages are their fault, that their illnesses are the result of their own weakness, that the system is collapsing because they have lived too long or fallen too sick. When leaders treat their people as burdens instead of as the very purpose of government, they betray the foundation of democracy itself.
The Health Insurance Fund should never have been reduced to a political battleground or a private purse. It should have been guarded with the highest level of responsibility, because it holds not only money but lives. The future of Mongolian society depends on whether it can rebuild this trust, whether the government can place people above profit, fairness above favoritism, and service above self-interest. For the ordinary citizen, the demand is simple but profound: to be treated not as a statistic, not as an afterthought, and not as a source of revenue, but as a human being whose health and dignity matter. Until that demand is met, Mongolians will continue to pay for an insurance system that insures nothing, and to live in a country where survival is possible, but living is not.

...


64x64

Heavy snow blankets western Mongolia's Zavkhan province www.xinhuanet.com

An unusually heavy snowfall has struck Zavkhan province in western Mongolia, the National Agency for Meteorology and Environmental Monitoring reported Monday.
The snow hit several soums (administrative subdivisions), including Uliastai, Yaruu, Ider, Aldarkhaan, Tsagaankhairkhan, Shiluustei, and Otgon, on Sunday and Monday.
Precipitation in the affected areas averaged 25-30 centimeters, with snow depths reaching up to 60 centimeters in mountainous regions.
Temperatures in these areas are expected to plunge to minus 2 degrees Celsius following the snowfall, the agency said. Authorities have warned the public, particularly nomadic herders and drivers, to take extra precautions against potential hazards.
Mongolia is known for its harsh continental climate, marked by long, frigid winters and short summers. Zavkhan province, located in the country's west, is among the regions that regularly experience some of the nation's coldest winter temperatures.

...


64x64

Kincora charts value-add path at Bronze Fox www.mining.com.au

Kincora Copper (ASX:KCC) is considering a range of options for its Bronze Fox Copper-Gold Project in Mongolia after re-securing the full rights to the project.  
The junior explorer, which has a market capitalisation of around $33 million, is assessing the path forward, which could include focused self-funded exploration, third party investment and other corporate initiatives. 
CEO Sam Spring tells Mining.com.au Kincora is now able to consider some potentially significant near-term value catalysts and explore existing and new interest in the portfolio.
Near-term value-add options being investigated include a submission for a second mining licence at Bronze Fox and fresh mining studies relating to the existing oxide resource. 
Kincora re-secured the full rights to Bronze Fox following partner Orbminco’s (ASX:OB1) withdrawal from the September 2024 earn-in agreement given its primary focus now being on Australian gold exploration.
The Mongolian portfolio hosts three shallow and underexplored copper-gold prospective intrusive complexes with an existing resource of over 400,000 tonnes of copper and 400,000 ounces of gold.
Initial mapping, trenching and drilling has also confirmed the expansion and higher grade potential of the existing resource.
The project is located in the Southern Gobi region of Mongolia, which is emerging as a critical new source of copper supply.
The region has an endowment of 85 million ounces of gold and 50 million tonnes of copper, which has drawn the likes of Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO), BHP (ASX:BHP), China’s Zijin Mining Group (HKG:2899) and the original Ivanhoe Mines (TSX:IVN) (which became Turquoise Hill and was acquired by Rio Tinto in late 2022).
Kincora says the development comes at a time of several positive developments highlighting the potential of Mongolia’s resource sector as well as the Bronze Fox Project.
This includes the recent $160 million takeover of Xanadu Mines and its Kharmagtai Copper-Gold Project by Singapore’s Bastion Mining. 
Spring says the cash deal for Xanadu supports a peer valuation of $28 million for the Bronze Fox project based on resource multiples. 
However, he adds the real upside to the project is its largely untapped exploration potential across three very large, from surface intrusive complexes. 
This includes the Shuteen North complex which has never been drilled and Kincora believes is related to the “massive” Shuteen lithocap. 
“The importance of this conceptual setting is very significant given the lithocap at the Oyu Tolgoi project was an important early stage exploration marker and the size of the Shuteen lithocap relative to Oyu Tolgoi. 
“In our mind this is a great example of the remaining potential in the Southern Gobi and also within our asset portfolio.”
Meanwhile, Erdene Resource Development just last week announced it had poured first gold at its Bayan Khundii Mine and construction is progressing at the privately held Tsagaan Suvarga Copper-Molybdenum Project.
Additionally, expansion at Rio Tinto’s Oyu Tolgoi Copper-Gold Project is setting the operation up to become the fourth largest copper mine by 2030.
“Our 100% owned Bronze Fox project is the fourth emerging porphyry complex in this rapidly developing copper district,” Spring says. 
Kincora says the Bronze Fox Project is one of the largest land positions and porphyry complexes in the Southern Gobi copper-gold belt.     
Write to Angela East at Mining.com.au

