A.Bilguun, secretary of the Organizing Committee of “Discover Mongolia
2012” International Mining Investors’ Forum (IMIF) and chief executive
of Mine Info LLC, talks to MMJ about the upcoming event.
When and where will this year’s Discover Mongolia Forum be held? So far, Discover Mongolia IMIF was held in September or November, but this year we have advanced the dates. The forum proper will take place on August 30-31 at the Mongolian Children’s Palace. On September 1, a team of participant investors will take a field trip to OyuTolgoi mine site, Mongolia’s gest construction of the year.
Discover Mongolia was first held in Mongolia 10 years ago. What are the planned highlights this year? Yes, Discover Mongolia was the very first forum of its type to take place in Mongolia. It has grown ger every year, with more than 1,500 participants representing 550 entities from 20 countries last year. We expect an even larger number to attend this year.
We celebrate two anniversaries this year. The first is the 10th anniversary of Discover Mongolia itself and the other is the 90th anniversary of the mining sector of Mongolia. The Organizing Committee is in close touch with the Ministry of Mineral Resources and Energy on how to observe the latter. Academician P.Ochirbat is leading the committee and has taken the initiative to bring together all those who have worked in mining for many years and contributed a lot to it. We expect three generations of geologists and miners to be at the meeting, which will be a wonderful event, giving young professionals a chance to pick their elders’ brain.
How do you assess the achievements of Discover Mongolia in the past nine years? The impact of a forum cannot be quantified. Intangibles are important in such assessments. The main thing about Discover Mongolia is that it gives people in the mining sector an opportunity to meet and establish partnerships, maybe find their first investments. More than 1,000 investors looking for a suitable project and local entrepreneurs seeking capital gather together at the forum. The gest deal during Discover Mongolia last year was the one between Hunnu Coal and Thailand’s Banpu. This is just an example of what the forum can achieve.
Not every year has been equally productive. The one held when the OyuTolgoi investment agreement was finalised marked a time when investors turned their focus on Mongolia, while the one at the time of the 68 per cent windfall profit tax saw foreign investors packing their bags.
All in all, what has been the contribution of Discover Mongolia to the development of the mining industry of Mongolia? If we look back, the first years of the century saw little interest in Mongolia among investors. The situation is vastly different today. The Mongolian mining sector has passed through both prosperity and difficulty in these years. Both the windfall profit tax and the delay in the signing of the OyuTolgoi investment agreement led to foreign companies deciding to leave Mongolia or at least to lose active interest in working here, but Discover Mongolia did not miss a session and tried to help them to appreciate the Mongolian position. That way, this forum has made a major contribution to drawing foreign and local investment to the Mongolian mining sector, something no other event has matched.
The recently passed Law on Regulation of Foreign Investment in Business Entities of Strategic Importance was a shock to foreign investors, and now they are concerned at the nature of the likely changes to be made in the mineral policy. Will Discover Mongolia 2012 have anything to offer regarding this?Yes, investors are closely following developments and we have had several enquiries on whether the issue will be discussed at the forum. They expect the new Government to work on policies on the mining sector and foreign investment. Not just foreign investors, but Mongolian business entities and investors also are watching for hints on the Government attitude on these matters. Discover Mongolia has a section called “Government hour” where policy makers interact with participants. We expect this to be very lively and informative this year and are making preparations accordingly.
Foreign investment is much needed to carry out not only exploration and mining activities but also in many other areas such as processing plants, infrastructure, renewable energy and etc. What is Discover Mongolia’s position on this? As the name Discover Mongolia indicates, our goal is to help interested people “discover” this country. Today the forum has gone beyond helping bring investments to mineral exploration,and involves many different areas of mining growth. Our slogan last year was “Mutually profitable cooperation in the mining sector” while this year’s is “From opening up to development”. It is clear that the forum is setting out to cover a wider range than before. Last year, we held a separate session to discuss issues beyond mining proper, such as assets and infrastructure. This year, too, the Organizing Committee plans to hold a similar meeting to draw investors’ attention to different topics, including oil shale and oil exploration. These are areas where we need foreign investment and investors would like detailed information.
