Oyun Erdenebulgan, Vice Minister of Mining, discusses Mongolia’s mining-sector potential.
European Times: How important is the mining sector for Mongolia’s economy?
Oyun Erdenebulgan: The mining sector accounts for around 20% of Mongolia’s GDP, 70% of its industrial production, 40% of the national budget and 89% of our exports. It has also attracted 70% of Mongolia’s FDI.
European Times: What are the ministry’s main goals?
Oyun Erdenebulgan: Our main goal is simple: to create a better environment for foreign investors in order to secure long-term mutual partnerships. We want to develop responsible, eco-friendly, professional mining and attract high-quality companies. We also want to diversify Mongolia’s export markets; 93% of our exports go to China. As a ministry, we want to be transparent, less bureaucratic, free of corruption and easy to work with.
European Times: What are the main challenges for the mining sector?
Oyun Erdenebulgan: The global economic slowdown has hurt Mongolia’s mining industry. Secondly, Mongolia has been fighting corruption, but we are making progress with this. We also need to build our human and institutional capacity and to ensure that the mining industry does not have negative effects on Mongolia’s environment. Our plan is to develop a few large mines to limit environmental impact.
European Times: Can you outline opportunities for EU investors?
Oyun Erdenebulgan: Mongolia needs to add value. We are currently exporting mainly raw or semi-processed products. We want to develop the entire minerals value chain. We welcome investors from the EU since Europe offers the best know-how and technologies. Upcoming projects of interest to investors include our planned oil refinery, which we hope will make Mongolia an oil exporter by 2016. We recently signed a contract with a US company to develop oil-shale processing, and France’s Total is partnering with the ministry concerning oil-shale exploration. We plan to build several metal-processing plants in northern Mongolia, and I recently met with German investors interested in power and water projects here. So, there are many opportunities and our new investment law is a great incentive.
European Times: What is your personal message to investors?
Oyun Erdenebulgan: We are working hard to establish a transparent framework of laws and standards that everybody involved can understand and respect. We are pushing for better regulation because we understand how crucial this is for long-term success. We are committed to making progress in the Oyu Tolgoi, Tavan Tolgoi and other mining projects. Mongolia offers opportunities investors should not miss.
