Comments
An excellent post. I am currently in UB as the gold sector advisor for a gold development strategy that is being developed under a project managed by Adam Smith International on behalf of the Australian government. If you were here it would be great to meet and discuss the issues.
Thanks for responding, Byambajav. I wish that I could be here and that we could meet, but my contract has only provided for a few weeks in the country at this time. It has been a very intensive period of work and learning. Much has changed since 1997 and 1998 when I was last here as an advisor to Malaysia Mining Corp. Bhd. investigating gold investment possibilities and the risks as perceived at the time. Overall, I am very pleased with how policy has developed. As the gold price recovers and with stability, transparency and clarity of legislation, it will be possible to attract the $110/sq km, or so, of exploration annually which Western Australia has found necessary to sustain and grow the gold industry and its contribution to the economy.
Terrific post, Byamba. These CDAs and Impact-Benefit-Agreements etc are really very interesting and Mongolia is a fascinating place to watch them take root (or not). Thanks for providing an overview here and pointing to some of the challenges regarding transparency and governance that remain.