EK CONTRIBUTE IMPROVEMENT OF ULAANBAATAR’s AIR QUALITY THROUGH GIZ CONTRACT
Euro Khan has signed a contract with GIZ for improving the Electrostatic Dust Precipitator in order to introduce the most applicable and effective, yet simple technology to the people of the capital city of Mongolia that would bring significant impact in fighting one of the worst air pollutions in the world. The electrostatic dust precipitator system (ESP) has demonstrated the applicability of the electrostatic separation principle for small fireplaces as well as the acceptance of the device by the residents of the Gers. The product prototype has proven that at least 60% of the suspended particulate matter emissions could be removed.
EK’s AFFILIATED DIAG COMPANY ACQUIRES CRONIMET MINING
As an industrial services provider, EK s shareholder DIAG has decades of experience in the fields of oil & gas, renewable energies, mining and infrastructure. Whether as a general contractor or in collaboration with joint venture partners, DIAG investigates development opportunities in selected markets, organizes partnerships and collaborations for projects around the world. The holding assists in the development of new business models and acquires shares in other companies. Expanding our scope of work, we proudly introduce you to Cronimet Mining AG: The Cronimet group has 98 sites worldwide, 5400 employees and a revenue of 2,6 bn USD/2017.
Cronimet is Innovative, dynamic and technology driven
-Leading in sensor-based sorting applications using X-Ray-, Near Infrared and EM technology
-Delivering optimized solutions for beneficiation
of secondary resources
-Increasing recovery in mineral processing
-Offering Turn-key solutions including exploration,
testing, engineering, construction & operations
Cronimet Operations Experience
-Armenia: 60’000’000t Cu low-grade ore
-Portugal: 20’000’000t WO3 waste rock
-Zimbabwe: 200’000t FeNi low-grade slag
-Rwanda: Ta & SN beneficiation plant
-South Korea: WO3 waste rock & RoM
-USA: 65’000’000t Fe slag
-Indonesia 2’000’000t Sn fines
Economy
- GDP up by 6.3 pct in the first 3Qs
- Foreign trade up 7.1 pct in first 10 months
- Foreign exchange reserves reach USD 3.7 billion, eight months of imports
- Gross industrial output up 13.2 pct y/y
- Tax revenue up 19.2 pct, budget surplus MNT 545 bln as of October
- Unemployment rate down 19.6 pct in first 10 months
- Rail transport revenue up 15.9 pct y/y
- Impact of the FATF greylisting on FDI into Mongolia
- The air quality of Mongolia's capital improves in Oct.
- European Bank for Reconstruction and Development Cooperation
- Next Tuesday, Wednesday public holidays
- Ch. Khashchuluun: Shutting down mining is akin to suicide - Interview
- Marriage is not for the faint of heart - Editorial
Business
- Turquoise Hill notes Administrative Court proceedings in Mongolia
- 10 Mongolian companies to export their products to the U.S. market
- LehmanLaw: Requirements of Official Financial Statements
- Lower copper and gold production results in 15 pct revenue drop for Turquoise Hill
- Mongol Advocates: Land possessors and land users in Mongolia
- SouthGobi Resources gross profit hits 12.8 million USD in Q3
- Mongolia-Russia business meeting held
- FRC approves closed-end fund listing rules
- Coal truck border queue is back after Chinese demand already fulfilled
- Forum on Responsible Artisanal and Small-scale Mining takes place
- Law firm MDS KhanLex launches Mongolia’s first ‘robot lawyer’
- MIAT Technics gains approval to service Russian-registered aircraft
- Elixir Energy advancing well on 2019 drilling campaign; Eyes lucrative China’s gas market
- Kincora Copper says it's "well-funded" to continue dual exploration and project generation strategy; updates on activity
- Oyu Tolgoi's brewing tax row - Editorial
- Rio's ignorance is no excuse - Editorial
ECONOMY
GDP UP BY 6.3 PCT IN FIRST 3QS
Mongolia's gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 6.3 percent in the first nine months of this year, official data showed on Friday.
According to the National Statistics Office of Mongolia (NSO), the country's GDP reached 13.7 trillion Mongolian tugriks (5.07 billion U.S. dollars) in the first three quarters of 2019.
