In 2008, artisanal and small-scale mining was an important part of Mongolia's economy, contributing 8% of gold production with over 65,000 miners active across 80 mine sites. Between 2007 and 2008, Mongolia implemented legal and institutional reforms to better regulate small-scale mining. These included passing a sub-program to develop small-scale mining through 2015, using non-toxic processing technologies, and partnering with businesses and NGOs to provide services and introduce less harmful equipment to miners. The goal of these changes was to formalize and improve conditions in small-scale mining.