Recent news

• Political instability shakes investors’ confidence

  The political crisis is deepening as the New Year approaches. As we write this, Parliament, the highest institution of state authority, has not sat for several days because of internal disputes in The Mongolian People Party (MPP), which commands a very comfortable majority in it.
• How to remember the glory days of Nalaikh

  Operations at Nalaikh, the very first mine in Mongolia, were abandoned quite some time ago but artisanal miners now extract coal from there to sell to ger district households. There are considerable security risks in this and it is imperative to effectively close the mine.
• How and why mining continues to be important to Australia’s economy

  Australia is a microcosm of the global mining experience. MMJ finds out from Robin Evans, Program Leader, Sustainable Minerals Institute (SMI) Transformational Learning at The University of Queensland how it is addressing environmental concerns, adopting less harmful energy options, preparing to face the challenges of climate change,adjusting to automation and other issues.
• A most important information source

  Service and agriculture were the dominant sectors in the Mongolian economy before 2008, with mining contributing relatively little.
• The first decade

  Ten years have passed since the freezing day in November 2008 when Boloroo– as our founder-editor Bolormaa Luntan was affectionately called -- carried copies of the first issue of The Mongolian Mining Journal to distribute them at various sales points.
• “We are aiming to establish an oil refinery plant that is most suitable to Mongolian requirements”

  The progress of the project to construct a grass root oil refinery plant with crude oil supply pipeline is moving forward. Since the commencement of the infrastructure project in June, 2018, a great progress has been made on the construction of road, railway, power transmission lines, and substations under short period of time.
• Gold in placer deposits to be exhausted in 2 years

  There is widespread concern at the imminent prospect of Mongolia’s placer deposits being left with no gold. At present their reserves are put at 57 tonnes, and as between 22 tonnes and 25 tonnes are annually extracted from them, the gold is likely to be exhausted by the end of the decade.
• Centerra’s exit raises questions, suspicions

  Centerra Gold has finally moved out of Mongolia, after failing to reach an agreement with the Government on how to develop the Gatsuurt gold deposit.
• UBTZ hopes to benefit from planned new railways

  E.Odjargal talks to I.V.Milostnykh, First Deputy Director, Ulaanbaatar Railway (UBTZ), about the status of its upgrading work and other issues.
• All smiles at Discover Mongolia 2018

  The overall impression at the end of the 16th Discover Mongolia, held in Ulaanbaatar on 6-7 September, was positive for the Mongolian mining sector. The annual international conference is a major platform for wide-ranging discussions on the sector, bringing together investors and members of the Mongolian Government.
• Erdene Resource has built relationships of trust, study finds

  Erdene Resource Development describes itself as “a company that is focused on creating value for all stakeholders, doing things ‘The Erdene Way’ ”. A core element of this “Erdene way” is its commitment to make positive contributions to local economic development.
• Hopes for Mongolian coal soar as China reaches for blue sky

  In his speech at Coal Mongolia 2018, Yang Xianfeng, Director General of the Economic Operations Department of the China National Coal Association, asserted that the Blue Sky programme in China is opening up vast opportunities for Mongolia’s coal exporters and hoped they would make full use of these.
• Alarming prospect of water shortage in the Gobi

  D.Chandmani, Head of the Altai Uvur Gobi River Basin Authority, tells G.Iderkhangai that lack of enough water in the southern Gobi is an issue of concern for not just the mines there. There are options to stop the situation getting critical but not much can be done without government support, which is lacking.
• Erdene Resource reports “solid progress”

  In a recent update on corporate and project activities, Canada-listed Erdene Resource Development Corp. says it had an active and successful second quarter, where it reported some of the highest grade drill results to date from its flagship gold project Bayan Khundii,
• Parliament approves two new railway routes

  On June 29 Parliament approved amendments to the State policy on railway to provide for two new rail routes -- Erdenet-Artssuuri and Zuunbayan-Khangi. This means a total of 1,900 km of railway will be built in the second stage of implementation of the policy, including the following previously approved routes: Nariinsukhait-Shiveekhuren (45.5 km), Tavantolgoi-Gashuunsukhait (267 km), Khuut-Tamsagbulag-Numrug (380 km), and Khuut-Bichigt (200 km).
• Coking coal prices to keep low in the long term

  The US-China “trade war” has hurt Mongolia, too, in that our southern neighbour’s demand for coking coal has fallen. However, many analysts feel China will not have to reduce its steel output drastically, and based on that optimism, the market has been showing some positive signs, though this maybe more short-term than is good for Mongolian exports.
• Time to generate optimism

  A German journalist, Dr Dirk Asendorpf, once wrote that the interest of international media in Mongolian mining rose and fell according to the state of the relations between Oyu Tolgoi and the Mongolian government.
• Developing costly infrastructure is a big gamble, but one worth taking

  Parliament’s approval of a resolution supporting steps to get the Tavan Tolgoi deposit into economic circulation was a tribute to the persuasive skills of the sector minister, D.Sumiyabazar, though the tacit backing of the Prime Minister and the absence of opposition from the President also played a part.
• Consulting firm will run the oil refinery

  Following the laying of its foundation stone on 22 June, hopes are high that Mongolia will finally have the long-talked-about oil refinery. The investment of $1 billion is assured, and work should soon begin on the planned two-stage construction. G.Ider asks B.Ankhbayar, Head of the Division of Non-metallic Mineral Production at the Ministry of Mining and Heavy Industry, how things are at the moment.
• Foreign trade turnover up in H1, surplus down

  Foreign trade turnover reached $6.3 billion at the half-year mark, according to the National Statistics Office, with exports of $3.6 billion and imports of $2.7 billion. The three figures show a 26%, 15.3% and 43.4% YoY increase respectively. Foreign trade surplus fell 30.4% YoY to stand at $822.2 million.