Policy and politics
New President, new equations
This year’s Presidential election was the first time a second round of polling was necessary, but apart from that, what was most notable about this election was that if the candidates’ expenses ran into hundreds of billions of MNT, the campaign promises exceeded that amount by several times.
Copper smelter proposed at Khanbogd will need $2 billion to build
Overturning the previous Government’s decision to build the proposed copper concentrate smelting and refining plant in Bor-Undur soum of Khentii aimag, the present Government recently approved an old suggestion by the Ministry of Mining and Heavy Industry to set it up in Khanbogd soum of Umnugovi aimag.
New mining law to have longer regulatory reach
The Ministry of Mining and Heavy Industry has completed work on the draft of a brand new mining law which will soon be offered for public discussion. This does not seek to replace or supersede the current mining law but would be a separate and independent law containing regulatory provisions.
Two case studies from CIRDI workshop in Bishkek
Following the initial one in Ulaanbaatar in May 2016 and a second in Myanmar in July, the next in the series of workshops on various facets of the State’s role in large resource projects organised by the Canadian International Resources and Development Institute (CIRDI) was recently held in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.
PM’s nudge brings ETT and ER together
During a working visit to the Southgobi earlier in November, Prime Minister J. Erdenebat had a meeting with senior executives of the three companies operating in the Tavan Tolgoi deposit to explore the possibility of selling their coal from one point. The outcome of the talks has been positive as Energy Resources and Erdenes Tavan Tolgoi have started cooperating with each other.
How are our coal exporters doing as prices and sales rise?
According to the National Statistical Office Mongolia exported 16.24 mln tons of coal in the first 9 months of 2016, which is 6 mln tons or 55% more than in the corresponding period last year. Similarly export revenue has increased by 18% to reach $509.8 mln.
Action plan must mean action, not just plan
Recently the government’s action plan for 2016-2020 was approved by the Parliament. The government will now prepare a comprehensive plan to implement the action plan, and get this approved at a government meeting. The actual implementation will begin only then. The action plan lists the five main directions where the government intends to be most active.
The story of the 49% stake
The news of the unexpected sale by the Russian State-owned company Rostec to an almost unknown Mongolian company of its 49 per cent ownership in two iconic joint ventures, Erdenet Mining Corporation and Mongolrostsvetmet, took everybody by surprise. No one knows for sure why the deal was done, but E. Odjargal shows how the period of Rostec’s involvement was marked by tension, open or hidden.
The new Government’s mining goals
The Mongolian People’s Party (MPP) now has 65 seats in the Parliament, against the Democratic Party’s (DP) 9, and the Mongolian People’s Revolutionary Party’s (MPRP) one. The last seat is held by an independent. This overwhelming majority gives the MPP a free hand in running the country in the next four years. So what is the action plan it wishes to implement?
Local journalists hear things from the horse’s mouth
As part of the ‘Local News Network’ project implemented by The Mongolian Mining Journal in cooperation with GIZ IMRI, a wrap-up meeting was held in Ulaanbaatar on 10 November, where 52 journalists from different local areas participated
This parliament has lost our trust
This year has been the most remarkable year so far in the history of the Mongolian democratic state. It is a year of proud anniversaries -- the 25th anniversary of the first election to a truly democratic Parliament, and also of the beginning of a parliamentary system that has continued without interruption –
“A soum is where mining has the most impact”
N. Dorjdari, Coordinator of the National Resources Governance Institute of Mongolia, answers MMJ’s questions on the draft model agreement between local communities and mining companies.
Two views on the proposed Future Heritage Fund
Among the most important discussions Parliament will have in the Autumn session is one on the draft law on the proposed Future Heritage Fund, submitted by the President on 12 June, 2015. I
If TT coal sells for $120t, Mongolia will get $10 billion in tax
The third stage of negotiations between the working group established by the Government and the consortium selected as the strategic investor in the Tavan Tolgoi deposit has been postponed temporarily to allow the latter to study in detail the implications of the agreement made between Erdenes Tavan Tolgoi and China’s Chalco.
The new industry policy is result-oriented and visionary
The past few years have convinced Mongolians that industrialisation does not come from populist announcements or grandiose project proposals on paper. They look around and find that whatever little has come up has been in the private sector.
Power Plant#5 will have two innovative features
G.Iderkhangai finds out from P.Tovuudorj, head of Strategic Policy and Planning Department at the Ministry of Energy, about major projects and reform in the legal environment of the sector.
