The uranium industry of Mongolia had great expectations in the past, however, it has been quiet for years due to several circumstances. In recent months, increased activities were observed as uranium exploration licenses were granted to some projects. But it has to be noted that this is fairly similar to 2015 when there were hopes of exploiting uranium deposits.
T he timeline of these events is as follows: soon after the new year bustling, the Government of Mongolia made adjustments to the composition of the Nuclear Energy Commission during its regular session (2022.01.12). By amending the Government Law (2021.11.12), policies regarding radioactive minerals and exploitation of nuclear energy became concerns of the Minister of Education and Science. As a result, the Nuclear Energy Commission that was headed by the Prime Minister fell under the leadership of Minister Enkh-Amgalan.L and the members include ministers in charge of mining and energy industries. Furthermore, there is an ongoing discussion on setting up a new regulatory agency in charge of nuclear energy (the previous agency was abolished in 2014) under the amendments to the Law on Government Structure. A working group is also in place to revise the Law on Nuclear Energy, which would align with the revisions to the Law on Minerals.
New regulations are also expected as a result. Another piece of information to pay attention to is the “New Recovery Policy” approved by the parliament near the end of last year (2021.12.30). Some of you may have noticed that a state policy is already in place for the construction of new nuclear and hydrogen energy sources within the frames of the energy sector reforms. The effective laws and regulations in Mongolia only specified yellowcake processing. It seems that we will see policies on nuclear power stations now. Let us look into other crucial information. During the visit of Mongolian President Khurelsukh.U to Russia (2021.12.15- 18), a presidential-level discussion on the nuclear energy research center was held. The research center, which will involve Rosatom, is currently in a negotiation phase. Uranium projects fall behind this rapid movement of policy frameworks. Three uranium projects are underway in Mongolia at the moment. First, an experimental factory of “Badrakh Energy”, a joint venture of Mongolia and France, became operational (2021.07).
The factory is extracting yellowcake uranium using a leaching method in one of the project areas. This experimental production will be completed by November. An investment agreement will be discussed soon after this set date. Second, a request for an exploitation license has been delivered to the Mineral Resources and Petroleum Authority of Mongolia in the Gurvanbulag deposit. The license will give a green light to a project by “Emeelt Mines” LLC, which is co-owned by Mongolia and China. As for “Gurvansaikhan”, a joint project by Mongolia and the Czech Republic, technical tests have been carried out successfully and are ready for production, however, the project came to a still after civil societies started a lawsuit demanding the termination of licenses. Along with the tight schedules of these projects, a team from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) will visit Mongolia between April and May with regards to the experimental production of “Badrakh Energy”. The mission, which was initially scheduled in 2021, will determine whether the state of Mongolia’s infrastructure, including basic legal environment, extraction technology, safety standards, and transportation network, meets the standards and requirements of the IAEA.
The ongoing activities, in general, are signs that state policies on the uranium industry will be set up in Mongolia soon, creating more incentives and support for the sector. While the policy environment is laying the foundation in Mongolia, Mining Insight magazine is highlighting these uranium projects in this month’s edition to give our readers more detailed information. This is a crucial period for the sector as the world is debating whether to count the depleting reserves of uranium as a green energy source. We are also underlining the historic moment when Prime Minister OyunErdene.L and CEO of Rio Tinto Jakob Stausholm pushed the button that commenced the blasting of the first phase of the Oyu Tolgoi project’s underground mine. Accordingly, the underground mine of Oyu Tolgoi can now be able to operate at full capacity starting from the first quarter of 2023. The future of the project is brighter than ever at this point. On this note, we wish our readers the very best in the upcoming lunar new year and hope for better days where we can get past the hardship of the pandemic.
