ENKHMAA.BThe world’s largest mining event is set to take place in Toronto, Canada. In the 91st Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) conference, Mongolia will participate with a larger delegation than usual, consisting of approximately 50 representatives, led by the Minister of Mining and Heavy Industry, parliament members, state-owned enterprises, and project implementers. Mongolia has established a tradition of participating in the PDAC conference and organizing the Mongolia@PDAC event.
This year, the Mongolia@PDAC event will take place during the PDAC conference as usual to introduce Mongolia’s mining sector to investors, highlight recent changes and developments in the sector, and provide information on new projects. “Compared to past events, Mongolia has several updates to offer to investors.
The Oyu Tolgoi underground mine, the country’s largest foreign-invested project, is moving to sustainable operations in March as announced by Rio Tinto Group. The government of Mongolia successfully negotiated with Rio Tinto over the last year, resulting in the underground mine becoming operational. This is the single most important event for Mongolia’s mining industry. Moreover, several other mining companies, including Erdene Resource Development and Xanadu Mines, have reported their exploration findings and partnerships with strategic investors in the past year. Erdene, which announced the discovery of a large deposit in a new gold field in Mongolia’s Gobi desert, has signed a strategic investment agreement with Mongolia Mining Corporation (MMC), Mongolia’s largest private mining company, to cooperate on the Khundii project development. Additionally, Zijin Mining Group Ltd., one of the world’s top mining companies, has joined the Kharmagtai copper-gold project as an investor. These companies will share the latest news about these projects.
Aside from recent developments in Mongolia’s mining sector, the country is also actively reforming its legal environment for minerals. The revision to the Minerals Law will allow for increased exploration of critical minerals and create a more favorable environment for investors. The key commodities for Mongolia’s mining sector are currently coal, copper, and gold, but in the future, the country will prioritize exploring lithium, cobalt, and nickel, as highlighted by the Minister of Mining and Heavy Industry, J.Ganbaatar.
Tsogsh and Ion Energy will also present their critical minerals exploration projects to investors. Geologically, Mongolia remains a vast undiscovered territory. In recent years, the country has been investing over USD 10 million annually in geological surveys and aims to complete general geological research and provide new opportunities to investors.
Mining Insight Magazine, January 2023