The growth was mainly attributed to good performance in the industry and construction sector and service sector, which increased 6 percent and 6.9 percent respectively, said the NSO.
The Asian country's GDP expanded 7.3 percent year-on-year in the first half of 2019.
The country's growth prospects continue to be positive going into 2019 and 2020, according to international banks and financial organizations.
According to the latest Asian Development Outlook 2019, flagship economic publication of the Asian Development Bank, economic growth in Mongolia will be at 6.7 percent in 2019 and 6.1 percent in 2020.
Source: Xinhua, ZGM Daily
FOREIGN TRADE UP 7.1 PCT IN FIRST 10 MONTHS
Mongolia's foreign trade volume expanded 7.1 percent year on year to 11.6 billion U.S. dollars in the first 10 months of this year, the country's National Statistics Office (NSO) said Friday.
Exports climbed 9.8 percent year on year to 6.5 billion U.S. dollars, while imports grew 3.9 percent to 5.1 billion dollars, the NSO data showed.
Mining products accounted for more than 80 percent of the total exports, the NSO said, noting that a significant increase in revenue from coal and gold exports largely contributed to the overall growth.
The Asian country traded with 148 countries across the world in the first 10 months of 2019.
Source: Xinhua
FOREIGN EXCHANGE RESERVES REACHES USD 3.7 BILLION, EIGHT MONTHS OF IMPORTS
On November 20, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Economy conducted the first discussion of a draft resolution on approval of the State Policy on Monetary Policy for 2020. In 2020, an annual inflation rate is projected at 8 percent and mid-term targeted inflation rate is set at 6 percent.
As of September 2019, the total credit of Mongolia’s the banking sector increased by 10 percent compared to the same period of last year. Indicating that the economic recession period of Mongolia has ended to move forward to period of growth, the actual growth of the economy was at 7.3 percent in the first half of this year and the total foreign exchange reserves held by a central bank was USD 3.7 billion, which is enough to cover imports of 8-9 months.
After reflecting suggestions and proposals from the standing committee members, the draft resolution was forwarded for the parliamentary plenary meeting's discussion.
Source: Montsame
GROSS INDUSTRIAL OUTPUT UP 13.2 PCT Y/Y
In the first 10 months of 2019, the gross industrial output reached MNT 14.6 trillion, showing an increase of MNT 1.7 trillion (13.2%) from the same period of previous year. This increase was mainly due to an increase of mining and quarrying gross output by MNT 1.3 trillion (14.5%), of which mining of coal increased by MNT 1.3 trillion (41.0%) and other mining and quarrying increased by MNT 15.4 billion (13.7%).
In October 2019, the gross industrial output reached MNT 1.6 trillion, it is increased by MNT 38.5 billion (2.5%) compared to the previous month.
In October 2019, the seasonally adjusted industrial production index was 172.8 (2010=100), decreased by 8.2% from the same period of previous year, by 4.0% from the end of previous year and by 1.7% from the previous month.
Source: Montsame
TAX REVENUE UP 19.2 PCT, BUDGET SURPLUS MNT 545 BLN AS OF OCTOBER
In the first 10 months of 2019, total equilibrated revenue and grants of the General government budget amounted to MNT 8.8 trillion and total expenditure and net lending amounted to MNT 8.3 trillion, resulting a surplus of MNT 545.4 billion in the equilibrated balance.
In October 2019, equilibrated revenue and grants of the General government budget reached MNT 1.1 trillion, increased by MNT 222.2 billion or 25.5% from the previous month and total expenditure and net lending reached MNT 1.0 trillion, increased by MNT 96.4 billion or 10.3% from the previous month.
In the first 10 months of 2019, tax revenue reached MNT 8.0 trillion, increased by MNT 1.3 trillion or 19.2% compared with the same period of previous year.
General Government budget revenue was comprised of 81.5% of tax revenue, 8.5% of non-tax revenue, 9.2% of the future heritage fund and 0.8% of the stabilization fund.
Source: Montsame
UNEMPLOYMENT RATE DOWN 19.6 PCT IN FIRST 10 MONTHS
The unemployment rate in Mongolia decreased by 19.6 percent in the first 10 months of this year, compared with the same period last year, the country's National Statistical Office (NSO) said Wednesday.
