Who gains from saving nature
Ledger 1 : 33 — For each dollar financing nature-based solutions in 2023, about $33 financed activities harmful to nature. (UNEP)
Cases / Mining · Mongolia · 2009–2025

Mongolia's 2009 ban on mining at river headwaters and in forests: licence cancellations, compensation duty, 2015 amendment and artisanal gold-mining programmes

Nature's voice · report
No measurement of the harm done to me here is on record.
Did nature suffer? Not measured.
What the record lacks: 1 none on record · 1 not disclosed · 1 insufficient · 1 not measured · 2 disputed · 2 unclear See the gaps

A law adopted on 16 July 2009 banned mineral exploration and mining at river headwaters, in water protection zones and in forests, and made the government pay compensation to holders whose licences were cancelled. An amendment in February 2015 let existing holders inside the zones apply to continue.

1,782Licence cancellations after the ban, November 2010
Resource Capital research cited by Oxford Business Group; other counts exist.

Status As of October 2026: the 2015 amendment lets existing holders apply to continue; compensation paid: None on record; planetGOLD Mongolia concluded in May 2025.

What?
A 2009 law banned mining and exploration at river headwaters, in water protection zones and in forests and required the government to compensate cancelled licence holders; an amendment in 2015 let existing holders continue. Legalinfo.mn
Where?
Nationwide. Legalinfo.mn
When?
Law adopted 16 July 2009; cancellations November 2010; Supreme Court October 2011; amendment 18 February 2015. Legalinfo.mn
Who?
Gained
  • Licence holders inside the zones — The 18 February 2015 amendment let them apply within three months to continue Legalinfo.mn
  • Artisanal miners — Over 7,000 directly benefited from the SDC project; 158 of 398 planetGOLD miners were formalised SDC (Swiss development cooperation)
Lost
  • Holders of cancelled licences — 1,782 cancellations in November 2010 (OBG citing Resource Capital); compensation pending in 2014 Oxford Business Group
Harmed
  • River headwaters, water protection zones and forests — Protected by the ban; the Supreme Court ordered enforcement in October 2011 after reported failure to implement the law Rivers without Boundaries
Why?
To protect river headwaters, water protection zones and forests from mining. Legalinfo.mn
How?
A statutory ban with licence cancellation, a government duty to compensate, and rehabilitation duties of 100% of costs deposited in advance. Legalinfo.mn
6 of 6 questions answered from the record

What happened

The record, in order.

On 16 July 2009 the State Great Khural adopted the Law on Prohibiting Mineral Exploration and Mining at River Headwaters, Water Protection Zones and Forest Areas (the “Law with the Long Name”), together with an implementing law and Parliament Resolution No. 55. Under Article 4.6 (as translated from Mongolian) the government “shall pay compensation” to a holder whose licence is cancelled under Article 56.1.3 of the Minerals Law, by a procedure the government sets. Article 5.1 states that cancellation does not release the holder from the duty to rehabilitate the environment, and Article 5.2 requires rehabilitation within up to two years under local and public oversight.

Resolution No. 55 ordered the government, led by Prime Minister S. Bayar, to set and publish the zone boundaries within three months and to inspect licence holders operating inside them and report to Parliament. The implementing law as amended sets the water protection zone at 200 m from water bodies and requires procedures and contract templates under which licence holders deposit 100% of environmental protection and rehabilitation costs in advance; the costs of unrehabilitated sites are to be recovered in line with income earned.

Oxford Business Group (2012), citing Resource Capital research, reported 1,782 licence cancellations in November 2010, and wrote that the authorities offered a compensation programme whose cost media put at “$5bn”, after which the law was suspended and delayed payouts led to miner protests. In October 2011 the Supreme Court of Mongolia, on an appeal by Ts. Munkhbayar and the United Movement of Mongolian Rivers and Lakes, ordered the government to enforce the ban, according to Rivers without Boundaries. The same source reported that the government said it could not afford compensation for closing mines.

