Mongolia has world class reserves of gold, copper, iron ore, coal, fluorspar, silver, uranium and tungsten among other rare earth metals, but lacks the finance, infrastructure and expertise to realize the wealth locked underground.

The country is courting not just mining companies but private equity and sovereign wealth funds to attract some US$25bn needed for roads, railways and new towns to exploit the reserves and raise the living standards of its 2.9 million people. In 2008, the GDP of this former Soviet satellite state was $5.3bn. In the next decade, that could triple according to a BBC report.