Mongolia's "ninja" miners help sate China lust for gold

It was designed to provide a safer channel for the ninjas to sell their gold, but business has slowed in recent years, with many choosing to take their chances with the changers rather than the central bank.

"The ninjas won't stop, but they might stop coming here," said Singo.

While there is little sign that ninja activities are slowing, formal activities are. The Bornuur plant's accountant, Erdenechimeg, said it was struggling to compete with black market prices, and new restrictions on land use were also limiting the number of new miners coming in.

Singo and the SDC have also helped organise a group of 50 former ninjas in the district of Zamaar, south of Ulan Bator.

Instead of raiding licensed properties, the miners have signed an agreement with a local mining firm, the Mundulaan Trade Company, to mine marginal deposits that big firms cannot handle. It also allows them to sell directly to the central bank and mine without being molested by police and security guards.

The government has already accepted that small-scale mining is here to stay and passed regulations in 2010 allowing "organised" miners to extract gold on land that has not been restricted or licensed to other miners.

It is a small step. A few miles away from the project, scores of ninjas pop up like moles from the trenches and holes that perforate the valleys. Miners flee into the hills on motorcycles, fearing the approach of police or thieves.

Deeper into the valley, a dozen ninjas sprawl on the hillside as their comrades feed clumps of earth into a homemade dry washer. A day's mining has produced half a palmful of shiny dust that could earn them as much as 300,000 tugrik ($280).

Boldbaatar, a veteran miner in faded army fatigues, said they could earn much more if they didn't have to spend so much time hiding or running away.

"We have already been chased off this site today," he said. "They don't really chase us out of duty. They are trying to steal our gold."

It has proved nearly impossible to eliminate the ninjas, and experts like Singo say it would make more sense for the government to "formalise" them and bring their supplies back on to the official market.

For the ninjas themselves, official recognition would at least earn them respect.

"Ninja isn't a good name," said Boldbaatar. "And the ninja turtles have an advantage over us. At least they can fly." (Editing by Nick Macfie)

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