Mine
CHOICE OF TECHNOLOGY IS THE MAIN DIFFICULTY FOR MINING THE ASGAT DEPOSIT
Sales revenue from the Salkhit and Asgat silver deposits would be used to compensate the loss to the exchequer from the writing off of pensioners’ loans, but will there be any revenue from Asgat at all in the near future, given that the appropriate technology for extraction there has not been identified? Nobody knows if there has been a breakthrough, but it seems unlikely.
Two other hurdles stand in the way of any quick start to sales from Asgat. First, it is about 3000 m above sea level and there is no infrastructure. Second, there are no processing facilities and ore is uneconomic to transport.
Mongolian Deposits of Silver reserves and resources
BAYAN-UUL
The Bayan-Uul silver-mixed metal deposit is under an exploration licence. Its central part is in Choibalsan soum of Dornod aimag, 790 km from Ulaanbaatar, some 20 km from the Khavirga border checkpoint and 27 km from the Khavirga railway relay of the Choibalsan-Ereentsav railway station. Geologically it is part of the Tsav ore node and is 25 km east from the Tsav silver-mixed metal deposit which is currently under mining.
Prospecting on 1:500000-1:200000 scales was taken up in 1975 by a Mongolia Geological Mapping Expedition team of the Geological Ministry of the former Soviet Union. This led to the preparation of a geological map, and the discovery of the Tsav ore node, the Tsav and Bayan-Uul silver and mixed metals deposits, as well as of the Salkhit, Modot, Altantolgoi and Omnod occurrences. Parts in these were identified where further detailed work was to be done.
How to assess if mining is “responsible”
Whenever and wherever mining is discussed, the talk soon veers to responsible mining and the hope it holds for the economic, social and environmental well-being of Mongolia. However, most of us would fumble if asked to define what exactly responsible mining is. A presentation by B. Mendbayar, Head of the Internal Auditing and Monitoring Division at Erdenes Mongol and the man who worked out the assessment methodology for responsible mining in an IFC-sponsored programme, at a seminar of the Local Journalists’ Network 2019 training project, went into details of how to evaluate a company’s record in responsible mining. E. Od, who took notes, now presents what was said.
A matter of ownership
Trained as a non-ferrous metal engineer and later earning a law degree, N. Algaa was first Executive Director and then President of the Mongolian National Mining Association, before joining Dat Consulting LLC as Executive Director. The Mongolian Mining Journal has interviewed him on several occasions, and we are happy that he will be writing a series of articles for us giving his analysis of and views on developments in the minerals sector. This is the first one and was written in August.
Miners pledge to be responsible
Major companies in the extractive industry in Mongolia recently came together to launch a campaign to encourage the practice of responsible mining. Among those who attended the meeting at Tuushin Hotel were those representing Oyu Tolgoi, Erdenet Mining, Energy Resources, Aspire Mining, SouthGobi Sands, Terra Energy and Baganuur. Later, they all joined the Responsible Mining Voluntary Code.
The campaign was initiated by the Mongolian National Mining Association (MNMA) and is to be implemented together with the Ministry of Mining and Heavy Industry. Those who joined the codex and signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) included Kh. Badamsuren, Director General of the state-owned Erdenet Mining Corporation, Armando Torres, CEO of Oyu Tolgoi, G. Battsengel, CEO of Energy Resources, Z.Gan-Ochir of Aspire Mining, Ch. Munkhbat, President and CEO of SouthGobi Sands, Sam Bowles, CEO of Terra Energy, and O.Tuya, Vice Director of Baganuur JSC. The MoU has 30 clauses in 5 sections.
REQUEST FOR EXPRESSION OF INTEREST (CONSULTING SERVICES – FIRMS SELECTION)
The Ministry of Mining and Heavy Industry of Mongolia now invites eligible consulting firms (“Consultants”) to express their interest in developing a detailed feasibility study on the construction of a copper concentrate smelting and refining plant in Mongolia. Interested Consultants shall meet the criteria and requirements specified in Articles 14, 15 and 16 of Public Procurement Law of Mongolia and submit the following documents to indicate their capacity:
New strategic deposits only to enrich Erdenes Mongol?
