Mongolians went to the polls Thursday as their remote but resource-rich country faces the possibility of economic triumph or disaster. Mongolia’s nearly 3 million people live atop $3 trillion worth of gold, copper, and coal. As foreign mining companies begin to extract this wealth, the resources could turn Mongolia – a former Soviet satellite state – into a new Qatar. But if the boom is badly handled, it might instead make the country into another Nigeria, plagued by corruption and poverty. “The challenge for Mongolia’s newly elected leaders … will be to rise to the occasion and not squander the opportunity presented to bring prosperity to its citizens,” wrote former Mongolian Foreign Minister Nyamosor Tuya in a recent article for the Brookings Institution in Washington. To read the full article, click here: Mongolia’s top election issue – how to spend new riches