Category Archives: Mining Governance

Guest Post: The Backbone of the New National Anticorruption Strategy will be the Private Sector and Civil Society

Posted on April 24, 2023 by Julian Dierkes

By D Tegshbayar Mongolia’s IAAC (Independent Agency Against Corruption) announced on April 12, 2023 that it has presented a new national anticorruption strategy to be implemented up to 2030 to its parliament. This draft strategy drastically shifted its previous focus … Continue reading →

Posted in Corruption, Darambazar Tegshbayar, EITI, Global Indices, Governance, Law, Mining, Mining Governance, Politics, Protest | Leave a comment

Guest Post: Canada and Mongolia – The Enhanced Development Partnership that Never Was

Posted on March 21, 2023 by Julian Dierkes

By Stephen Brown In the early 2010s, the Canadian government, under Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper, developed a special interest in Mongolia. In 2014, after a flurry of diplomatic visits, Canada designated Mongolia a “country of focus” for its development … Continue reading →

Posted in Bilateral Aid, Canada, CIRDI, Development, International Relations, Mining, Mining, Mining Governance, Public Policy, Research on Mongolia, Stephen Brown | 3 Comments

Oyun-Erdene Cabinet, Version 01/2023

Posted on January 9, 2023 by marissa smith

By Marissa J. Smith A cabinet reshuffle has opened the new year of 2023, in the wake of a December marked by large demonstrations that climaxed with an attempted storming of the Government Building. A major focus of these demonstrations … Continue reading →

Posted in Governance, Inequality, Inflation, Mining Governance, Mongolian People's Party, Party Politics, Politics, Populism, Tavan Tolgoi, Youth | Leave a comment

December 2022 Protests

Posted on December 20, 2022 by Julian Dierkes

By Julian Dierkes Once again, following protests in April 2022, primarily younger Mongolians took to Sukhbaatar Square in protest in early December. I initially wrote about these protests for The Diplomat, pointing out the simmering corruption worries connected to state-owned … Continue reading →

Posted in China, Corruption, Erdenes Mongol, Mining, Mining Governance, Politics, Protest, Protest, Tavan Tolgoi, Younger Mongolians | Tagged | Leave a comment

A Panel Analysis of Current Options for a Renewed Oyu Tolgoi Agreement

Posted on December 20, 2021 by Julian Dierkes

By Julian Dierkes Since the Dec 13 announcement of a RioTinto offer to write off government debt, relatively little discussion has followed in the Mongolian public. As I mentioned in a previous post, the MPP response has been almost enthusiastic. … Continue reading →

Posted in Erdenes Mongol, Mining, Mining, Mining Governance, Oyu Tolgoi, Oyu Tolgoi, Public Opinion, Public Policy, Research on Mongolia, Taxes | Tagged | Leave a comment

Rio Tinto/Turquoise Hill Offer on Debt Forgiveness for Oyu Tolgoi Stake

Posted on December 13, 2021 by Julian Dierkes

By Julian Dierkes On the morning of December 13, PM Oyun-Erdene “unveiled” an offer he received from Rio Tinto/Turquoise Hill that appears to be intended to form the basis for a new agreement to jumpstart underground development at Oyu Tolgoi. … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Erdenes Mongol, Foreign Investment, Mining Governance, Oyu Tolgoi, Oyu Tolgoi, Policy, Public Policy, Sovereign Wealth Fund, Taxes | Tagged | Leave a comment

A More Constructive Longterm Interaction Between Rio Tinto and Mongolia

Posted on December 1, 2021 by Julian Dierkes

By Julian Dierkes In a previous post, I gave my sense of where the re-negotiations regarding the OT Agreement are heading and how I see this as a step in a repeating cycle. I have also pointed to a quest … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, EITI, International Agreements, Mining, Mining Governance, Oyu Tolgoi, Oyu Tolgoi, Politics, Public Policy | Tagged | Leave a comment

Search for (Oyu Tolgoi) Perfection

Posted on November 23, 2021 by Julian Dierkes

By Julian Dierkes I have recently shared my perspective on the negotiations of a (new) OT Agreement. Below, I want to highlight one of the aspects that I see as bringing about this cycle, an aspect that is also prevalent … Continue reading →