State-owned Erdenes Mongol is at a critical point of its life.
The working group led by L. Oyun-Erdene, Head of the Cabinet Secretariat, has given final touches to the draft law on the planned wealth fund which should be discussed at a government meeting very soon and then sent to parliament where it is expected to have an easy passage. The draft proposes to make Erdenes Mongol solely responsible for management of the fund. The company runs Mongolia’s strategic deposits which have abundant mineral resources but the question before every citizen is: can it run – or, be allowed to run -- them well enough to earn the kind of profits that would make the fund truly a wealth for future generations?
Hectic activities are on at the sectoral ministry to give more assets to Erdenes Mongol.
Asgat gets a new owner but is it ready to be mined?
On January 7, 2019, G. Zandanshatar, Head of the Cabinet Secretariat, issued directives tothe Ministry of Mining and Heavy Industry (MMHI) and the Mineral Resources and Petroleum Authority (MRPAM) to transfer the ownership of the Asgat polymetallic deposit from Mongolrostsvetmet to the state-owned Erdenes Mongol.
REQUEST FOR EXPRESSION OF INTEREST
The Ministry of Mining and Heavy Industry of Mongolia now invites eligible consulting firms (“Consultants”) to express their interest in developing a detailed feasibility study on the construction of a copper concentrate smelting and refining plant in Mongolia.
Impact of neglecting exploration will be dire
The revelation by the Mineral Resources and Petroleum Authority that for quite some time now there has been no new registration of any western investor in the exploration sector merely confirms what is common knowledge. Serious and tenacious American, Australian and Canadian investors have left Mongolia.
Mongolia waits for mega projects to move in 2019
Mongolia leads other countries in the excessive number of policies, decisions, rules and regulations around its investment climate,” emphasized Ms. Christine Zhenwei Qiang, Practice Manager for the Global Investment and Competition Unit of the World Bank Group’s Macro, Trade and Investment (MTI) Global Practice, at the Economic Forum in May.
Fate of TT power plant hinges on RIO TINTO decision
How Oyu Tolgoi LLC decides to source the electricity to meet the needs of its mine will also decide the fate of the Tavan Tolgoi power plant, a proposed mega project that would meet the power needs of both industrial and domestic users across a large swathe of the country.
Call for “win-win partnership” douses tensions, for now
Not many were convinced that the brief, and somewhat sudden, visit to Mongolia by Rio Tinto CEO Jean-Sebastien Jacques was solely or really to inaugurate on 22 January the company’s new office in Mongolia, separate from Oyu Tolgoi LLC. Such events do not usually warrant the presence of the chief executive of a global giant.
Mega wait for mega projects could end in 2018
Mongolians are happy to endlessly talk about their successes, and to rest on them. Thus it is no surprise that they are still full of how good 2017 was for the mining industry and exports revenue.
A mining-eye view of the year that was
Looking back at 2017 as a whole, one sees it as a year of both positives and negatives for the country’s development, and also as a period when the mining sector was kept busy throughout.
How Russia sees Mongolia as gateway to the southern seas
Last June, Russia celebrated the 125th anniversary of the longest rail line in the world. It was indeed an event to celebrate, as 70 per cent of the country’s rail freight is carried along these tracks through the Siberian landscape, an area with a huge amount of natural resources.
Managing resources: UB seminar shares experiences
Since boom-bust-boom cycles are normal in commodity markets, it is essential for resource-rich countries to manage their underground wealth prudently, through good times and bad. Some countries have done this more successfully than others, and Norway is taken to be among the best of them, while Mongolia realises it has not been particularly successful in fulfilling its potential.
