ULAN BATOR, May 10 (Xinhua) -- Mongolia earned 701.4 million U.S. dollars from the exports of copper concentrates in the first four months of this year, up 4 percent year-on-year, local media reported Friday, citing the Mongolian Customs General Administration (MCGA).

The Asian country exported a total of 489,100 tons of copper concentrates in the period between January and April in 2019, an increase of 30,500 tons from the same period last year, the MCGA said in a statement.

Mining is the most important sector of Mongolia's economy. The country is rich in natural resources such as gold, silver, iron, coal, copper, molybdenum, tungsten, phosphates, tin, nickel, zinc, and fluorspar.

The mining industry accounted for 72 percent of industrial output, 87 percent of total exports, 24 percent of the gross domestic product and 75 percent of foreign investment in 2018, according to the country's Ministry of Mining and Heavy Industry.