Mongolia remains among the 10 least unattractive places
to work in, according to an update of the Fraser Institute”s annual survey of
mining companies. The other 9 in the bottom square are Ecuador, Kazakhstan,
Bolivia, Venezuela, Zimbabwe, Russia, Colorado, Indonesia, and Tasmania.

The big take-away from the updated survey is that sudden
changes in mining policies, without consultation with the industry, run the
risk of scaring away investors, survey coordinator Fred McMahon said. High
commodity prices can make it tempting for governments to introduce changes that
return more mining revenue to State coffers. “It is of great concern, and it
will be interesting to see whether other rational jurisdictions take a lesson
from Australia,” McMahon commented.