Mongolia

EITI Status Satisfactory progress
EITI Member Since 2007
Latest Data From 2016
Latest Validation 2018
Website EITI Mongolia

Overview

Mongolia is a leading producer of coking coal, copper, iron ore and crude oil, but exports nine minerals in total. Extractive industries accounted for 20% of GDP, 18.6% of government revenue and 86.2% of total exports in 2016 according to the 2016 EITI Report. The Oyu Tolgoi copper and gold mine is the single largest mining project, which should account for a third of GDP from 2020. Tavan Tolgoi is the world’s largest undeveloped coal mine. Public debates have centred on the environmental impact of mining, areas reserved for conservation and the government’s role in developing large-scale “strategic” deposits. Provinces and districts that host extractive industries have set up subnational EITI councils to improve transparency and public participation in resources management at local levels.

Find a video about the EITI in Mongolia here (in Mongolian).

News, blogs and more

Tax and legal framework

The main taxes levied on the mining sector include royalties, corporate income tax, customs duties and licence fees, while the major oil and gas levies are state petroleum receipts from production-sharing agreements, corporate income tax and customs duties. The Mongolian Taxation Authority is the main body responsible for collecting taxes paid to central government, while the Mineral Resources and Petroleum Authority (MRPAM) collects sector levies for mining and oil and gas respectively. Provincial and district governments are responsible for collecting subnational revenues.

Some contracts are disclosed, including one mining investment agreement and 141 company agreements with local authorities. Mongolia launched a dedicated portal for extractives contracts in early 2017. 

Mining licences are awarded on a ‘first come first served’ basis, while oil and gas production-sharing agreements (PSAs) are awarded through public tender. The 2010 moratorium on new mining exploration licence awards was lifted in 2014. Mongolia had 25 oil and gas PSAs and 4800 active mining licences in 2018.

Learn more from the MRPAM website.

USGS Mongolia Minerals Yearbook 2014
EITI Mongolia webpage on licenses
UNDP (2016), 'Corruption risk assessment in Mongolia's mining sector
Transparency International (2017), 'Corruption risks in mining licensing in Mongolia' (Mongolian)
Transparency International (2017), 'Corruption risks in mining licensing in Mongolia' (English)
NRGI (2015), Contract Transparency a Critical Component of Civil Society Oversight in Mongolia

Beneficial ownership disclosure

Mongolia decided to include a section on beneficial ownership in its 2013 EITI Report. Using a simple questionnaire, the MSG asked for beneficial ownership information from any entity holding 5% or more of a mining or petroleum license. While the survey was voluntary, 215 of the 250 companies that participated in the 2013 EITI Report provided information on their equity-holders. Although some equity holders were natural persons, the report did not confirm whether they were legal or beneficial owners. The results were converted into an interactive infographic on the EITI Mongolia website. The 2014 EITI Report was less successful in providing beneficial ownership data, with only 30 of the 236 companies responding to the request. The 2015 EITI Report was more successful, with 51 of the 202 companies reporting, of which 26 disclosed their beneficial ownership. In the 2016 EITI Report, 47 of the 213 companies reported details of their beneficial ownership. 

In February and May 2018, the EITI International Secretariat, with support from the EBRD, conducted two beneficial ownership workshops for civil society and media representatives. The workshops were focusing on strategies for ensuring a robust legal framework for beneficial ownership transparency, and understanding and evaluating the quality of beneficial ownership data disclosed by the companies

EITI Beneficial Ownership roadmap - Mongolia
Anit-Corruption Commission's database of Politically-Exposed Persons' annual asset disclosures
Ikon.mn's infographic of Parliamentarian's reported assets (2016)
General Authority for State Registration

Production

Mongolia is a leading producer of mineral commodities such as coal (the world’s 18th largest producer in 2016) and copper, but produces and exports a total of 15 mineral and petroleum commodities including gold, iron ore, zinc, molybdenum, fluorspar, tungsten, silver, tin, gypsum, zeolite, lead and clinker. Mongolia was primarily a copper exporter until 2006, although surging coal exports to China dominated output from 2007 to 2012. Oyu Tolgoi’s ramping up of production since 2013 has led to growing exports of copper concentrate, which offset a slump in coal output. Exploration activity is focused on the North, South and East of the country, with long distances requiring complex associated infrastructure to develop new mines.

