Mongolia Minerals Law Amendments 2026

On May 26, 2026, the Government of Mongolia tabled a sweeping overhaul of the landmark Minerals Law. Following this tabling, the draft must now navigate parliament’s review process before securing final adoption and presidential promulgation.

Designed to incentivize domestic processing through royalty cuts, the amendment introduces the nation’s first legal framework for high-tech critical minerals, mandates financial bonding for mine closures, and significantly alters exploration lifecycles.

By establishing a standalone regulatory regime for mineral beneficiation, Mongolia minerals law amendments (2026) represents the most consequential legislative shift for the mining sector.

Below is an AI-assisted translation of the official legislative amendments from the Parliamentary Draft Registry. For legal reference, this text must be cross-referenced against the original Mongolian regulatory draft.

LAW OF MONGOLIA

May 27, 2026 Ulaanbaatar City

ON AMENDMENTS AND ADDITIONS TO THE MINERALS LAW

Article 1. The following chapters, articles, sections, and clauses shall be

added to the Minerals Law:

1/ Clauses 4.1.32 – 4.1.44 of Article 4:

- 4.1.32. “critical minerals” means minerals used in international high-tech,

with high demand and supply needs, and of economic significance;

- 4.1.33. “economically significant by-product minerals and elements” means

minerals and chemical elements that are formed and accumulated together with

primary minerals in terms of chemical compounds, which can be separated

through technological processing and are economically efficient;

- 4.1.34. “beneficiation plant operation license” means the right granted by

the state in accordance with this law to a legal entity to conduct

beneficiation activities;

- 4.1.35. “beneficiation activity” means a complex set of production and

technological activities to separate useful minerals from deposit rocks and

improve quality for the purpose of putting minerals into economic

circulation;

- 4.1.36. “technical and economic feasibility study of a mine and

beneficiation plant” means a document reflecting the technological

solutions, economic efficiency, and other relevant factors for implementing

a mining project, including the use of a mineral deposit or part thereof and

beneficiation activities;

- 4.1.37. “design and blueprints of a mine and beneficiation plant” means a

comprehensive and detailed document calculating technological facilities,

equipment assembly and installation, infrastructure solutions, and

operational planning for a mine and beneficiation plant;

- 4.1.38. “mine surveying (marksheider) license” means a permit granted to a

legal entity to perform measurements and mapping work necessary for the

planning and monitoring of geological and mining activities;

- 4.1.39. “contract for performing basic geological survey and prospecting”

means a contract established between the state administrative body in charge

of geological matters and a legal entity specified in Article 7.1 of this

law;

- 4.1.40. “contract area” means an area temporarily defined by the contract

specified in Article 4.1.39 for the purpose of performing basic geological

surveys and prospecting;

- 4.1.41. “right to request an exploration license” means the right to submit

a request for an exploration license on a selected portion of the area

specified in Article 4.1.40;

- 4.1.42. “project implementer” means a holder of a mineral exploration or

mining license issued by the state administrative body in charge of

geological and mining matters, or a legal entity operating a beneficiation

plant;

- 4.1.43. “project developer” means a legal entity authorized to engage in

mining research, studies, and design development, or a legal entity

employing a consultant engineer licensed by the competent authority of

Mongolia;

- 4.1.44. “privately funded basic geological survey and prospecting” means

work performed in a contract area within the framework of a project that

meets the methods, methodologies, instructions, and requirements for large

and medium-scale geological mapping, geophysics, geochemistry, and other

types of research.

2/ Clauses 9.1.18, 9.1.19, and 9.1.20 of Article 9:

- 9.1.18. to develop and implement policies, strategies, and roadmaps for each

type and direction of critical minerals;

- 9.1.19. to approve the list of critical minerals;

- 9.1.20. to approve rules for monitoring the designers of mine and

beneficiation plant blueprints.

3/ Article 15¹: Article 15¹. Establishing a Contract for Performing Basic

Geological Survey and Prospecting

- 15¹.1. A legal entity specified in Article 7.1 may submit a request to the

state administrative body in charge of geological matters to establish a

contract for basic geological surveys and prospecting on an area that is:

not licensed; not overlapping wholly or partially with areas where mineral

prospecting, exploration, or mining is restricted or prohibited; not

included in tender areas; or an area where a tender was announced twice but

no bids were received.

- 15¹.2. The following documents shall be attached to the request specified

in 15¹.1:

- 15¹.2.1. name of the legal entity, state registration information,

address, and contact information;

- 15¹.2.2. certificate/definition of registration as a taxpayer in

Mongolia;

- 15¹.2.3. coordinates, location map, and size of the contract area;

- 15¹.2.5. a plan reflecting environmental protection, land degradation,

and reclamation measures;

- 15¹.2.6. receipt of service fee payment.