 

...


64x64

Mongolian Tugrug Declines Against Major Currencies in August 2025 www.montsame.mn

The Bank of Mongolia reported that as of August 2025, the average monthly exchange rate of the Mongolian tugrug (MNT) against the US dollar (USD) was MNT 3,592.14, down MNT 211.2 year-on-year and MNT 7.3 from July 2025.
According to the National Statistics Committee, in August, the tugrug averaged MNT 4,177.96 per euro, down MNT 454.90 year-on-year and up MNT 13.1 month-on-month.
It also averaged MNT 44.88 per Russian ruble, down MNT 7.00 year-on-year and up by MNT 0.4 month-on-month.
Against the Chinese yuan, the tugrug stood at MNT 500.67 in August 2025, down MNT 28.0 year-on-year and by MNT 0.8 month-on-month.

...


64x64

Control over e-cigarette to strengthen www.ubpost.mn

In a move to curb the rising use of tobacco products, particularly among adolescents and young people, 23 parliamentarians formally submitted a draft amendment to the Law on Tobacco Control to the Speaker of the Parliament, D.Amarbayasgalan. The proposal, backed by 76 members of the legislature, aims to tighten regulations on all forms of smoking including electronic cigarettes and introduce comprehensive prevention measures.
The proposed amendments seek to classify e-cigarettes under the same regulatory framework as traditional tobacco products, citing their growing popularity among youth and associated health risks. Lawmakers emphasized the urgency of the measure, noting that without decisive action, future generations could fall victim to harmful addiction and its long-term consequences.
According to data from the Parliament’s Press Department, tobacco-related illnesses are a major public health burden in Mongolia. Tobacco use is responsible for 17 percent of all deaths in the country approximately 4,300 deaths annually. The economic impact is equally alarming, with tobacco use costing the nation around 801 billion MNT each year, or 2.1 percent of its GDP.
Despite earlier efforts  including the original Tobacco Control Law adopted in 1993 and amended eight times since 2005, assessments show that weak enforcement, poor inter-agency coordination, and a rise in illegal tobacco trade have hampered progress. These gaps have contributed to a worrying surge in tobacco use among the country's youth. The new draft law is designed to close those gaps. It proposes regulating electronic cigarettes in the same manner as traditional cigarettes, strengthening enforcement mechanisms, and increasing excise taxes on tobacco products in stages from 2025 to 2030, in line with World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations.
Lawmakers cited the 2021 WHO report “E-cigarettes and Health,” which warns that e-cigarettes pose significant risks, including respiratory inflammation, cardiovascular issues, and nicotine addiction. The report also emphasized that e-cigarettes are not a proven tool for smoking cessation, but rather a new path to addiction, particularly for adolescents.
Researchers involved in drafting the amendment argue that Mongolia’s relatively low tobacco prices and lower-than-recommended tax rates are key factors behind the increased consumption. Drawing on international best practices, the bill aims to reduce both morbidity and mortality by making tobacco products less accessible and by supporting long-term public health strategies.
If passed, the law would reportedly mark a major shift in Mongolia’s approach to tobacco control to safeguard the health of younger generations and reduce the economic and social costs of smoking.

...


