Yes, there is an environmental bond requirement according to the mineral law (June 1997). The law states that a plan must be filed with cost estimates, 50% of which must be deposited with the Ministry of Agriculture and Industry.
Although a reasonable law, there was no provisions to contribute over time, nor was there a facility created to receive the funds. This new statement may reference the facility to receive the funds. The word pawn may have been substituted for bond.
To Bearcat.
The mill site has 2 armed guards, plus a camp manager. The Mongolian staff has been laid off. As for obtaining workers at start-up....where would the workers have gone? There are no other hard-rock gold mines in the country, and there are only a few other hard-rock mines of any sort in the country, most of which are shutting down or scaling back.
Mongolia may be a land of opportunity, but with no one else there, the opportunities are for those who make them. The Asian crisis has hit Mongolia. There are fewer tourists, buyers of cashmere, lower prices for copper and gold, and a flood of cheaper imports. It's not as if there is a huge internal market to stimulate.
On the plus side, Mongolia is self-sufficient in feeding itself. It does import energy, but has vast reserves of coal, and only recently started exporting some oil. It is still a net oil importer.
Dave |
