Traditionally, the land resource of the country was used for pasture and hay. The nomads did not develop agricultural activity. Only small areas in the river basins were cultivated under crops. 75.1 pastureland and 8.O per cent occupy per cent of Mongolian territory by forest. By its geographical structure, the territory of Mongolia is part of the first land rise on Earth. For the above reason, the subsoil of Mongolia is also rich in mineral resources, including coal, copper, molybdenum, fluorite, gold, iron ore, lead, oil, phosphates, tin, uranium and, and wolfram of high quality. More than 6.000 occurrences of about 8O different minerals have be en found in Mongolia. About 200 deposits and occurrences at 10 coal basins were discovered and estimated as carrying more than 50 billion tones of coal reserves on Mongolian territory. Explorations have been carried out on 42 of these deposits and proved 3 billion tones of coal reserves. Mongolian coal deposits were studied only for energy purposes but were not assessed for producing liquid fuel gasification and for the cement factory and fertilizing of soil etc. Mongolia is considered to have fairly large resources of oil and an oil deposit was exploited and then ceased in the 1960s. This is now subject to redevelopment form-country use. The resources of coking and energy coal are estimated as 20 billion tones. The Tavan Tolgoi deposit (5.2 billion tones including 1.2 billion tones of coking coal) located in the southern part of the country is the most feasible one for exploitation in the nearest future.

Copper are one of the most important raw materials in the mining industry and the maor mineral resources export of the country. The main copper reserves are in the Erdenet and Tsagaan Suvraga deposits. There are several small deposits and occurrences near these big deposits. There are many occurrences of copper skam with high rate copper pyrites. Copper nickel and sandstone formations containing copper, which have not yet been studied in detail.
Polymetal deposits are mainly in the central region of Mongolia. At present about 30 leads sine and other deposits and occurrences have been discovered. There are several big deposits of tin tungsten and other metals.
Mongolian gold and silver deposits are sufficient for industrial exploitation. Asgat and Mongon Ondor are the important silver deposits.

Mongolia is rich in fluorspar and phosphorite reserves. There are 60 fluorspar deposits and about 300 occurrences, found mainly in the central and eastern aimags. In the northern part of Mongolia lies a huge deposit of phosphoric.

Great wealth lies hidden under the soil of Mongolia in which one can find oil coal, graphite, sulfur, spar, phosphates, fluonte, various kinds of salt, tungtsen, molybdenum, copper, tin, gold, silver and other rare metals. Iron deposits have been discovered in some places. Often found are a diversity of precious and semiprecious stones: garnet, Jasper, Jade, topaz, nephrite, agate, azurite and so on. Apart from them are found granite, marble, tufai limestone, gypsum, basalt, and other building materials.