A total of 21,900 people were recorded to be unemployed, 53.6 percent of whom were female. And the highest unemployment rate (56.5 percent) was registered with people aged 15-34.
According to the NSO, 29 percent of the unemployed had university degrees.
The total number of people in the Asian country's labor force stood at more than 1.3 million at the end of last month, the agency added.
Source: Xinhua
RAIL TRANSPORT REVENUE UP 15.9 PCT Y/Y
In the first 10 months of 2019, 23.0 million tonnes of freight and 2.5 million passengers (double counting) were carried by railway transport. Compared to the same period of the previous year, the carried freight increased by 2.0 million tonnes (9.4%) and the number of carried passengers increased by 304.1 thousand passengers (14.0%).
In the first 10 months of 2019, 39.0% of carried freight by railway transport was domestic freight, 36.1% was exports, 10.8% was imports and 14.1% was transit. Where, transit and export freights increased by 0.8 and 0.3 points, respectively, whereas domestics and import decreased by 0.7 and 0.4 points from the same period of the previous year.
The revenue from railway transport reached MNT 587.0 billion, increased by MNT 80.6 billion (15.9%) compared to the same period of the previous year. In October 2019, revenue from rail transport reached 61.6 billion, increased by MNT 2.2 billion (3.7%) from the previous month.
Source: Montsame
POTENTIAL SHORT-TERM RISKS Some short-term risks associated with the Grey Listing could include the following:
• Correspondent banks processing US dollar transactions with Mongolian commercial banks already face a significant regulatory burden and comparatively low transaction volumes. Enhanced oversight required as a consequence of the Grey Listing, could stretch existing relationships and impact US dollar transactions
• Mongolian commercial banks may limit transactions in US dollars as the MNT/USD exchange rate is put under increased pressure
• If Mongolia is not able to reve rse the Grey Listing in the short-term, there is a risk of increased reliance on its neighbors, China and Russia, due to a greater perceived risk for US, European, Australian, and Asian investors may be enhanced
Regardless of the current Grey Listing, since the foreign investment boom into Mongolia between 2010-2012 (when ironically Mongolia was also on the Grey List), there have been numerous other issues and obstacles to attracting FDI.
Source: Melville Erdenedalai LLP
AIR QUALITY OF MONGOLIA'S CAPITAL IMPROVES IN OCT.
The air quality in the Mongolian capital of Ulan Bator has improved, the country's National Statistics Office said Tuesday.
The average density of PM2.5 in Ulan Bator stayed at 90 micrograms per cubic meter of air in October, down 18.8 percent year on year, the agency said in a statement.
In addition, the average density of PM10 in the capital city dropped to around 90 micrograms per cubic meter of air last month, a year-on-year decrease of 7.4 percent, it said.
The reductions of air pollutants in Ulan Bator are largely due to a government ban on domestic use of raw coal which came into force on May 15, according to experts of the agency.
Since then, households in the city have been supplied with processed fuel instead of raw coal.
Air pollution has been one of the most pressing issues for many years in Ulan Bator, which is home to over half of Mongolia's population.
Source: Xinhua
See also: Cabinet supports draft agreement on additional financing for Ulaanbaatar clean air project
Mongolia's new 'cleaner' fuel linked to deaths, illness
Over 990 people receive treatment for smoke inhalation in Mongolia
EUROPEAN BANK FOR RECONSTRUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT COOPERATION
President of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) visited Mongolia last week. Sir Suma Chakrabarti met with the Prime Minister of Mongolia, and with the President.
The EBRD has contributed EUR 1.7 billion to Mongolia’s development and promotion of the Mongolian private sector over the past 20 years. EBRD and Mongolia have jointly developed a cooperation plan laying out efforts to promote economic growth and diversification in Mongolia for years to come.
EBRD is currently providing assistance with several projects in Mongolia, including projects in areas such as electricity supply, sewage capacity and treatment, public transportation and improvement of public utility capability in general. EBRD has budgeted up to 250 million Euro for these projects. Going forward EBRD is expected to increase support for development of agriculture and tourism.
Mongolia and the EBRD have jointly signed a USD 300 million agreement for the financing of infrastructure development, including construction of a road from Ulaanbaatar to Darkhan.
