Ulaanbaatar, July 4, 2023 /MONTSAME/. The ceremony of handing over the standard management plan for the closure of the Salkhit silver and gold mine was held yesterday at the "Tuushin" hotel.

The mine closure pilot plan is to improve land use, to provide a healthy and safe living environment for the people in the mining area, and in general, to improve the social and economic benefits when the mine is closed. It is a complex activity to liquidate the infrastructure of the mine, restore the environment, and carry out environmental monitoring. Rehabilitating areas affected by mining activities in order to enable them to be used again sustainably has a positive effect on local communities and ecosystems.

Erdenes Silver Resource LLC, a daughter company of a group of state-owned mining companies Erdenes Mongol, was handed over "Mongolia: Enhancing Resource Management through Institutional Transformation" (MERIT) Project, implemented with the funding of the Government of Canada and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the country. The project was fully implemented in two phases from September 2021 to June this year.

Erdenes Silver Resource LLC operates in the Salkhit silver and gold deposit located in Gurvansaikhan soum of Dundgobi aimag. Despite the fact that the exploitation of the Salkhit silver and gold deposit will continue for the next 8-10 years, the closure plan has been developed and presented. By accepting the standard mine closure management plan, the company assumes the responsibility of implementing the laws and regulations related to mine closure and rehabilitation and working as a pioneer in the further development of responsible mining. Ambassador of Canada to Mongolia Mrs. Catherine Ivkoff noted in her opening speech, "In advanced mining countries, closure plans are developed before the operations begin. Actually, the closure management plan goes hand in hand with the mine operations."

Mining industry participants in the ceremony emphasized that the management plan for the closure of the Salkhit mine will be a world-standard model that can be used in other mines in Mongolia.

Quite a number of mines have been closed in the past in Mongolia. However, first of all, the closures were done in different ways for a certain period of time due to various conditions of the mines, such as depletion of resources, and financial and economic conditions, as pointed out by the legal adviser of the MERIT project G. Surakhbayar.

In a sense, the mining sector of our country has developed intensively in the last 30 years with foreign and domestic investments, still, there is no history of closing mines based on rational, correct, and theoretical concepts. However, he emphasized the significance of this closure management plan as it is being implemented in Mongolia in accordance with world norms and standards.