Following complaints about unattended mines, the Ulaanbaatar Environment Department and Ulaanbaatar Agency of Specialized Inspection demanded miners to conduct rehabilitation in mined areas. The agencies have been making rounds to companies with special permits to mine and use common mineral from April to August. Head of Environment and Natural Resources Division at the Ulaanbaatar Environment Department B.Bolortuya reported that 142 companies were inspected. Head of Environment and Natural Resources Division B.Bolortuya[/caption] “Out of a total of 142 companies that underwent inspection, 13 companies in Khan-Uul District and six in Nalaikh District have submitted rehabilitation reports to date. We received 24.72 hectares of land that went through technical rehabilitation and 2.83 hectares that underwent biological rehabilitation,” B.Bolortuya said. The division head stressed that companies that did not comply with the demand and violated their obligations to ensure environmental protection will be punished in accordance with Article 37 of the Law on Minerals. According to the law, the state administrative body can suspend mining operations of a license holder which fails to fulfill their obligation for a year, take ownership of the deposit, or demand additional funds for necessary reclamation activities. Since the adoption of the Law on Minerals in January 2014, the Ulaanbaatar administrative body has permitted individuals and companies to mine raw materials used to produce construction materials, including sand, gravel, brick clay, and granite, on the condition that environmentally friendly methods are utilized.