Mineral Extraction in Arid Environments: Mongolia

Human and physical opportunities and challenges for mineral extraction in arid environments, including inaccessibility and climatic and political factors

‘Minegolia’

• gold + copper in the Gobi Desert

• Oyu Tolgoi(Rio Tinto, Ivanhoe) → 3rd largest Au/Cu mine in 5 years, accounted for 30% of Mongolia’s GDP during construction

• Mines use large amounts of H2O

• ‘Dutch Disease’ + price fluctuations + inflation up 12%

• $270 mining dividend

Inaccessibility

Vast distances, remote, unpaved roads, hard to justify financial investments because of low population density

Climatic Challenges

Too hot in the day, too cold at night, uncomfortable to work, warming faster than average, hard to access water

Agriculture

• 1/3 of the population in in agriculture

• 10% of the GDP

• Growing season 110 days

• Pre-mining → 30% in livestock breeding

• 2009-2010 winter 22% of livestock died

Why is Mongolia arid?

• not in a subtropical high(most deserts are)

• continentality

• rain shadow of the Himalayas

• often at the heart of a High Pressure System

• ~257 cloudless days per year

Mongolia Facts

• capital Ulaanbaatur, 2nd highest level of fine particle pollution worldwide

• bordered by China and Russia

• landlocked

• vast semi-desert and desert plains, grassy steppes, some mountains, Gobi desert

• 3.2m population

• 40% in poverty

• $33.9B in debt

• traditionally nomadic pastoralists

• TFR 1.9, life expectancy 71

• IM 13/1,000 CM 15/1000

Neo-Colonialism

Companies colonise instead of countries, TNCs act as imperial powers

Resource Nationalism

• Mining companies should be nationalised

• Tendency of people and governments to assert control over national resources located on their territory

• Results in conflicts of interest with TNCs

Rio Tinto

• Anglo-Australian mining company

• 2021 made $63.495 billion

• founded in 1873 in Huelva, Spain