- 15¹.3. The state administrative body in charge of geological matters shall

receive and register the request and, within 20 working days, investigate

and resolve the following:

- 15¹.3.1. whether the request and attached documents meet the

requirements of this law;

- 15¹.3.2. discuss the project specified in 15¹.2.4 at the Minerals

Professional Council and obtain a conclusion on whether to approve the

project.

- 15¹.4. The state administrative body in charge of geological matters shall

approve the project of the legal entity based on the conclusion in 15¹.3.2.

- 15¹.5. A contract for basic geological survey and prospecting shall be

established with a qualified legal entity for a term of up to 2 years.

- 15¹.6. In the event a contract specified in 4.1.39 is established, it is

prohibited to issue licenses to other parties in that area during the term

of said contract.

- 15¹.7. An entity that has established a contract for basic geological survey

and prospecting with the state administrative body shall bear the following

obligations:

- 15¹.7.1. perform geological research and prospecting within the

framework of the approved work project;

- 15¹.7.2. refrain from mining or selling minerals from the contract area;

- 15¹.7.3. refrain from transferring, pledging, or allowing others to use

the rights created by the contract;

- 15¹.7.4. transfer all primary materials, reports, samples, specimens,

mappings, and digital data generated during the contract to the national

geological and mineral resource database;

- 15¹.7.5. submit annual work plans, reports, and final result reports to

the state administrative body within the timeframes specified in the

contract;

- 15¹.7.6. relinquish non-prospective areas in stages;

- 15¹.7.7. identify prospective areas in accordance with this law and

relinquish the remaining area;

- 15¹.7.8. fulfill environmental protection and reclamation obligations.

- 15¹.8. The state administrative body shall post the contract specified

in 15¹.5 on its website in a transparent and open manner.

- 15¹.9. The state administrative body shall regularly and transparently

announce information on areas specified in 15¹.1 where privately funded

basic geological surveys and prospecting can be performed.

- 15¹.10. The size of a single area for privately funded basic geological

survey and prospecting shall be no less than 35,000 hectares and no more

than 150,000 hectares.

4/ Section 18.3 of Article 18:

- “18.3. Documents specified in Article 18.1 shall be submitted electronically

before the application deadline.”

5/ Article 19¹: Article 19¹. Issuing an Exploration License under a Basic

Geological Survey and Prospecting Contract

- 19¹.1. An entity that has established a contract specified in 4.1.39 and

fulfilled its contractual obligations may submit a request for an

exploration license on a selected portion of the contract area during the

contract's validity.

- 19¹.2. The following documents shall be attached to the request:

- 19¹.2.1. contract implementation report;

- 19¹.2.2. final report of work results, primary materials, maps,

descriptions, samples, and specimens transfer documents;

- 19¹.2.3. coordinates, size, and map of the exploration license area;

- 19¹.2.4. receipt of service fee payment.

- 19¹.3. The state administrative body shall resolve the request within 20

working days by checking:

- 19¹.3.1. whether primary contract obligations were fully met;

- 19¹.3.2. whether the requested area meets size, shape, overlap, and

restriction requirements;

- 19¹.3.3. whether data and materials were transferred to the national

database.

- 19¹.4. If requirements are met, the state body shall issue a decision to

grant the license and send a notice to pay the first-year fee within the

timeframe in 34.1.

- 19¹.5. The size of the exploration license area shall not exceed 20 percent

of the original contract area.

- 19¹.6. If the fee is paid, the license is issued for 2 years.

- 19¹.7. The license may be extended once for 2 years.

6/ Clause 20.5.7 of Article 20:

- “20.5.7. If the contract holder requests it within 5 working days after the

final result report (15¹.7.5) is discussed and approved by the Minerals

Professional Council, the exploration license shall be issued.”

7/ Section 20.9 of Article 20:

- “20.9. The threshold price for an exploration license area issued via tender

shall be 7 units per hectare.”

8/ Clause 21.1.9 of Article 21:

- “21.1.9. to transparently disclose information on work performed during the

year on the state administrative body's website.”

9/ Clauses 27.1.15 and 27.1.16 of Article 27:

- 27.1.15. Before opening a mine or beneficiation plant, a reclamation and

closure plan must be developed and updated every 3-5 years, with conclusions

obtained from the state administrative body for geology and mining, then

submitted to the environmental state administrative body; the final update

must be made at least 3 years before closure.

- 27.1.16. Funds for closure, reclamation, and post-closure monitoring must be

guaranteed via financial instruments of internationally reputable financial

institutions or deposited into a special account of the environmental state

administrative body according to the following schedule (percentages based

on the total life of mine in the technical and economic feasibility study):

- Note: This refers to the table in the text where, for example, a 20-year

mine must have 100% of its closure costs funded/guaranteed by Year 13

(two-thirds into the mine life).