Oxford Business Group (2014) reported that 106 exploration licences were revoked in connection with the January 2013 conviction of former Mineral Resources Authority officials, and that compensation was “still pending a civil class action suit by previous licence holders”. On 18 February 2015 an amendment allowed licence holders inside the zones to apply within three months to continue.

Donor programmes addressed artisanal gold mining: the Swiss SDC Sustainable Artisanal Mining project, phase 4 (1 January 2015 to 31 December 2019), had a budget of CHF 6,342,889 and disbursed CHF 5,704,688, and reported that “over 7,000 miners have directly benefited”. The planetGOLD Mongolia project (GEF/UNEP, six years, concluded in May 2025) established two mercury-free processing facilities preventing about 58 kg of mercury use a year; 158 of 398 supported miners were formalised.

  1. 2009Law, implementing law and Parliament Resolution No. 55 adopted (16 July)
  2. 20101,782 licence cancellations (November, Resource Capital via Oxford Business Group)
  3. 2011Supreme Court orders the government to enforce the ban (October)
  4. 2013Former Mineral Resources Authority officials convicted (January, as reported by Oxford Business Group)
  5. 2015Amendment lets existing holders inside the zones apply to continue (18 February); SDC artisanal mining phase 4 begins (1 January)
  6. 2019SDC artisanal mining phase 4 ends (31 December)
  7. 2025planetGOLD Mongolia concludes (May)

What was said

Claims, in the words of those who made them.

“shall pay compensation”

Law Article 4.6, as translated from Mongolian · 16 July 2009 · translated from Mongolian · Legalinfo.mn

“far outweighed the compensation costs”

Bayarsaikhan Garidkhuu, member of parliament, on ecological damage (repost on Rivers without Boundaries; original source not named) · 2011 · Rivers without Boundaries

“is hesitant to develop a just compensation scheme for license owners”

“an economically sustainable, environmentally responsible and human rights based ASM sector in Mongolia”

Where accounts differ

Each party's account, side by side, with its source. The record does not settle these points; it shows them.

Should the state pay compensation for cancelled licences?
Government and regulators
Government of Mongolia (2011, as reported)

It could not afford compensation for closing mines.

Rivers without Boundaries
Communities and civil society
Rivers without Boundaries

The government “is hesitant to develop a just compensation scheme for license owners”.

Rivers without Boundaries
Government and regulators
Bayarsaikhan Garidkhuu, MP (repost, original source not named)

Ecological damage “far outweighed the compensation costs”.

Rivers without Boundaries

How it looked

What was shown, beside what was recorded.

Shown

  • Over 7,000 miners have directly benefited from the Sustainable Artisanal Mining project, phase 4.
    SDC project page · SDC (Swiss development cooperation)
  • Two mercury-free processing facilities prevent about 58 kg of mercury use a year; 158 of 398 supported miners formalised.
    planetGOLD (20 May 2025) · planetGOLD

Recorded

  • Compensation to cancelled licence holders is a statutory duty (Article 4.6).
    Legalinfo.mn
  • OBG 2014: compensation “still pending a civil class action suit by previous licence holders”.
    Oxford Business Group
  • Supreme Court (October 2011) ordered the government to enforce the ban, according to Rivers without Boundaries.
    Rivers without Boundaries
  • Cancellation does not release the holder from the duty to rehabilitate; rehabilitation within up to 2 years.
    Legalinfo.mn
  • Water protection zone: 200 m from water bodies; 100% of rehabilitation costs to be deposited in advance.
    Legalinfo.mn

Who gained

Money that reached nature, beside money that stayed elsewhere.

Reached nature or the ground

Not published
No figure published.

