Recent news
Chalco steps up pursuit of Mongolian coal with Winsway deal
China’s state-run aluminium giant Chalco last month announced a second deal in its pursuit of Mongolian coal, despite signs that the country’s government is seeking to derail an earlier deal. While Mongolia has opened its doors to foreign investors over the past decade and has willingly sold coal to China, Chinese companies have found it hard to access Mongolia’s vast copper and coal mines directly due to Mongolia’s historic mistrust of its giant neighbour.
High level of uranium in Ulaanbaatar groundwater
A high level of uranium has been detected in the groundwater in the Mongolian capital, report local media.The finding was made in a deep-well water research programme conducted by a joint U.S.-Mongolian team last July to determine the arsenic content.The team extracted water samples from 129 deep wells in the seven districts of Ulaanbaatar and sent the samples to the US for analysis.
New railway agency to have specific tasks
Before coming to these, let me clarify some legal regulations pertaining to the new company. The Mongolian Railway Transportation Law, passed by the State Great Khural in 2007, is the governing document of this sector, and regulates all aspects of railway transportation.
ThyssenKrupp to help build coal-to-liquids plant
Germany’s ThyssenKrupp Uhde and the Mongolian Government have signed two Memoranda of Understanding relating to the development, engineering and construction of a coal-to-liquids plant and also a heat recovery coke making plant. Feasibility studies for the two projects had already been prepared.
PARTS OF SPEECH
“Some private companies should be absorbed by the government. We do not want to lose precious time competing against one another. It is both reasonable and possible to compete with companies from other nations.”
J. Oyungerel, chairperson, Petrovis LLC.
ETT pushes back market debut to 2013 Q1
ErdenesTavanTolgoi, owner of one of the largest coking coal deposits in the world, has pushed back plans for its international share market debut to the first quarter of 2013.Chief Executive B.Enebish has said a listing in February or March next year was “more realistic” than hopes of a market debut in 2012.
Mongolia’s tenacious Ninjas
In a hot, concrete hut filled with acetylene fumes, an elderly Mongolian miner struggles to contain her excitement as she plucks a sizzling inch-long nugget of gold from a grubby cooling pot and raises it to the light. Khorloo, 65, and her sons spent the day scrutinising half a dozen CCTV screens as workers at the Bornuur gold processing plant whittled 1.2 metric tonnes of ore down to 123 grams of pure gold that could earn the family as much as $6,000.
Khan Resources appeals against Ontario court decision on ARMZ
Khan Resources has filed an appeal in an Ontario court challenging a March decision that upheld Atomredmetzoloto JSC’s appeal to stop Khan Resource’s lawsuit against the Russian miner.Khan Resources claims that ARMZ, which is a government-owned company, interfered with its uranium interests in Mongolia, and is seeking damages of USD 302.8 million.
Poorly drafted laws causing huge loss
The proposed sale of mainly Canadian-owned SouthGobi Resources to a Chinese state-owned company has revived the question of the extent to which Mongolians can claim to be the real owners of their mineral resources. There is no clarity on who is selling whose treasure. B.Batjargal, director of the budget policy department at the Ministry of Finance, puts the highly emotional and controversial issue in perspective.
The Mongolian Mining Journal - new issue
The last session of the current Parliament is in its last days. For the first two years of its term, Mongolia received support from international financial organizations as a developing country, but thereafter, its credit rating was upgraded and it is no longer in the list of developing countries. Business loans are now easier to get, and national companies have been getting huge amounts as investment loans from international banks and financial organisations.
