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A modern “Ninja” is far from the deadly Japanese warrior that one has in mind. Instead these are Artisan miners in Mongolia who dig dirt, live as outlaws and seek  gold from old/used mining fields. The grasslands of Mongolia are scattered with neglected gold mine sites which have not been […]

If an over-endowment in resources can be a curse, the example of Europe also shows that their absence can also present certain benefits.

European interests in postwar Libya – oil, sales of arms and halting immigration – are likely to prevail over any humanitarian concerns and sap at the foundations of any fledgling democracy. Over-endowment in natural resources is often a domestic source of dysfunctional and despotic government. However, a “resource curse” often […]

  Introduction: The SOFAZ Project   “Oil is a major wealth of Azerbaijan which belongs not only to this generation, but also to future generations,” according to the former President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Heydar Aliyev on the website of the State Oil Fund of Azerbaijan (SOFAZ). This organisation […]

Not only a source of national pride, Mexico’s national oil company was also supposed to lead the country to prosperity. The famous nationalization of the nation’s oil fields, which is celebrated with a national holiday every March, marked a definitive political separation from the US and signaled the emergence of […]