Gained elsewhere

Not totalled
Cost of the compensation programme, as put by media (OBG 2012)$5bn
Window: 2010–2012
SDC Sustainable Artisanal Mining phase 4 budget (CHF 6,342,889; disbursed CHF 5,704,688)—
Window: 2015–2019
Swiss francs, not converted.
Currency: USD · Window: Mixed — see each line. Figures cover different periods and are not compared as a ratio. * Estimate built from cited figures.

Responses on record

  • mongolia-gov (2011): Said in 2011 that it could not afford compensation for closing mines (as reported by Rivers without Boundaries). · Rivers without Boundaries
  • sdc (2015–2019): States the goal of an economically sustainable, environmentally responsible and human rights based artisanal and small-scale mining sector in Mongolia. · SDC (Swiss development cooperation)

In court and with insurers

Every proceeding and every insurer decision on record.

Lawsuits and rulings

  1. 2011Claimant won
    Appeal by Ts. Munkhbayar and the United Movement of Mongolian Rivers and Lakes on enforcement of the 2009 law
    Supreme Court of Mongolia · Appeal · Ts. Munkhbayar and the United Movement of Mongolian Rivers and Lakes → Government of Mongolia

    In October 2011 the court ordered the government to enforce the ban and, according to Rivers without Boundaries, blamed the government for failing to implement the 2009 law. Rivers without Boundaries

  2. Ongoing
    Civil class action by previous licence holders on compensation
    Not stated · Class action · Previous licence holders → Government of Mongolia

    Oxford Business Group reported in 2014 that compensation was still pending the class action. Oxford Business Group

Insurers

No insurer decision on record.

What nature saw

Outcomes measured on the ground, and nature's note.

Nature's report opens this page. Below: further outcomes measured on the ground.

Licences cancelled, November 2010
1,782
Resource Capital via Oxford Business Group
Water protection zone
200 m
From water bodies, implementing law as amended
Compensation status
pending
Civil class action by previous licence holders (OBG, 2014)
Mercury use prevented
about 58 kg a year
Two mercury-free facilities (planetGOLD, concluded May 2025)

What we don't know

Undisclosed, unproven, untried: recorded as data.
Court ruling existsKey earnings undisclosed

Nature

  • Not measured Harm to nature: The record holds no measurement of harm to nature.

Money

  • None on record SDC Sustainable Artisanal Mining phase 4 budget (CHF 6,342,889; disbursed CHF 5,704,688) — Swiss francs, not converted.

Accounts

  • Disputed Should the state pay compensation for cancelled licences?

Record

  • Unclear None on record: compensation actually paid to holders of cancelled licences; Oxford Business Group (2014) described it as still pending.
  • Insufficient Insufficient: the court and details of the January 2013 conviction of former Mineral Resources Authority officials, as mentioned by Oxford Business Group.
  • Unclear Unclear: the status of the class action by previous licence holders on compensation.
  • Disputed Figures differ: Oxford Business Group (citing Resource Capital) gives 1,782 licence cancellations in November 2010; other reports give “over 200” and 117 placer licences cancelled out of 1,783.
  • Not disclosed Not disclosed: the Mongolia budget of the planetGOLD project; the project page does not state it.

Did the harm stop?

None on record.

Who paid?

Compensation to cancelled licence holders: pending as reported in 2014; payment to nature: None on record.

Sources

Voices on record: — Company or project✓ Government and regulators— Courts✓ Press and investigations✓ Communities and civil society— Researchers✓ International bodies

Government and regulators

Press and investigations

Communities and civil society

  1. Mongolian court orders govt to enforce mining ban
    Rivers without Boundaries · 2011-10-21
  2. The short history of the Law with Long Name
    Rivers without Boundaries · 2013

International bodies

  1. Sustainable Artisanal Mining, phase 4 (7F04344)
    SDC (Swiss development cooperation) · 2019

Connected cases

Related matters, and cases linked to this one through the same organisations, with the role each played in both.
Terms used on this page

Law and courts

Class action
A single lawsuit brought on behalf of a large group of people with similar claims.
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