MINING MINISTER REPORTS ON LICENSE BIDS

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/ The cabinet meeting on December 10 heard the Mining Minister R.Jigjid's report on implementation of the regulation on selecting owners for 106 exploration and exploitation licenses that have been cancelled in accordance with the court decisions and on process of the related to it bids. The regulation has been adopted this year by the government resolution No.216. Three-level court reached a conclusion in 2013 that owning of the 106 special licenses was illegal being conducted without any selection procedures required. Therefore, the cabinet adopted in July this year the above regulation to compensate the damage inflicted to the companies-owners of these licenses. The document regulates a preparation for the bids in order to provide equality for the competing companies, activities of the selecting commission, criteria for selection, and assessment of the proposals for the selection. Threshold prices have been designated based on the estimated expenses provided by the former operating companies with guaranteed financial information. “Data from the Land Register System shows that operations of 18 sites had been already cancelled, before the court decisions, nine sites are in special-use territories, one site is in a strategic deposit, and 46 sites are not listed in any special areas," said the Minister. The bid processes are running normally at the moment, he added.