MAK has been a pioneer and we intend to remain the leader

B.Nyamtaishir, Chairman of the Policy Committee and President of MAK, tells N.Ariuntuya about his company and also what the domestic mining companies feel about the expansion in the sector and how it is likely to affect them.

How did you become a miner?

I am a miner almost by accident. I finished school during the socialist times and chose the mining engineering course simply because I believed it required higher mathematics, something I had always been interested in. I had taken part in several Maths Olympiads. If one had known more in the tenth grade, maybe I would have chosen some other profession. I graduated from the Higher Mining School in what was then called Leningrad. The school was well known worldwide and I’m proud that I attended it.
With the beginning of the market economy in 1990, I chose the challenge in business and set up a foreign trade company, Odod. It was very successful and I decided to use the profits from it to set up a mining company, so that I could use my academically acquired skills to help develop the Mongolian economy by utilizing our natural resources. Mongolyn Alt Company or MAK was established on December 14, 1993, to mine gold and since then I have been working in the mining sector.

Which one factor was the most crucial for MAK’s success?

Our initial goal was to introduce advanced Western technology in Mongolia and to stick to environmentally sound mining techniques, right from the exploration stage. The most important thing in mining sector is geological information. All depends on reliable determination of reserves. If exploration has some flaws, further development will be a waste of investment.

We have always been a pioneer in the mining sector and were the first company in Mongolia to use Caterpillar machinery when we leased a machine for USD 3.2 million in 1994. It was the right choice for its high productivity and low maintenance costs, and until today I have always used only the best equipment. This is certainly one of the key factors in our success.
Human resources are as important as the machinery. MAK has been training its staff in local and foreign universities, sending some of them abroad for refresher courses and the professional competence of our staff is the envy of others. This is another crucial factor.

How many employees do you have?

The present number of 700 people will reach a few thousand when our expansion plans are implemented. Preparatory work is almost complete. For example, we shall start open pit mining in the Tsagaansuvarga copper-molybdenum project in 2011. At full capacity, it will produce 15 million tons of ore annually, which is about 60% of the Erdenet production. We are doing extensive market research to find the best market for processed coal.

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