ABOUT LAW ON BANNING MINERAL EXTRACTION

Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia /MONTSAME/ On Wednesday, the cabinet members got acquainted with an implementation course of the law on banning mineral exploration and exploitation on and near riverheads, reserved areas with ponds, and with forests.

For the time being, 242 licenses for gold deposits have been suspended--69 of them have been fully canceled, and 36 have been annulled partly.

Boundaries for the areas, owned by 1,400 licenses except placer deposits of gold, have been set. At the next cabinet meeting, the final boundaries are expected to be approved, and issues will be considered such as suspending/canceling the licenses, and compensations. The Minister of Environment and Tourism D.Tsogtbaatar added that this law is becoming intensive.

The cabinet also discussed matters on erecting blocks on the deposit areas, doing a rehabilitation, intensifying the environmental monitoring. Then a decision was made to take some areas into state reserves for five years.

As of present, 14 per cent territories of Mongolia have been owned by special licenses. 

Approximately 20 per cent of lands that are eligible for special licenses has been taken into the state reserves. It means that these lands are to serve as a platform for geological studies and research works funded by the state budget.

B.Khuder