At the meeting of the Standing Committee on Economics of the State Great Khural of Mongolia on January 15, 2025, Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources Tuvaan Tsevegdorj presented a report on informing local people about the issuance of mineral exploration licenses, the benefits of the mining sector, as well as the ongoing efforts to enhance the value of mineral products and the operations of the mining exchange.

Minister Tuvaan Tsevegdorj provided an overview of the operations of the mining exchange. The Law on Mining Exchange came into effect on June 30, 2023. With its implementation, a total of 14.9 million tons of coal and 604.8 thousand tons of iron concentrate were traded through the Mongolian Stock Exchange in 2023, generating a total revenue of USD 2.1 billion and an additional revenue of USD 155.3 million due to price increases. In 2024, a total of 859 transactions took place, trading 36.7 million tons of coal, 2.9 million tons of iron ore and concentrate, 17.6 thousand tons of fluorspar, and 6 thousand tons of copper concentrate, generating a total revenue of MNT 16.26 trillion.

Additionally, Minister Tuvaan informed on the issuance of mineral exploration licenses. According to the 1994 Minerals Law, exploration licenses were initially granted by application, then in 1997-2006, to individuals and legal entities also through application. Since 2006, licenses have been awarded through both competitive bidding and application, and from 2014, through application and competitive bidding. The 2017 Amendment to the Law stipulated that exploration licenses could only be granted through competitive bidding on areas designated by the government. In 2010, the Law on Prohibiting the Issuance of Exploration Licenses was adopted, resulting in no licenses being issued between 2010 and 2014.

Following the enforcement of the revised Law, competitive bidding for exploration licenses was incorporated into the Minerals Law. In accordance with the amendments, the selection procedure was approved, with exploration licenses being issued until April 2024. As of 2024, 74 percent of Mongolia’s territory was off-limits for exploration and exploitation. The Government of Mongolia designated 8.4 million hectares, and in 2023, 8.6 million hectares, totaling 17 million hectares, as available for exploration. As of December 16, 2024, there are 2,726 valid licenses, of which 981 are exploration licenses and 1,632 are exploitation licenses, covering 4.38 percent of the country’s territory. Between 2018 and 2024, 533 exploration licenses were granted through competitive bidding, contributing MNT 177 billion to the State Budget.