Source: LehmanLaw Mongolia
NEXT TUESDAY, WEDNESDAY PUBLIC HOLIDAYS
Next week, there will be public holidays on the 26th and 27th of November, next Tuesday and Wednesday.
The 26th of November is Mongolian Independence Day and 27th of November is the first day of the first winter month of the year which commemorates birthday of Chinggis Khan.
Above 2 days are legislated to be public holidays according to the law on public holiday.
Source: GoGo News
CH.KHASHCHULUUN: SHUTTING DOWN MINING IS AKIN TO SUICIDE - INTERVIEW
We spoke with economist Ch.Khashchuluun who is a Ph.D. and Professor of National University of Mongolia, about the influence of the mining sector to the country’s economy.
-How do you assess the current economic situation?
-The country’s economy is relatively in a pleasant state this year. Domestic investors increased significantly as well as a budget investment due to private sector investment and the approaching election year. This is especially the case in the infrastructure sector. In recent years, consumer spending has surged. So, generally put, key economic indicators including investment and consumption have an upward performance. The annual GDP growth was 7.3 percent by the first half of this year. Q3 results will be available in a few days. Among a general growth in all sectors according to preliminary observations, the industrial sector including mining grew by 15 percent, which we consider as a good performance.
Source: Asia Mining
MARRIAGE IS NOT FOR THE FAINT OF HEART - EDITORIAL
Naturally, when we’re in a romantic relationship, everything seems to be going great and hope to seal the bond with golden rings on our fingers. However, we often forget or choose to ignore all of the challenges that might arise in a marriage, especially when we’re young. We think that all of the problems can be solved along the way but it’s best to think it through before marrying now that the divorce rate continues to rise.
In Mongolia, it is common for people to tie the knot in their early or mid-20s. I’ve seen many people get married in their senior year of university or soon after graduation. Infatuated with one another, they believe they were ready to become husband and wife and even move on to become parents. However, not expecting the world or marriage to be so harsh and still struggling to find their place in society, one by one they start to consider a divorce.
Source: The UB Post
BUSINESS
TURQUOISE HILL NOTES ADMINISTRATIVE COURT PROCEEDINGS IN MONGOLIA
Turquoise Hill Resources (TRQ) today notes Administrative Court proceedings in Mongolia with regard to a lawsuit initiated by the Darkhan Mongol Nogoon Negdel Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) relating to the Government of Mongolia's process in finalising the Oyu Tolgoi Underground Mine Development and Financing Plan (UDP).
Early reports suggest the Administrative Court of first instance has upheld claims by the NGO that due process was not followed by the Government of Mongolia in finalising the UDP, although the Court's formal written ruling is expected to be released only in the coming weeks.
TRQ strongly refutes any suggestion that the UDP or any of the foundational OT Agreements are illegal. Adherence to the principles of the Investment Agreement, ARSHA and the Underground Plan has allowed for the development of the Oyu Tolgoi mine in a manner that has given rise to significant long-term benefits to the people of Mongolia.
Source: Yahoo Finance
See also: Rio Tinto Updates On Court Proceedings In Mongolia; Court Upheld Claims By NGO
10 MONGOLIAN COMPANIES TO EXPORT THEIR PRODUCTS TO THE U.S. MARKET
At the initiatives of 'Mongolian Brand Association' NGO, the Mongolian National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MNCCI), Mongolian Marketing Association and the U.S. Embassy in Mongolia organized ‘Let’s Export to America’ event on November 20 in partnership with the Asian American Chamber of Commerce (AACC).
Representatives and experts of the AACC attended the event, giving counsel to Mongolian entities on exporting their products to the U.S. market and conducted training on requirements and legal environment to draw investment. Delegates of 30 Mongolian companies took part in the event and it gave opportunities to up to 10 potential companies to export their goods to the United States.
Secretary General of the MNCCI B.Saruul highlighted during the event that the chamber will pay attention and work towards broadening and developing bilateral trade and economic cooperation, conducting joint business meetings and exhibitions in collaboration with the U.S. trade promotion organizations, connecting business people of the two countries and rendering support on exporting products of Mongolia to the U.S. market.
Source: Montsame
LEHMANLAW: REQUIREMENTS OF OFFICIAL FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
As we mentioned in our previous post, The Board of Directors is obliged to submit the report with respect to the financial statements to the annual shareholders meeting of a company for approval. In this post, we would like to call your attention to a company’s official financial statement, its scope and requirements.
