Pioneer

Women CEOs in Mongolia's mining industry

N.ARIUNTUYA

In recent years, women are rising to higher positions in Mongolia, such as in strategic level negotiations, large businesses, and projects. This is important progress. In particular, an interesting phenomenon in the last two, or three years is the fact that women are strongly promoted to the executive level of major mining companies in Mongolia.

Their career path will undoubtedly inspire and role model for many girls. Furthermore, motivating other companies, society, and the public is also effective in changing the subconscious stereotypes and perceptions of the so-called men-dominated industry. It is significant to create a space for women in the mining industry and introduce their biographies and business careers. Because it has a significant contribution to closing the gap in the representation of women in the industry and eliminating gender inequality. Thus, Mining Insight magazine is launching a new project to contribute to the correction of stereotypes in society. Accordingly, we are developing journalistic content with a series of biographies of 17 women CEOs and making it accessible to the public.

At the beginning of this series, we invited S.Enkhtuya, Executive Director of “Monpolymet” Group. Check out her biography article in the October issue of Mining Insight. Our new column aims to inspire thousands of women who work silently behind others by highlighting women’s leadership. Our colleagues are happy that our wish is being realized. As a media company, we hope that our initiative will contribute to the elimination of gender inequality and the disparity in the representation of women in the Mongolian mining industry.

PIONEER

Eight years after Mongolia moved to the market and four years after the laboratory of the Central Institute of Construction Design re-established into “Monpolymet”, S.Enkhtuya became a part of the company, and after four years, she was appointed as the head of the mine. At that time, “Monpolymet” LLC was extracting gold in Zaamar, which is still deeply scarred by the saddest history of 30 years of modern mining in our country. From time to time, everyone flocked to Zaamar, known as the “Golden Klondyke” of Mongolia, and crawled there like mice. Zaamar is a place where all the good and bad of the Mongolian gold industry were mixed, but the downside was more prevalent. Even the word “ninja” was added to the Mongolian vocabulary as “artisanal miners” because of Zaamar. Amidst the chaotic hoarding of ninjas and mining companies, a group of young ladies was managing the mountaintop mining operations in Zaamar. It is the Bayangol Denj deposit. There has never been a well-planned and smooth mining operation like that of Bayangol Denj. It is like a movie script when you imagine that the mine was run by some ladies at a time when ninjas were widespread around the area. These women were company directors Ts.Garamjav, mine manager S.Tsetsgee, engineers S.Enkhtuya, and Ts.Tuya. The only mechanical engineer was a lady named L.Erdenechimeg. At that time, experts from the Canadian Golden Tiger Limited came to see the mine and praised the ladies for developing such a beautiful mine. Before the 2000s, it was rare for a woman to work in a mine, let alone manage one. I still do not know if there is a place in Mongolia with a female mine manager. There are probably few. Fewer does not mean women can not handle the job. A good example is the one mentioned above. S.Enkhtuya was one of the few female mine managers to this day.

A HISTORY FROM YESTERDAY

Engineer Erdenechimeg, who worked with S.Enkhtuya for many years, said that it is rare for a woman to operate a mine like her. Also, she proudly stated that she managed two dredges of the Toson mine and that she was the first to implement the digital system in mining. L.Erdenechimeg has been working at “Monpolymet” with S.Enkhtuya for the 24th year. She is one of the people who knows her and “Monpolymet” since the beginning. By pure fate, S.Enkhtuya’s path aligned with “Monpolymet” LLC in those turbulent years when the beginnings of the modern mining industry were shaping. Mongolia adopted democracy and a free market economy and started making efforts to promote its mineral resources to the world by inviting investors and freely granting exploration and exploitation licenses to companies and individuals. At the same time, mining investors began to notice Mongolia, which allowed the country to tap into the mining methodologies of the western world. Amidst such a cycle in 1998, S.Enkhtuya left the Institute of Geology and Mineral Resources, where she had worked for 18 years, and departed on her new journey. It was a transition from the public sector to the private, from research to production, and from urban to rural. A new job and a new environment awaited her, where she could put into practice everything she did on paper in the mine. The Institute of Geology and Mineral Resources was an institution of high capacity where the best intellectuals of that time worked. S.Enkhtuya reported to Dr. S.Avirmed in the Economic Sector that overlooked the technical and economic basis. At that time, the team was the only one that did a feasibility study in Mongolia. They have done the feasibility studies of almost 80 mines and deposits that are operational today and some are preparing the groundworks for future exploitation. Also, the country’s well-known initiation “Gold” program was drafted back then. But the economic and social transition turned many people’s lives upside down, academic institutes have suffered in the process, and projects and programs were halted as a result. As a result, the institution suffered a disruption in its activities, leaving them unable to even pay salaries. When it merged with the Institute of Geology, the Feasibility Study Group was disbanded. Several mines and companies invited the entire team of scholars. The team decided to go to Ts.Garamjav. The team consisted of four members namely, Dr. S.Avirmed, mountain engineer B.Enhsaikhan, and beneficiation engineer Ts.Tuya (former head of the Erdenet Industrial Laboratory) resource estimation expert S.Enkhtuya. Except for S.Avirmed, the three other members were the same year graduates and some of whom had known each other since secondary school. Twenty years later, they met at “Monpolymet” in a seemingly accidental but fateful encounter. “Monpolymet” was going through every up and down that a young mining business was going through at that time. The company had to even engage in trade after spending all its finance on exploration that did not bear any fruit. But the upside was that it stopped wandering around and set a specific goal and direction with a clear path ahead. 

