Gobi preservation to be settled after compensating for mining permit holders

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/ Tost and Tosonbumba Mountains, located in Gurvantes soum of Omnogovi (South Gobi) aimag, have officially been taken as a state reserve by the Government of Mongolia. Media has been covering critical news stories about how the area should be taken under state special protection for the sake of its precious ecosystem. This issue was addressed by the Mining Minister on January 28. During the Transparent Mining monthly press conference, the Minister R.Jigjid explained that Tost and Tosonbumba Mountains have been named the state reserve in order to make time for required preparation to enforcing special protection. The Government is required to compensate for the damage this decision is making to the seven mining companies that operate in the area with special permits, which have been issued in 2003-2009, he said.