Companies and other organizations operating in the territory of Mongolia are required to submit financial statements electronically to the local Ministry of Finance. These statements must be maintained in Mongolian language and reported in the national currency of Mongolia, the Tugrug.
The financial statements of company must include the following: (1) A record of the current balance, (2) the income statement, (3) statement of shareholders’ equity, (4) cash flow statement, (5) financial statement clarifications.
The financial statements must be approved by the company’s highest authority and financial officer and submitted by July 20, with completed annual financial statements due by February 10 of the following year.
Source: LehmanLaw Mongolia
LOWER COPPER AND GOLD PRODUCTION RESULTS IN 15 PCT REVENUE DROP FOR TURQUOISE HILL
Turquoise Hill Resources updated on its quarterly financial results and review of operations earlier this week. It highlighted that the company’s revenue reached 209.2 million USD in the third quarter of 2019, declining 15.1 percent from 246.5 million USD in the same period of last year.
The revenue slump was due to 66.8 percent decrease in gold production and 28 percent decrease in copper production, which were expected by Turquoise Hill. In the report, the company noted that the decreased production and a five-percent decrease in copper price was “partly offset” by a 22 percent increase in the average gold price in the reference period.
“Operationally, the third quarter of 2019 was another strong quarter for the company from both a production and safety perspective. Our Oyu Tolgoi team has continued to maximize the production from the open pit and as a result, we have once again increased our 2019 gold production with the new target moving from 230,000 to 240,000 ounces,” stated Turquoise Hill’s CEO Ulf Quellmann.
Source: The UB Post
MONGOL ADVOCATES: LAND POSSESSORS AND LAND USERS IN MONGOLIA
The land except that in citizen’s private ownership, as well as the subsoil with its mineral wealth, forests, water resources, and game is the property of the State. The State may give for private ownership plots of land except pastures and areas under public and special use, only to the citizens of Mongolia. This provision does not apply to the ownership of the subsoil thereof.
Citizens are prohibited to transfer the land in their possession to foreigners and stateless persons by way of selling, bartering, donating, or pledging as well as transferring to others for exploitation without permission from competent state authorities. The State may allow foreign nationals, legal entities, and stateless persons to lease land for a specified period of time under conditions and procedures as provided by law.
Under Mongolian law, there are three types of rights related to land:
• Land Ownership;
• Land Possession;
• Land Use.
Source: Mongol Advocates
SOUTHGOBI RESOURCES GROSS PROFIT HITS 12.8 MILLION USD IN Q3
Toronto and Hong Kong stock exchange-listed SouthGobi Resources released its 2019 third quarter financial and operating results on Wednesday.
The company recorded a gross profit of 12.8 million USD in the third quarter of 2019 compared to 9.2 million USD in the third quarter of 2018. Its net profit amounted to 2.1 million USD, compared to the 2.7 million USD net losses reported in the third quarter of 2018.
The report indicates that SouthGobi earned a profit of 9.5 million USD from third quarter operations, marking a whopping 6.5 million USD increase year-over-year. The improvement in profit from operations was principally attributable to the lower provision for doubtful trade and other receivables being made during the quarter (0.3 million USD and 3.9 million USD for the third quarter of 2019 and third quarter of 2018 respectively).
Source: The UB Post
MONGOLIA-RUSSIA BUSINESS MEETING HELD
Business delegation of Sakha Republic (Yakutia) and the Jewish Autonomous Oblast in the Russian Far East yesterday held a meeting with representatives of Mongolian entities at Ulaanbaatar hotel.
Manufacturers of food products, products made of fur, jewelry and gemstone, cotton material, textile products as well as footwear producers and mushroom farmers were among the business delegation of our neighbor in the north.
Executive Director of the Business Council of Cooperation with the Russian Federation E.Oyuntegsh said that we are receiving our 10th delegation from the Russian Federation as during his visit to Mongolia in September this year Russian President V.Putin put a proposal on expanding regional cooperation of the two countries and paid attention to it. Prior to the delegates from the Far East, business delegation of Tomsk, Irkutsk Oblast and Khakassia visited Mongolia. Soon, business owners from Moscow city and Orlovsky District will visit Mongolia within this year to hold business talks and expand cooperation.
