VZCZCXYZ0000
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHUM #0578 2100648
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 290648Z JUL 06
FM AMEMBASSY ULAANBAATAR
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0176
INFO RUEHUL/AMEMBASSY SEOUL 2376
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 5147
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 2178

UNCLAS ULAANBAATAR 000578 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV EMIN SOCI MG
SUBJECT: Mining Conflict Leads to One Death and Forcible Removal of 
8000 Miners 
 
Sensitive But Unclassified -- Not for Internet Distribution 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Summary:  On July 27, police forcibly removed 
approximately 8000 artisal, or "ninja," miners from a gold mining 
area 100 miles northwest of Ulaanbaatar.  The removal followed two 
weeks of sporadic clashes with looting ninjas, including one on July 
12 in which one person attacking the compound of a private Mongolian 
mining company was shot to death. While there have been clashes in 
the past among companies and ninja miners seeking to work tailings, 
the size and organization of the clashes surprised and worried 
observers.  End summary. 
 
¶2.  (U) The violent clashes occurred in the Zaamar region of Tov 
aimag, about 100 miles northwest of Ulaanbaatar.  Both formal and 
informal mining activities have intensified in the region over the 
last decade.  Informal "ninja" miners in Zaamar are now estimated to 
peak at 8000 persons, and hail from a wide range of Mongolian areas. 
 The ninjas mine for gold both in their own primitive, basic 
excavations and in the tailings left by the formal placer mining 
companies active throughout the region.  In the past, disputes over 
the tailings have led to minor conflicts. 
 
¶3.  (U) According to newspaper reports, the violence began on July 
11, when four ninja miners were arrested for forcefully entering the 
facilities of Monpolimet.  Monpolimet was established in 1996 and 
has become one of Mongolia's top gold producers over the past 10 
years.  It has control of a significant amount of land in Zaamar. On 
July 12, the number of attacking ninjas at the Monpolimet mine grew 
to approximately 500.  The mob stole and destroyed a substantial 
amount of machinery and equipment, with estimates of the warehouse 
loss alone exceeding $50,000.  The head of Monpolimet's security 
service unit shot and killed one of the attacking ninjas, a 24-year 
old male from Khuvsgul aimag.  The security head was arrested by 
police.  On July 13, the raids continued, with roughly 1000 ninjas 
reportedly involved.  While the police arrested some of the 
attackers, they were unable to arrest the 20 alleged ringleaders, 
who escaped in vehicles lacking license plate numbers.  Police said 
they were identified as being from Khuvsgul aimag.  On the night of 
July 21, over 1000 ninjas reportedly attacked the field of another 
gold company in Zaamar. However, security and police responded 
quickly and no damage was reported. 
 
¶4.  (SBU) On July 19, MP Damiran told emboffs that groups of ninja 
miners recently had become very well organized and, he asserted, 
were mostly led by former convicts. Damiran said that there exists a 
well organized but technically illegal network for ninjas to sell 
gold and distribute the profits. In the Monpolimet case, Damiran 
continued, the gangs raided the mine site for the tailings, but also 
stole anything that was not tied down -- food stores, brooms, 
shovels, worker housing, wire, etc.  The MP commented that this had 
been happening in other mines, but in this case Monpolimet fought 
back and someone got killed.  Damiran noted that he was a member of 
a parliamentary working group to better regulate artisanal miners, 
and said that he hoped that the fall session of the State Great 
Hural would pass the bill. 
 
¶5.  (U) On July 27, a 400-strong contingent of police began to 
forcibly remove ninja miners from the Zaamar area.  The action 
followed a July 26 press conference in Ulaanbaatar during which the 
head of the local legislative body blamed the ninja miners for the 
high local crime rate and environmental damages.  She stated that 
that the 6,000 normal residents of Zaamar were overwhelmed by the 
larger numbers of ninjas.  As a result, she said, the government 
would take strict action to expel the ninja miners from the area. 
At the press conference, a government inspector also blamed the 
ninjas for serious damage to the local environment.  A Monpolimet 
representative at the press conference described the serious damage 
done in the attacks, while another gold mining company which has had 
recurrent conflicts with ninjas stated that artisanal miners has 
stripped 200 kilograms of gold from his company's property in the 
last three months. 
 
Slutz