The company acquired a part of “Erdes” a State-owned Plant in Zaamart that had one tonne of reserves from the privatization of the state industrial land and mined 100 kg of gold in the first year. Although the operation was not smooth, it had its deposit and the company was moving up a level. So, as a group, the company focused on the exploitation of the Bayangol Denj deposit. Dr.S.Avirmed started his work as mine manager, S.Enkhtuya and Ts.Tuya engaged in the mountain works. The women who had worked for many years in the office were in charge of the operation, and even though they were very scared when they went to the mine wearing work clothes, they got used to their challenges. Maybe all the estimations on paper helped her relax a bit. But their team did not last long at Monpolymet. S.Enkhtuya was left alone and remained committed to the choice she had made. Having graduated from the National University of Mongolia’s Mathematics and Science Department, she had no idea that she would spend her whole life in the mining industry and take “Monpolymet” as her last name. Since graduating from the university, she has been in the mining industry for 42 years and the previous 24 years at “Monpolymet”, rising from Mountain Engineer to Mine Manager, Production Director, and Executive Director since 2012. 20 years of leadership were for adopting the resource estimation she had developed day and night. “Those were the days when I fell in love with my work,” said S.Enkhtuya, and added, “Because I have years of experience and knowledge of the mining industry, I think it is beautiful to see the machinery working perfectly and smoothly.” Director S.Enkhtuya is a simple and humble person who can at times look a bit timid. She doesn’t like talking about herself and only talks about her work and the company. She casually uses the word us instead of I. “My classmates may wonder how I manage so many people. But Monpolymet is a collective team of working talents. The kind of team that rushes into anything they decide on. Anything is achievable if organized properly. Our employees say they can do anything except make a living person,” she said with a smile. Whenever you would meet her, she would talk about how the Toson deposit has become economically viable after four resolutions and decisions by the Parliament and the Government, or about how a solution has been found a way to use a dredger when it was difficult to even buy a car let alone a dredger by attracting foreign investment after two years, or how they are taking a loan from the Japanese “Itochu” Corporation, or how the dredger was built and put into operation in cooperation with the Russians, or how the feasibility study would have paid off after 6 years and that the investment would have been recouped, or how unexpected has happened, or how the 2006 “68 percent tax law on windfall profits” and the 2009 “Long-named law” made it impossible to proceed with the feasibility study, or about the first rehabilitation works, Toson Lake, a pair of swans that come every year, and the park to be built in Zaamart for its 100th anniversary. 

Although it is only a few sentences to write, all these are the works she did in person. Everything was created by the will of a group of young people. It is also the story of how the company developed thus far. Monpolymet’s rise from a small gold mine to a national producer in the mining and construction industries, and an investor. It is a clear reflection of the era of mining in Mongolia. A pump was broken at the mine at one point and everyone at Monpolymet went, worked together, and the cooks went to the place where they were staying with tea and food. They do everything by themselves with their sleeves rolled up. Not a single person will be left no matter their position. That is how they work. But the path was not always straight. There was a time when the CEO cried after having their expensive equipment confiscated due to their inability to repay a loan. There was also a time when they were deceived by a company that asked to cooperate with them, embezzling their labor and money just to leave them empty-handed. In 2001, Monpolymet was double-crossed by a large gold company that was operating nearby Zaamar, and after going to court for several years, they were overpowered. At that time, S.Enkhtuya was in despair and thought that it was the first time women were being bullied like this. But it was more the act of a usurping authority taking advantage of loopholes than gender discrimination. “I admired Garma at that time. That Capricorn woman was tough to bend over. I admired even more how amazingly resilient, indomitable, brave, and generous a person she is. When you have a good team, you can overcome everything. Our employees are like a fire. People are united by the passion to defend their own when they lose things illegally in front of everyone’s eyes.” The mistake of the past created skepticism among the Monpolymet family. As the company now has a strict principle to not collaborate at the mine regardless of the offer.