Mongolia’s Geological Information Catalogue System (MonGeoCat)
MRPAM mining statistics
MRPAM Investment Guide
Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime (2017), 'Illicit Financial Flows in ASM in Mongolia'
Bank of Mongolia monthly foreign trade reviews

Mineral production (tonnes)

Initializing chart.

Oil and Gas Production (Sm3 o.e.)

Initializing chart.

Natural resources

Mongolia has rich deposits of copper, coal, gold, silver, iron ore, zinc, fluorspar, molybdenum, uranium, tin, tungsten, natural gas and petroleum. Abundant mineral reserves are found throughout the country, although only around 30% of Mongolia’s territory has been explored.

CommodityReservesUnitSignificance
Oil2.4Billion barrelsWhile under-explored, Mongolia’s proven reserves are in the east with frontier exploration in the west. Significant reserves of unconventional petroleum (shale gas and shale oil) are also estimated.
Gold591,244Metric tonsAlluvial gold - off limits to miners - accounts for over half of reserves, but several larger deposits are in development. Gold is also associated with large copper deposits like Oyu Tolgoi.
Silver3,493Metric tonsDespite only one producing mine in the north, there are several other silver deposits spread across the country.
Copper53.6Million metric tonsMongolia has the world’s 12th largest copper reserves. Oyu Tolgoi will become the world’s second largest operating copper mine once the underground phase II expansion is completed in 2020.
Coal26.57Billion metric tonsMongolia has the world’s fourth largest coal reserves, thermal and coking coals combined. Tavan Tolgoi is the world’s largest undeveloped coal mine.
Iron348.11Million metric tonsProven reserves of iron ore are fragmented and spread out nationwide, leading to smaller average deposit sizes and lower operating lives for mines.

Sources: "Section 5.1.3.2: Mongolia's mineral resources" in 2016 EITI Report, USGS Mongolia Minerals Yearbook 2014.

Falling revenue, rising disclosures
Mongolia’s new government challenged by a vulnerable economy
EITI in Mongolia and beyond
Show me the money! Strengthening EITI implementation in Mongolia

Revenue collection

The latest EITI disclosures (2016) show that Mongolia received USD 548.6 million from extractive industry taxation. Roughly a quarter of these revenues comes from oil and gas, with the rest from mining, where copper, coal and iron ore as the major commodities. Revenues were mainly collected through royalties (23.7%), corporate income tax (21%) and state petroleum receipts as per PSAs (12.4%). The Mining Law was revised in July 2014, with new royalty structures.

IM4DC (August 2015),Resources-to-Cash: a Cautionary Tale from Mongolia
MAD Investment Solutions (November 2013), A Brief Analysis of the Mongolian Economy

Initializing chart.

Revenue allocation

Provincial and district governments receive 25% of VAT (aside from imports), 5% of mining royalties and 30% of oil and gas royalties through the General Local Development Fund. Provincial governments also play a key role in extractive industries oversight, approving new licence applications for instance. The new Law on Glass Accounts requires full disclosure of expenditures by all levels of government.

Glass Accounts website
Finance Ministry Budget website
Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (March 2012), An Analysis of the new Budget Law of Mongolia

Innovations

The EITI encourages multi-stakeholder groups to explore innovative approaches to make the EITI more relevant and useful.

  • Mongolia’s EITI Reports are very comprehensive, with roughly 1000 companies reporting.  
  • By 2016, all 21 provinces and 14 districts had established tripartite subnational EITI councils.
  • Reporting entities disclose EITI information through an online reporting system.
  • An online query tool allows users to visualise legal ownership information on some companies.
  • The 2014-2016 EITI Reports include information on mining companies’ environmental provisions, information on the government's extractives loans and a detailed overview of the licensing process. It also includes sections on governance of state-owned companies and artisanal and small scale mining.

