Ulaanbaatar, September 25, 2025 /MONTSAME/.  Prime Minister Zandanshatar Gombojav met with the leadership of companies that own strategic mineral deposits to exchange views on negotiation and cooperation, and gave specific instructions to the working group.

Noting the significance of the meeting in fairly distributing the benefits of strategic deposits and improving public–private partnerships, the Prime Minister expressed gratitude for the support of the Government’s goal to implement Article 6, Paragraph 2 of the Constitution and the Sovereign Wealth Fund Law.

Until today, strategic deposits have been the engine of Mongolia’s economy. Now, it’s time to prioritize the interests of the people and future security, and to embrace shared responsibility. Therefore, transparent, open, just, law-abiding, and mutually beneficial cooperation is crucial.

The Prime Minister added, “This way, a socially responsible, value-added, and export-oriented mining industry will develop,” and introduced the following three key principles to follow:

-Implement the constitutional principle of providing benefits to every citizen;

-Achieve a productive, responsible, and competent public-private partnership;

-Grow the National Wealth Fund and secure Mongolia’s future.

Views were exchanged on the possibilities of amending the Future Heritage Fund Law and using the Fund’s deposits as a financing source for housing loans. Attendants of the meeting expressed their readiness to hold discussions and support the Government’s objectives and actions in implementing the relevant regulations of the Constitution, the Sovereign Wealth Fund Law, and the Minerals Law.

Battsengel Gotov, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Mongolian National Mining Association, spoke on behalf of his sector, “Sixty-five percent of the Mineral Resource Royalties /MRRL/ is currently being accumulated in the Future Heritage Fund Law. There's no future without the present. The distribution of this Fund must reach citizens today. MRRL is the most risk-free tax collected directly from sales revenue. Therefore, a certain portion of MRRL should be directed to a citizens' savings fund. If we do this, I am confident that the citizens will support the mining sector.”

The Prime Minister emphasized the importance of establishing a state ownership rate through negotiations with license holders of strategic mineral deposits, developing a proposal on whether to replace this rate with MRRL, and having it discussed and decided upon by the State Great Khural. Then, the Minister of Defense Byambatsogt Sandag was instructed to present this matter at the Cabinet meeting in October 2025.

Article 6, Paragraph 2 of the Constitution of Mongolia states, “The state policy on use of the natural wealth shall be based on the long-term development policy and aim to ensure rights of each citizen in current and future generations to live in healthy and safe environment, and to fairly and equitably distribute benefits from land subsoil wealth by accumulating them into the National/Sovereign Wealth Fund. The exploitation of the mineral deposits with strategic importance shall be in compliance with the principle, under which natural wealth is to be subject to the people's control/power, and the legal basis to allot a majority of the benefits gained from it to the people shall be determined by laws.”

To solidify these constitutional principles and ideologies, amendments to the Sovereign Wealth Fund Law and the Minerals Law were adopted in April 2024, establishing the legal basis for determining the state’s ownership share in legal entities holding licenses for strategically important mineral deposits and for directing the associated dividends to the Sovereign Wealth Fund.

To expedite the implementation of these laws, Prime Minister Zandanshatar Gombojav issued a decree in August 2025 to restructure a working group. The group is led by the Minister and Head of the Cabinet Secretariat, Byambatsogt Sandag, and is currently negotiating with companies operating in and holding licenses for strategic deposits. In carrying out its duties, the working group will prioritize the legal rights and interests of the people, in line with the principle that natural resources belong to the public, and uphold principles of equality, fairness, and transparency. The working group also stated that they will work to prevent any unnecessary obstruction or hindrance to the business activities of the wealth creators.

Exploration and exploitation licenses for 16 strategically important mineral deposits are held by 41 legal entities, with a total of 81 overlapping licenses. Representatives of these entities attended this meeting.