COURAGE TO DEFY THE CURRENT

“Monpolymet” always had female leadership. The company was first set up by a woman who dared step into the mining industry, where everyone was too accustomed to seeing only men who had a conventional understanding that she should be guided by men. Women managed a mining company. Women made the head of the mine. Women-led factories. Despite the difficulty, she walked against the current toward her goal. 

The things that unite these two women, who share their joys and sorrows and understand each other from half a word, are their interests and their unadorned and straightforward behavior. Director S.Enkhtuya said, “The two of us have been together so well for so many years that we will be together until the end of our days. But, of course, we will gradually hand over the company’s leadership and some have already done so,” she shared his next plan. Director S.Enkhtuya had her pension calculated recently. The Social Security inspector realized that she had only ever worked in two companies in her life and without any interruption and said that was the first time the inspector met a person with such documents. 

With such a background, there would be no problem in preparing the necessary documents to calculate her pension, said the inspector with a look of surprise and praise. When he hesitantly asked her if she didn’t even take any time off from work, she said, “I don’t know, maybe that’s the way it is, but anyway, I have such a record,” and laughed. It seems that the philosophy and culture of Mongolian companies are often determined and matured depending on the personality and principles of their leaders. Its manifestation can be seen in many examples of “Monpolymet”. When asked what makes “Monpolymet” stand out from others, she answered sternly, that she “does everything according to the rules and with honesty and a responsible quality that always follows through on words and promises.” Seeing mining through the eyes of a woman, they were the first to start rehabilitation in Zaamar. In 1996, there was competition over mining operations in Zaamar, but no one came up with an idea to plant trees. Some said it was simply the instincts of a few women, but regardless, this is progressing one way or another, and the beautiful Toson lake has been added to the list of fresh lakes in Mongolia now. One of the features of “Monpolymet” is that its employees work steadily. More than one employee has heard that this has to do with female executives who manage human resources well. Director S.Enkhtuya is appreciated by her employees as very person-centered, knows her employees’ lives well, and cares about people. There has always been a woman on the front line of this company. Even now, the company sees the potential and advantages of women and depends on them. Of course, no businesses achieved gender equality in mining 30 years ago. These are the professional people who worked hard to maintain their resources and finish the projects they started. But this is because the concept of sustainability has been deeply embedded in the governance of mining companies. It is probably his father who had a deep influence on the characters of director S.Enkhtuya, who is considered “perseverant, reliable, and confident”. Mr. Sanjjav, one of the first graduates of the university and an agricultural expert, also did not change many jobs. He worked in the Central Committee and Planning Commission all his life. When the Planning Commission separated from the Central Committee, he worked as an agricultural specialist and retired. His father was humble, orderly, principled, and knew what to do and did it as expected. He is a well-mannered person just like director S.Enkhtuya. Her father has always had her back. The three children who lost their mother early were not lacking in love and care but were also raised to be honest and hardworking. Mr.Sanjjav never opposed anything his eldest daughter when she wanted to become a mathematician inspired by her mathematics teacher who graduated in Russia, when she joined the mathematics department of the National University of Moscow and worked at the institute, and when she chose to enter Monpolymet, to live in the countryside, and had her back as always. With such strong support behind her, she had relatively little to worry about at home and raising her children, which gave director S.Enkhtuya all the time and opportunities to devote herself to her work without being distracted by many things. 

As for “Monpolymet”, director S.Enkhtuya has always been reliable support, just like her father. She is so reliable that he can assign work without hesitation. Her whole life was work and still is. This woman with a student’s body, who is always smiling, is here today because of her tireless hard work, honesty, and steadfast principles. People in the mining industry say she was born for work. Her colleagues say she is the most trustworthy person. Her friends described a rare and wonderful quality in her as absolute honesty. Loyalty to one’s responsibilities is a rare human virtue. Her dedication to hard work and honesty earned her the pride and respect of a large group of over a thousand people. The Mining Insight team has decided to carry out a project of a series of biographies of women CEOs in the mining industry. After discussing with the editors, everyone agreed on director S.Enkhtuya who should start the list of women CEOs. She is a pioneer among female CEOs in Mongolia’s mining industry. One of the leaders of the modern mining business in Mongolia, and one of the founders of today’s large national group. She is one of the creators of the most complicated and transitional period of Mongolia’s development. A woman who reached the height of the Executive Director of the “Monpolymet” group with her hard and honest work. She is still a busy director who works faithfully every hour of the working day.

Mining Insight Magazine 2022, №10 (011)