President calls upon miners to be responsible

In his message to the two-day mining investment forum “Discover Mongolia-2010” which began yesterday, President Ts.Elbegdorj expressed appreciation for the work of investors who have explored Mongolia’s natural resources. “Your efforts and investment have revealed our wealth to the world and now Mongolia has embarked on an ambitious journey of socio-economic development, based on the revenue from its mines,” he has said. “Our success must acknowledge the contribution of your specialists with wide experience and admirable skills, and of your use of progressive technology and techniques.”

The President referred to his efforts at the World Economic Forum at Davos in January to prepare a model draft for all future investment agreements in mining. The matter was further discussed at an international meeting in Mongolia last June. More such meetings will be held in other mineral-rich countries and it should be possible to present a draft at the next forum at Davos. He urged participants “to recognize the need to work with a sense of responsibility”. Exploring and exploiting underground minerals “must be accompanied with the obligation to not damage nature, the world and society”. He expected miners to contribute to the “development of regions where they work, and to restore to the maximum extent possible all damage mining may cause to historical and natural features of the area”. Even with “our environment-friendly lifestyle we Mongolians have suffered most from the global climate change and I appeal you to work here with care, using only the best technology in your mining activity”. He specially asked them to take up extensive tree-planting initiatives.

He defended his order some months ago to suspend issue of fresh mining licenses. “As the country’s President and the Head of its National Security Council I have a duty to ensure that the issuing process is transparent and that the license holder knows he has to follow the law of the land. Nobody should have the impunity to ignore human rights, neglect the environment, and disregard the law. These are all symptoms of the criminal corruption that stalks today’s human condition. I appeal to you to join the struggle to correct the distortion,” the message said.