64x64

Mongolia and China to Expand Cooperation in Combating Transnational Crime www.montsame.mn

Minister of Justice and Internal Affairs of Mongolia, Munkhbaatar Lhagva, met with State Councilor and Minister of Public Security of the People’s Republic of China, Wang Xiaohong, on September 19, 2025, to discuss strengthening bilateral cooperation in law enforcement.
The meeting took place during the Global Public Security Cooperation Forum, and Minister Munkhbaatar emphasized the forum’s role as a vital platform for international dialogue, the exchange of experiences, and the development of joint solutions in public security. The Minister noted that the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between Mongolia and China continues to expand across all sectors, including the development of close and effective cooperation between their law enforcement agencies.
During the meeting, the Ministers commended the progress made under the 2022–2026 Cooperation Program between the Ministry of Justice and Internal Affairs of Mongolia and the Ministry of Public Security of the People’s Republic of China. To protect citizens' rights and legal interests, the two parties agreed to renew and enrich this program for the 2026–2030 period, with a focus on increasing the institutional capacity of law enforcement agencies, improving preventive measures against crime, and enhancing efforts to combat transnational crimes.
A key area of focus in the next phase of cooperation will be strengthening border control measures to prevent the illegal trafficking of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances. The two countries intend to increase the exchange of information and experience regarding the detection, analysis, and registration of these substances, as well as the equipment and methodologies used in such processes. They also discussed enhancing training and capacity-building for personnel involved in these tasks.
The two sides expressed a shared interest in strengthening cooperation on cybercrime, improving information exchange and prevention strategies, including public awareness initiatives and the adoption of modern technologies. Cooperation will also extend to protecting the investment environment, preventing fraud-related offenses, and strengthening mechanisms to uphold the lawful rights and interests of citizens.
The Ministry of Public Security of China has provided specialized equipment and resources to the Mongolian police for their participation in United Nations peacekeeping missions. The two sides also discussed continuing this cooperation and expanding opportunities for Mongolian law enforcement personnel to participate in short- and long-term training programs at Chinese law enforcement institutions.

 

...


64x64

More Than 2,500 Engineers and Specialists Engaged in Bagakhangai-Hunnu City Railway Project www.montsame.mn

Approximately 2,500 specialists from around 110 domestic enterprises are participating in the construction of the Bagakhangai–Hunnu city Railway Project.
The railway's extended length is 151.2 kilometers, with an axle load capacity of 25 tons and an average annual freight capacity of 3.5 million tons.
The Government adopted a resolution on August 14, 2025, regarding “Certain measures related to the construction of branch railways,” which included implementing the Bagakhangai-Hunnu city branch Railway Project, relocating freight terminals from the Capital city center, and reorganizing logistics. The railway, branching from Bagakhangai station of Ulaanbaatar Railway JVC and passing through Sergelen soum of Tuv aimag to Khushig Valley, is planned to be of class III, with a total length of 102.5 kilometers and a gauge of 1,520 millimeters, and to include three stations, four sidings, and a 2.5-kilometer bridge structure.
The Project is being implemented in two phases. In the first phase, the upper and lower structures of 87.4 kilometers of railway from Bagakhangai station to Khushig station will be constructed. In the second phase, 14.6 kilometers of railway from Khushig station to Shuvuun Fabrik will be built. Construction work is proceeding in accordance with the plan. Specifically, the excavation works have reached 98.7 percent, the embankment works 91.6 percent, the girder bridges 76 percent, the culvert works 75.4 percent, and the track-laying 44.8 percent.
Upon the completion of this branch railway, goods transported to provinces and imported products will be received directly at the “Khushig Valley” and “Orgokh Uul” terminals without entering Ulaanbaatar. As a result, the heavy truck traffic load within the capital city is expected to be reduced by up to 50 percent.
Since there is no unified freight logistics center in the capital that meets international standards, freight and goods are currently distributed to Ulaanbaatar and 21 aimags through more than 10 terminals and over 300 branch lines located in the city center. This situation not only negatively impacts road damage, traffic congestion, and air, soil, and environmental pollution, but also increases the risk of hazardous goods passing through the city center.

...


  • Terms of Reference
  • About
  • Contact Us

Managed by: B2BMongolia www.b2bmongolia.com

Events

News

Facebook