Source: Montsame
FRC APPROVES CLOSED-END FUND LISTING RULES
The Closed-end Fund Listing Rules that approved by Mongolian Stock exchange’s Board of Directors on June 28th, 2019, has been approved by the FRC Chairperson's Order No.537 on November 13th, 2019.
In recent years, Mongolian capital market has gone through a rapid transformation and an IPO boom and in 2018, it reached the historical record in equity trading turnover, the number of IPOs as well as admitted the first securities dual-listing. Building on the current achivements, now is a great opportunity to further expand the stock market and improve the market liqudity by increasing the participation of professional investors.
These Rules will introduce the new product to the Mongolian market which allows funds to offer its units to public while investors to diversify its risks.
Please click here to view the Closed-End Fund Listing Rules.
Source: Mongolian Stock Exchange
COAL TRUCK BORDERQUEUE IS BACK AFTER CHINESE DEMAND ALREADY FULFILLED
Once again, a tragedy is waiting to happen as truck drivers have to sit in their cabs for days on end in sub-zero conditions on the road to China. The coal trucks have been struck at the Tsagaan Khad Border Crossing. The reason: Chinese coal demand has already been met. According to representatives of the coal transporting companies, the truck drivers have been waiting on the road for 10-15 days without food and drink since leaving the Tavan Tolgoi mining complex. There is now a 10km long queue of trucks on the bleak Gobi road to the border.
Nearly 14,000 trucks transport coal from three coal sites at the Tavan Tolgoi mine to Gashuun Sukhait Border Crossing. Currently, 32 million tonnes of coal is transported to China.
As the long queue of coal trucks continues to rise and temperatures continue to fall, China is, through its snap decisions, again putting Mongolian lives at risk.
Source: News.mn
FORUM ON RESPONSIBLE ARTISANAL AND SMALL-SCALE MINING TAKES PLACE
The Forum on Responsible Artisanal and Small-scale Mining was held today in connection with the completion of the Sustainable Artisanal Mining project. At the forum, over 250 representatives of corresponding ministries, international organizations, local authorities, and miners discussed the results of the 14-year project and policies and decisions being adopted in the field.
The Sustainable Artisanal Mining project is one of the many coherent agricultural, food security, primary education-vocational training, and governance improvement projects that the Government of Switzerland is implementing in Mongolia through the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC). It has been carried out from 2005 to 2019 in four phases, laying the foundation for organizing artisanal and small-scale miners into cooperatives and providing them with guaranteed jobs.
Compared to 2013, the number of artisanal and small-scale miners has doubled this year with around 10,000 miners working in 1181 cooperatives.
Source: Montsame
LAW FIRM MDS KHANLEX LAUNCHES MONGOLIA’S FIRST ‘ROBOT LAWYER’
Top-tier Mongolian law firm MDS KhanLex has launched ‘iGeree’ – online contract automation and AI chatbot platform focused initially on employment law, with plans to extend to company law coverage in 2020. The platform is the first offering of its kind in Mongolia.
The iGeree platform consists of 2 services:
• A contract automation platform, enabling construction and drafting of legal documents without requiring user legal skill or knowledge; and
• An AI / natural-language trained chatbot which provides instant legal advice within its trained scope.
The contract automation platform is subscription-based, while the chatbot component is accessible free of charge.
Employment law currently constitutes 13.6% of civil disputes in Mongolia.
Source: MDS KhanLex
MIAT TECHNICS GAINS APPROVAL TO SERVICE RUSSIAN-REGISTERED AIRCRAFT
Mongolia’s state-owned national carrier MIAT Mongolian Airlines has won approval to provide aircraft line and base maintenance services on aircraft listed on the Russian register, according to Russian aviation authority Rosaviatsiya.
The FAP-285 award entitles the airline’s MIAT Technics maintenance and engineering arm to offer line and base maintenance services on the Boeing 737NG, Boeing 767-200/300 and Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft types, and also on the Antonov An-2 and its the upgraded and re-engined TVS-2MS light utility aircraft version. The company is also approved for the servicing and repair of a number of aircraft components and also for non-destructive testing.
