Fewer mining licenses means less revenue for State

Kh.Batbaatar, director of statistics of Geology and Mining Cadastre Department, talks about the temporary suspension on issue of mining licenses imposed by President Ts.Elbegdorj on April 20.

How many exploration licenses did you give before the ban?

The National Security Council modified the President’s decision on April 30 and the ban now applies only to issue of exploration licenses. Transfers, mortgages and extensions are now possible. As of April 20, 24.7 percent of the total territory of Mongolia was under mining licenses. Altogether 4,762 licenses were registered, 1105 of them being exploitation licenses, covering 0.3 percent of the land. The others were exploration licenses.

How many holders had their license canceled?
With exploration licenses not being issued, the number of companies applying for exploitation licenses has increased. So far, there are 4,320 special licenses. On April 20, the number of exploitation licenses was 1105, but it is 1,116 today. There are 3,205 exploration licenses today. We are working to reduce the number of inactive licenses. So far we have canceled 452 licenses on grounds of violation of terms. This means the area of land under license has fallen to 17.8 percent from 24.7 percent. This is a good thing, but it also means less revenue for the state.