Posted in Democracy, Governance, Mining Governance, Oyu Tolgoi, Party Politics, Politics, Public Policy | Tagged | Leave a comment

2021 Oyu Tolgoi Negotiations

Posted on November 13, 2021 by Julian Dierkes

By Julian Dierkes How can I resist the following challenge? So what do you think is the key to resolving the OT situation? MPP controls government, so clearly decisions can be taken. What about Rio’s behaviour? Is GOM being unfair? … Continue reading →

Posted in Erdenes Mongol, International Agreements, Mining, Mining Governance, Oyu Tolgoi, Oyu Tolgoi, Sovereign Wealth Fund, Taxes | Tagged | Leave a comment

Fragmented Power

Posted on November 4, 2021 by Julian Dierkes

By Julian Dierkes A recent article in The Economist compares political contestation around the Kumtor mine in Kyrgyzstan and Oyu Tolgoi in Mongolia. There a number of aspects to that comparison that make it very interesting: Democratization: Kyrgyzstan has – … Continue reading →

Posted in Corruption, EITI, Foreign Investment, International Agreements, Kyrgyz Republic, Mining Governance, Oyu Tolgoi, Oyu Tolgoi, Politics | Tagged | Leave a comment

Guest Post: Comparing Party Election Platforms on Mining Policy

Posted on June 10, 2020 by Julian Dierkes

By Ariuntuya Nominkhuu and Batbold Otgonbayar Right now we are living interesting pre-election days in Mongolia. Due to pandemic-related restrictions, the election with the largest number of candidates in the history of parliamentary elections of Mongolia or 606 people is … Continue reading →

Posted in Ariuntuya Nominkhuu, Batbold Otgonbayar, Democratic Party, Erdenet, Ikh Khural 2020, Mining, Mining, Mining Governance, Mongolian People's Party, National Labor Party, Oyu Tolgoi, Party Politics, Policy, Public Policy, Sovereign Wealth Fund | Leave a comment

Guest Post: A BIT of Project Finance Arbitrage in Mongolia

Posted on April 1, 2020 by Julian Dierkes

By Kinnari Bhatt As Jennifer Lander observed last week, RIO is getting out the big guns. My new book – Concessionaires, Financiers and Communities: Implementing Indigenous Peoples’ Rights to Land in Transnational Development Projects, shows how investors like RIO use … Continue reading →

Posted in Canada, Foreign Investment, International Agreements, Kinnari Bhatt, Law, Mining, Mining Governance, Mongolia and ..., Oyu Tolgoi, Oyu Tolgoi, Research on Mongolia, Taxes | Leave a comment

Guest Post: Between a Rock and a Hard Place: Investor-State Arbitration and Mongolia’s Rapidly Shrinking Policy Space

Posted on March 11, 2020 by Julian Dierkes

By Jennifer Lander On the 20th of February, Rio Tinto initiated arbitration proceedings against the Government of Mongolia at the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) through Oyu Tolgoi LLC. The escalation of the dispute over the alleged … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Foreign Investment, International Agreements, Jennifer Lander, Law, Mining, Mining, Mining Governance, Oyu Tolgoi, Oyu Tolgoi, Policy, Taxes, Trade | Leave a comment

Making News in November 2019

Posted on November 25, 2019 by mendee

By Mendee Jargalsaikhan Constitutional Revision Just days before the celebration of the 95th anniversary of the abolition of the monarchy, the MPP-ruled parliament and DP president reached a compromise on a set of amendments to the 1992 constitution.  Today, at … Continue reading →

Posted in China, Constitution, Democracy, Foreign Policy, Governance, Ikh Khural 2020, Judiciary, Military, Mining, Mining Governance, Party Politics, Politics, Presidential 2021, Protest, Russia, Social Movements | Tagged | Leave a comment

Constitutional Amendments Adopted

Posted on November 15, 2019 by Julian Dierkes

By Julian Dierkes While some details remain curiously unclear (as is so frustratingly often the case with Mongolian legislation and reporting on it, the Ikh Khural approved a number of constitutional amendments on Nov 15. While these are subject to … Continue reading →

Posted in Constitution, Democracy, Elections, Governance, Judiciary, Mining Governance, Party Politics, Policy, Policy, Politics | Tagged | Leave a comment