It is indisputable that the driving force of our economy is mining. But, like the two sides of a coin, the environment is an inseparable issue.

Therefore, ensuring proper environmental understanding must be a priority. The messenger of the truth for the public is the media. As such, the Ministry of Mining and Heavy Industry organised a workshop for economist journalists on previous and current activities on the improvement of the artisanal and small-scale miners’ legal environment.

The workshop covered the language used in informal dialogues, such as ninja, self-employed mineral extractors and legal artisanal and small-scale miners, and provided ministry statements on the policies and legal environment.

Many people turned to mineral extraction as a source of income in the mid-1990s during the transition to a market-driven economy. Starting in Selenge, Zuunkharaa, Baruunkharaa and Bayankhongor, the small-scale miners expanded their coverage to Zaamar soum in Tuv aimag, and subsequently spread across a considerable amount of land in Mongolia. It can be said that they began destroying the environment without any regulations.

In 2005, the SAM Project began working to improve the legal environment for artisanal and small-scale miners, focusing on rehabilitation issues and the legal environment, and building a relationship with miners and NGOs, resulting in increased land rehabilitation and sales of gold to the state. As a result, the focus is now shifting to supporting small-scale miners in finding a different livelihood source.

The “Mining Reporters” workshop was organised by the Ministry of Minerals and Heavy Industry and the Mineral Resources and Petroleum Authority in collaboration with the SAM Project, with delegates from the Ministry of Minerals and Heavy Industry, the Mineral Resources and Petroleum Authority, the National Human Rights Committee and the Mongolian ASM National Federation.