The fact that the Mongolian maintenance company sought Russian approval signifies it is possibly gearing up for Russian airline customers transferring some of their fleets that are currently mostly on the Bermuda and Irish registers, onto the national register.
Source: RusAviaInsider.com
ELIXIR ENERGY ADVANCING WELL ON 2019 DRILLING CAMPAIGN; EYES LUCRATIVE CHINA’S GAS MARKET
Oil and gas exploration and development company, Elixir Energy Limited is rapidly progressing to achieve its corporate vision — “to find large gas reserves on the Chinese border”.
The company’s 2019 exploration program is currently underway at its flagship asset- the Nomgon IX CSG (coal seam gas, also known as coal bed methane – CBM) PSC (production sharing contract) located in the South of Mongolia, near Chinese borders.
The 2019 exploration campaign revolves around drilling the two fully tested core-holes (with an option for a third contingent hole), with the results aiding a contingent resource assessment in 2020.
During the last quarter, the company commenced field exploration activity in Mongolia, taking its 2019 exploration program to the ‘drilling stage’, within only around a year from implementing its PSC.
As a result of the successful capital raise in the last financial year, the 2019 exploration program is fully funded (at a 100% ownership level), allowing the company to deal with issues such as potential partners in the future.
Source: KalkineMedia.com
See also: Elixir spuds key well at its Mongolian CBM drilling program
KINCORA COPPER SAYS IT'S "WELL-FUNDED" TO CONTINUE DUAL EXPLORATION AND PROJECT GENERATION STRATEGY; UPDATES ON ACTIVITY
Mongolia-focused Kincora Copper Ltd updated Monday on first phase exploration work this season, in which nine holes have tested five targets at its Bronze Fox and East Tsagaan Suvarga (East TS) projects.
Last week, the group also announced an earn-in deal worth up to over US$6 million for the Badrakh copper gold project, where the first of a proposed two-hole program has just kicked off.
The company is aiming to make the next Tier 1 discovery in the East Asian country.
"Field activities have been under budget, safely and successfully executed, systematically advancing the company's wholly owned 828.3 sq km district scale portfolio, focused on first phase target testing drilling at Bronze Fox and East Tsagaan Suvarga," said senior vice-president of exploration Peter Leaman.
Source: Proactive Investors
See also: Kincora Provides Exploration Update
OYU TOLGOI'S BREWING TAX ROW - EDITORIAL
The year of 2019 could possibly be considered as one of the most unstable years in Oyu Tolgoi project’s life period.
Even though this year is the 10th anniversary of the (first) investment agreement of the project, the Oyu Tolgoi project encountered severe obstacles this year, such as Oyu Tolgoi LLC announcing an increase of the preliminary estimates for development capital of 1.2 billion to 1.9 billion USD because of an unexpected and challenging geotechnical issues bringing complexities in the construction of Shaft 2. This, of course, led to a decrease of share value for its parent company, Canadian-based Turquoise Hill Resources, which holds a 66 percent stake in the company.
Another major hurdle was Parliament appointing a working group to examine and evaluate the investment agreement implementation. The working group introduced its conclusion to the Parliamentary Standing Committee of Finance on May 29, 2019.
Source: The UB Post
RIO'S IGNORANCE IS NO EXCUSE - EDITORIAL
It beggars belief that Rio Tinto knows nothing of substance about an apparently successful Mongolian legal challenge to the government process that sealed the deal on the global miner’s fractured underground expansion of the Oyu Tolgoi copper project.
Oyu Tolgoi is a development critical to the standing of both Rio Tinto and its successful but idiosyncratic chief executive Jean-Sebastien Jacques.
Oyu Tolgoi is a very large brownfields expansion whose projected cost recently blew out by $US1.9 billion to something more than $US7 billion because of a redesign forced by geotechnical misunderstandings.
And it is a project’s whose 2015 gateway investment agreement was the product of sustained and direct personal contact between Jacques and the prime minister-elect of Mongolia, Chimediin Saikhanbileg.
As Jacques revealed in a remarkably frank interview with our very own Chanticleer columnist Tony Boyd in May 2015, the bones of what became the Dubai agreement were assembled over five days of meetings with Saikhanbileg over the Rio man’s kitchen table in Holland Park, London.
Source: Australian Financial Review