Implementation

Mongolia was found to have achieved satisfactory progress in implementing the EITI Standard. View more information under the Validation section of this page or go to the Board's decision in full.

Mongolia published its 2018 work plan and 2017 annual progress report in January 2018. The key objectives of Mongolia’s EITI implementation include establishing the EITI Report and eReporting system as the most reliable source of information on the extractive industries, with EITI data contributing to public debate, enhance stakeholders’ capacity and mutual trust as well as ensuring the sustainability of the EITI process.

Governance

The Government of Mongolia committed to implement EITI in December 2005 and was admitted as EITI Candidate on 27 September 2007. A  Memorandum of Understanding sets out the commitment to EITI implementation by the government, extractive companies and civil society. Resolution no. 80 (2007) establishes the responsibility of government bodies in EITI. A National Council coordinates and monitors implementation of the EITI in Mongolia, chaired by HE Mr Chimedyn Saikhanbileg, Prime Minister of Mongolia, and has 30 members. A Multi-Stakeholder Working Group (MSWG) is in charge of implementing EITI activities, counts 33 members and is chaired by Mrs Banzragchyn Delgermaa, senior advisor to the Prime Mininster. Details on the composition of these groups are available on the Mongolia EITI website. Resolution no. 19 (14 July 2010) commits the government to finance the cost of EITI Reports from fiscal year 2011 onwards through the budget of the Prime Minister’s Department, and directs regional and local governments to disclose all revenues paid by the holders of exploration and exploitation licenses as part of the EITI process. The current Minerals Law of Mongolia (§48.10) requires mining holders to publicly disclose product sales, and taxes and payments paid to the State and local budgets annually. Development of a draft EITI law is in progress.

Timeline

Validation

Mongolia was found to have made satisfactory progress in meeting the EITI Standard on 13 February 2018. The country was previously found to have made meaningful progress on 11 January 2017 during the First Validation. Timor-Leste took corrective actions on a number of requirements and achieved satisfactory progress during the Second Validation.

Mongolia's progress by requirement can be found in the scorecards below.

Board decision
News item on the Validation result
Country statuses explained
Documentation: Validation Report and initial assessment

Mongolia's progress by requirement

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Scorecards show the outcomes of Validation. Arrows of progress indicate where the International Secretariat has re-assessed a requirement following a corrective action in a second or third Validation. 

EITI Reports and other key documents

Mongolia Validation 2018

Published Date: 
November, 2017
Publisher: 
EITI

The first Validation of Mongolia against the EITI Standard commenced on 1 July 2016. On 11 January 2017, the EITI Board found that Mongolia had made meaningful progress in implementing the 2016 EITI Standard (see here). The EITI Board established eight corrective actions related to:

Oversight by the multi-stakeholder group (Requirement 1.4.b.vi & 1.4.b.iii);The disclosure of license allocation (requirement 2.2) and the register of licenses (requirement 2.3)State participation (requirement 2.6) and quasi-fiscal expenditures (requirement 6.2);Transactions related to state-ow

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2014 Mongolia EITI Report

Published Date: 
December, 2015
Publisher: 
Mongolia EITI

This EITI Report covers Mongolia's extractive sector in 2014. It was published in December 2015. 

Read more
View all documents related to Mongolia in our publications library

Contacts

National Coordinator

International Secretariat

Oliana Valigura

olianavaligura
Country Manager
ovaligura@eiti.org

Oliana is Country Manager at the EITI International Secretariat working with Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia. Nationality: Ukrainian Prior to joining the EITI in November 2015,

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Alex Gordy EITI

Alex Gordy

alexgordy
Validation Director
agordy@eiti.org

Nationality: French and U.S. American

Prior to joining the EITI he was a business intelligence and political risk analyst covering finance and the extractive industries in West Africa and East Asia.

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Olesia Tolochko

live:olesia.tolochko
Country Officer
otolochko@eiti.org

Olesia supports Asia team at the International Secretariat.

Olesia holds bachelor’s degree in Economic Theory from Ukraine and MSc in Strategic Marketing Management from Norway.

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