10/ CHAPTER 4¹: MINERAL BENEFICIATION

- Article 28¹. Issuance of Beneficiation Plant Operation License and

Requirements

- 28¹.1. Beneficiation activities shall be conducted by a licensed entity.

- 28¹.2. Section 28¹.1 does not apply to mining license holders.

- 28¹.3. If other parties use tailings/waste deposits created during

mining or beneficiation, they must do so under a beneficiation license.

- 28¹.4. (Requirements): Must have conducted technological and pilot

testing; must have a land use certificate; must have an FS conclusion

from the Minerals Professional Council; must have an approved Detailed

Environmental Impact Assessment (DEIA); must have a guaranteed water

source.

- 28¹.5. Licenses are issued for 5 years and can be extended for 5 years.

- Article 28². Rights and Obligations of License Holders

- Includes rights to sell products, extend terms, and transfer licenses

(if taxes are paid).

- Includes obligations to report to the public, neutralize hazardous

waste, and update the FS if capacity or technology changes.

- 28².3. It is prohibited to beneficiate or sell minerals of unknown

origin or minerals not specified in the license/FS.

11/ Sections 32.4 and 32.5 of Article 32:

- 32.4. One unit specified in this law shall equal one thousand (1,000)

Mongolian Tugriks.

- 32.5. Exploration and mining license fees shall be indexed annually based on

the previous year's growth of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) announced by

the National Statistics Office.

12/ Sections 35.13 and 35.14 of Article 35:

- 35.13. After performing closure and reclamation, the license holder may

reclaim their deposited funds (from 27.1.16) after a joint working group

from the mining and environmental bodies issues a conclusion.

13/ Article 42¹: Local Participation

- License holders must report regularly to the public. Citizens and NGOs can

participate in drafting legislation, conduct joint research, and file

complaints about negative impacts on health or the environment.

14/ Clause 47.1.4 and Sections 47.20, 47.21 of Article 47:

- 47.1.4. Artisanal (micro) miners (added as royalty payers).

- 47.20. Royalties may not be charged on insignificant by-product

minerals/metals; the Government will set these limits based on the mining

body's proposal.

- 47.21. Sales contracts must be registered and monitored in a unified state

database.

16/ Article 64¹: Prohibition of Interference with License Holder Activities

- 64¹.1. It is prohibited to obstruct a license holder from exercising their

legal rights.

- 64¹.2. It is prohibited to illegally interfere with geological, exploration,

mining, or beneficiation activities, damage equipment, intentionally disrupt

transportation or production, block mine exits, or deliberately cut power or

water supplies.

Article 2. (Phrasing Changes to the Minerals Law):

- Amends Article 4.1.2: Adds "excluding rare earth elements."

- Amends Article 5: Adds the word "special" to "mineral resource utilization

royalties."

- Amends Article 16: Adds the word "basic" before "geological."

- Amends Article 35.10: Adds "and beneficiation" after "Mining."

- Amends Article 48.6.2: Adds "and beneficiation plant" after "mining work."

Article 3. (Rewording of Sections):

- 7.1. Licenses shall be issued to legal entities established under Mongolian

law that are taxpayers in Mongolia.

- 32.1. (Exploration fees): Year 1: 3.5 units; Years 2-3: 10.5 units;

Years 4-6: 35 units (per hectare).

- 32.3. (Mining fees): Coal and Limestone: 12 units; Other minerals: 48 units

(per hectare).

- 47.3.1. (Coal Royalties): 2.5 percent of sales value for coal used for

domestic energy or heat.

- 47.5. (Copper Surtax Table): Sets the surtax for Copper. At prices of

$9,000+, the surtax on "Product" is only 2.5%, compared to 5% for

concentrate and 15% for ore.

Article 4. (Minor terminology changes):

- Changes "National development level" to "Effect on the economy."

- Changes "Budget" to "Budget and other sources."

- Changes "State information" to "National Geological and Mineral Resource

Database."

Article 5. (Removals):

- Removes "20 years" from Article 4.1.13.

- Removes "unregistered partnerships" from 4.1.23.

Article 6. (Annulments):

- Repeals several sections including Art 5.7, 5.8, 15 (entirely), 47³

(entirely), and portions of 48 regarding specific artisanal reporting.

Article 7. Effective Date:

- This law shall enter into force on [Day] [Month] [Year].

Disclaimer: This is an unofficial, AI-assisted translation of the Mongolian draft law. It is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. In the event of any discrepancy between this translation and the original Mongolian text, the Mongolian version (as published by the State Great Khural) shall prevail as the legally binding document. Some technical terms may have specific legal definitions under Mongolian law that are not fully captured in English.