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Mining boom in Mongolia


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With huge amounts of unexploited natural resources (gold, copper, coal and more) the Mongolian economy is estimated to grow massively in the years to come. But will it also benefit the people in Mongolia? Our work shows how mining operations lead to pollution and displacement for local herders and exacerbate water scarcity issues.

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dust & displacement | water scarcity | European financing | latest updates | publications

Dust, displacement and intimidation in the Gobi Altai mountains

Nomadic herders in the Gobi Altai mountains are facing pollution and displacement by the Tayan Nuur iron ore mine that receives financing from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. While the mining company Altain Khuder responds to criticism with intimidation, the EBRD is not doing enough to protect herders’ rights.

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A multimedia story about herders impacted by the Tayan Nuur mine

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Also available in Polish >>

More

Dust, displacement, intimidation - Mongolian herders are under pressure by iron ore mine
Blog post | December 9, 2014

Report: Impacts of the Tayan Nuur iron ore mine on nomadic herders' lives in Mongolia
Study | December 9, 2014

Case study on the impacts of the global iron ore sector: Altain Khuder in Mongolia
SOMO case study | December 17, 2014

 

Water scarcity in the South Gobi desert

In the South Gobi desert, the highly intensive mining industry with its immense need for water can pose precarious risks to the livelihoods of herders.

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Spirited away - Mongolia's mining boom and the people that development left behind (pdf)
Study | January 30, 2012

 

EBRD financing for mining in Mongolia

Online debate

Following a discussion in the European Parliament on the EBRD's mining operations, Bankwatch organised a live-streamed google hangout with Mongolian campaigner Sukhgerel Dugersuren.

Watch the recording here >>

By financing several mining projects over the last few years, the EBRD followed other investors' bias towards the natural resources sector in Mongolia. Instead, it should diversify its portfolio in the country to help Mongolia reduce its dependency on commodity exports.

Read more:
The EBRD in Mongolia: Economic diversity is something else >>
Blog post | September 18, 2012

 

Institution: EBRD

Theme: Energy & climate, Social & economic impacts, Other harmful projects

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Latest developments

 

Bergbau-Bonanza in Mongolei bedroht lokale Bevölkerung und Klima
Bankwatch in the media | February 2, 2012

Berlin – Die Umweltschutz und Menschenrechtsorganisation Urgewald, CEE Bankwatch und OT Watch veröffentlichen diese Woche den Bericht über eine Recherchereise in die Mongolei (1). Darin stehen die Auswirkungen des Bergbaubooms auf die lokale Bevölkerung im Mittelpunkt. Sie werden in der Berichterstattung über den geplanten Börsengang von Tavan Tolgoi, dem weltgrößten unerschlossenem Kohlegebiet, weitgehend ignoriert (2).

Kopp: Roffstoffe als Chance für Entwicklung nutzen
Bankwatch in the media | February 1, 2012

Berlin. - Deutsche Unternehmen haben sich in einer Roffstoff-Allianz zusammengeschlossen, um sich gemeinsam an Rohstoff-Projekten im Ausland zu beteiligen. Die Parlamentarische Staatssekretärin im Bundesministerium für wirtschaftliche Zusammenarbeit und Entwicklung (BMZ), Gudrun Kopp, sieht darin eine Chance für Entwicklungsländer, ihre Einnahmen zu steigern. Die Erlöse müssten aber der Allgemeinheit in den rohstoffreichen Ländern zugute kommen.

Earth's riches, people's troubles. Mining in Central Asia
Blog entry | January 31, 2012

Two new reports and two videos on the impacts of mining operations in Kyrgyzstan and Mongolia unearth some of the downsides of the mining business in Central Asia.

accountability, Central Asia, corporate responsibility, local impacts, mining, pollution, water
Mining threatens herders in Mongolia: report
Bankwatch in the media | January 30, 2012

BEIJING — Mining in southern Mongolia is threatening the livelihoods of herders and straining water supplies, a report said Monday, as foreign companies race to exploit the country's rich mineral deposits.

Bankwatch report and video: Mongolia’s mining bonanza poses threat to locals and planet
Press release | January 30, 2012

A new report launched today by CEE Bankwatch Network, urgewald and OT Watch (1), following on-the-ground research in Mongolia, details the impact of the country’s mining boom on local populations, shedding light on the ignored side of one of the biggest business stories of today: Mongolia’s planned public offering of the state-owned Erdenes Tavan Tolgoi and the rights to one of the world's largest untapped coal reserves. (2)

Publications

Comments and recommendations on the EBRD Draft Mining Strategy
Policy comments | June 23, 2012

(Download a short version of these comments as pdf.)

As it is now, the EBRD foresees growth in the mining sector and sees its involvement as crucial in this process. At the same time the Bank recognizes that mining can cause significant adverse environmental and social impacts, including permanent ones, and that no single mine can be sustainable since it exploits a finite local resource.

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Letter to EBRD: Request for update on Centerra Gold Revolving Debt Facility
Advocacy letter | April 6, 2012

With the letter Bankwatch requests information about the status of the Centerra Gold Revolving Debt Facility and raises issues and findings from the recent reports on the company’s performance.

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Letter to EBRD: request to clarify conflicting information on mining projects in Mongolia
Advocacy letter | March 23, 2012

Following a fact-finding mission to Mongolia in June 2011, CEE Bankwatch sent a letter on August 18, 2011 with several questions for clarification to the EBRD. Additionally OT Watch submitted a paper on November 1, 2011 to representatives of the EBRD Board of Directors during their visit to Mongolia. While the EBRD replied to both of these, several issues still need clarification, as there is conflicting information.

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Silence is golden for some - the strange case of the EBRD's mining policy
Bankwatch Mail | March 13, 2012

It is coming up for three years since the EBRD's 2009 Annual Evaluation Overview Report “alerted Management to develop a new Operation Policy to cover all forms of non-energy related extraction of natural resources (mining policy)”. The EBRD does not appear to have been in any great rush with the preparation of this policy, and one has to wonder how long the bank will allow for the new policy to be consulted with the interested public. More importantly, how influential will public input be in setting the policy objectives and requirements?

Spirited away – Mongolia's mining boom and the people that development left behind
Study | January 30, 2012

The report, based on a fact finding mission to the Tavan Tolgoi and Oyu Tolgoi mines in Mongolia, examines the social and environmental impacts of mining in Mongolia. It offers a more in-depth look at the impacts on herders who have been displaced by the mining operations, the local effects of the construction of infrastructure and the mining operations themselves.

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Reports

Fact-finding mission report from the Tayan Nuur iron ore mine in the Gobi Altai mountains, December 2014

Download as pdf

Spirited away – Mongolia's mining boom and the people that development left behind

Report from a fact-finding mission to the Oyu Tolgoi gold and copper mine and the Tavan Tolgoi coal mine, January 2012

Download as pdf

Impacts of the global iron ore sector. Case study: Altain Khuder in Mongolia

How do business factors such as the need for infrastructure, mine lifespan and production targets interfere with a meaningful engagement of local communities? A case study by the Centre for Research on Multinational Corporations, SOMO.

Download as pdf

 

Images from Mongolia

Tayan Nuur iron ore mine in the Gobi Altai mountains
See it on flickr >>

Tavan Tolgoi (coal) and Oyu Tolgoi (gold, copper) mines in the South Gobi desert
See it on flickr >>