Dear readers, please pay attention to the cover photo of Mining Insight magazine’s May issue. It provides information on how Mongolia did geological research. You can see how well the underground minerals have been studied and how much exploration has been made. A 1: 200,000 scale geological map covers 100 percent of Mongolia’s territory, while a 1: 50,000 scale map covers 43 percent. On the other hand, this indicates that more than 50 percent of the territory has not been explored yet. This is fairly small compared to other countries. This vast unexplored land suggests the possibility of additional discoveries. The major exploration discoveries marked in the figure are those discovered when the grid was scaled at a scale of 1:200,000.
Most of the explorations were carried out during the socialist era. As of today, over 3,000 deposits and occurrences of more than 50 types of minerals have been reported and studied in Mongolia. There is no denying that more and larger deposits will be discovered when they are completely covered by a 1:50,000 scale map, which provides a very detailed picture of the general pattern of deposits. Therefore, there is a wide range of research opportunities and a likely occurrence of more minerals. Geological possibilities are not limited to national borders. The map also shows the location and distribution of large deposits bordering Mongolia. In particular, it was noted that many large deposits have been discovered along the southern border of our country. This is another indicator that Mongolia remains undiscovered with a significant need for detailed research and that the geological formations and potential for discovering the next large deposits are high. At the same time, geological exploration is the fastest penetration of technological advances that actively uses innovations. With the help of cutting-edge technologies, everything that was impossible yesterday is becoming a reality today. More detailed information can be obtained by studying an area that was studied 20 years ago with today’s technology.
In that sense, technological advances continue to open up many possibilities such as reconsideration of both unexplored and studied areas, as well as collecting large amounts of information in a short period. Demand for mining products and minerals is changing as global efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions advance. Trends in exploration and policy support in response to changing demand have intensified in countries, and growth in the geological exploration sector has become a key condition for reviving investor sentiment. Due to the new situation, the Mongolian government is also pursuing a policy of intensifying geological exploration. The country is focusing on research-based activities in these areas to maximize state investment and gain a foothold in the field of high-tech raw materials. Depending on the probability of opening a mineral deposit, the relevant laws are being revised to create a favorable legal environment to attract investment. In addition, the selection procedure for mineral licenses has been revised to avoid exposure of exploration licenses to risks, ineffectiveness, and wastefulness. The new procedures are ready for new issuance of exploration licenses, and we’ve covered the changes to relevant regulations in this issue.
Check out the English version of the rules in this month’s issue. Read more about the surging activity and confidence in the investment sentiment from an article written by Bold-Erdene.S. Plus, we’ve interviewed the President of the Bank of Mongolia regarding the upcoming legal reforms setting up a favorable environment for incoming investors. Another interview that might pique your interest might be the one we’ve done with Mr. Marc Meleard, the CEO of Badrakh Energy LLC, a French state-owned Orano group-invested company that is currently seeking to enter an investment agreement with the Mongolian Government on “Zuuvch-Ovoo” uranium project that is advancing from exploration to exploitation stage.
