B.Batkhuu,
Head of the Mining and Heavy Industry Department at the Ministry of Mineral
Resources and Energy, has told The Mongolian Mining Journal he supported
demands for a new mining law as the present one is more about licensing and
exploration of specific deposits than about mining proper. Procedures and
regulations are not clearly defined and provisions in inter-related laws in
many cases contradict one another. This inconsistency poses problems for both
the operator and the regulator.

The Ministry has
carefully studied laws in several other countries and would also like to
compare notes with research institutions. Batkhuu wants to submit a draft to
Parliament only after detailed and adequate preparation, instead of doing something
in a hurry only to find that the law has lacunae that would need fresh
amendments. Implementation can always reveal unforeseen problems and
challenges, but mining is a long-term process and people investing in the
sector have to make long-term plans at high risk. Uncertainty in the legal
environment does not help them.

However, the
cardinal principle of State control over the strategic deposits should never be
diluted.