Mineral-Rich Mongolia Prepares for Flood of Money

A freeze on licenses to explore for minerals is no small matter in Mongolia, a country undergoing a resources boom, as miners such as London-based Rio Tinto Group RIO and China's Shenhua Group compete for the right to extract coal, copper, gold, molybdenum and uranium. It's a resource play that's expected to bring a flood of money into the impoverished country over the next decade, centered around huge mining projects such as the Shivee Ovoo and Tavan Tolgoi coal reserves, valued at about $300 billion and $400 billion, respectively, and the copper and gold mine Oyu Tolgoi, worth some $300 billion, according to Quam Asset Management Ltd. in Hong Kong, which runs a Mongolia-focused investment fund.