With Parliament approving amendments to this year’s budget on August 28, the four months remaining of the year would be given to arresting, if not undoing, the damage the pandemic has been causing to the economy. Revenue is already MNT1.2 trillion less than expected and the budget deficit up to the end of June stood at MNT2.1 trillion, which had been estimated as the figure for the whole year. However, not all is lost. Rising mineral prices hold out hope that recovery is possible sooner than it seemed possible at one stage.  With an estimated revenue of MNT9.7309 trillion and projected expenses of MNT14.5775 trillion -- 25.2 percent and 37.7 percent respectively of GDP -- the revised budget shows a deficit of MNT4.8466 trillion or 12.5 percent of GDP, instead of the 5.1 percent in the original. This is obviously very high, and several drastic measures would be taken to see that revenue reaches the required level.

Erdmin LLC, recipient of The Mongolian Mining Journal Best Technology Award in 2013, was a pioneer in adapting the prevalent cathode copper production technology to Mongolian climatic conditions. An Honoured Industrial Worker of Mongolia, Dr. J. Damdinjav played a very large role in setting up Erdmin, where he was Executive Director and Director General. Currently a consultant to the company, he traces the history of Erdmin in this conversation with G.Iderkhangai and talks about old times with nostalgia.      Did you start your working life at Erdenet Mining?  My father crafted nice items from copper and silver and out of admiration for his work, quite early in life I decided to be a metallurgist though in those days I understood the profession as that a gold refiner. When I finished school I was lucky enough to be among those chosen to study non-ferrous metallurgy in the Soviet Union.  

Sandvik Mining and Rock Technology will host the first Innovation in Mining Virtual Event, 29–30 September 2020, where they will showcase an exceptional lineup of new equipment and solutions, as well as the latest technologies for digitalization, automation and electrification for the mining industry. The Innovation in Mining Virtual Event is a global event for miners who face the challenges that come with leading mining operations in the modern environment. The event will provide mining professionals the opportunity to learn about Sandvik’s most innovative solutions for the mining industry and learn how those solutions can deliver value to their operations. Sandvik will showcase a lineup of innovative solutions for all of their product offerings including rock drilling, rock cutting, crushing and screening, loading and hauling, electrification, and automation.

The first major mining-related headline since the ruling party’s return to power came on June 28 when Rio Tinto announced that the Government, Rio Tinto and Turquoise Hill Resources had reached an agreement on the preferred domestic power solution for Oyu Tolgoi that clears the way for the Government to fund and construct a power plant at Tavan Tolgoi. This renders infructuous the TTPP Power Source Framework Agreement signed in 2018. The parties have also agreed to conclude a power purchase agreement by next March. Construction will begin by July 1, but the target date for the commissioning of the plant has been pushed back a year to 2025, with no explanation for the delay.

Turquoise Hill Resources has announced increased 2021 gold production outlook, and filed an updated technical report for the Oyu Tolgoi Project (OTTR). Gold production outlook for 2021 has increased to a range of 500,000 ounces– 550,000 ounces from 450,000 ounces – 500,000 ounces, the result of initiatives that have brought the higher grade gold bearing ore from the South West pit forward into 2020 and 2021.

The rise in the stock price of mining companies working in Mongolia and registered abroad -- such as Xanadu Mines, Mongolia Energy Corporation (MoEnCo), Mongolian Mining Corporation (Energy Resources) and others -- is a welcome indication that foreign investors expect stability here following the MPP’s return to power after a landslide victory in last month’s election. The highest growth the Hong Kong Stock Exchange was recorded by MoEnCo, and though the others did not match its 400-percent rise on a single day, shares of Energy Resources and SouthGobi Resources (SouthGobi Sands) also have risen by between 32% and 45%. It is now up to the new Government to make sure that investors’ confidence is not misplaced. 

Banking reforms would have to wait. The Spring session of the present Parliament, its last before members to its successor are elected, ended without completing discussions on them, presented as part of an economic package. Members of the Government were keen to make some progress on the reforms, and so was the IMF as part of its Extended Fund Facility package, but time was against them.  The ante was being upped even before the session began, with Prime Minister U. Khurelsukh saying on 27 March that the time was ripe to change the way the country’s commercial banks worked, warning that “if banks don’t accept our suggestion to reduce their lending rates, we shall have to take stern measures to see that this is done.”  Finance Minister Ch. Khurelbaatar followed this up on 14 April, when he said in Parliament that after two years of calling for banking sector reforms and asking for Parliament’s permission to let foreign banks work in

What with the pandemic and the excitement over the election, an important decision taken by the last Parliament just before its final session ended did not receive adequate attention. Following a Constitutional Court decision that Resolution #64 adopted by Parliament in 2014 had violated the Constitution it was resolved that the 267-km Tavantolgoi-Gashuunsukhait (TT-GS) railroad would have a broad gauge, thus closing a debate that had been going  on for years.  

Discover Mongolia-2019 Minerals and Mining Business Summit. September 27, 2019 Shangri La Hotel, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

9th Coal Mongolia 2019 International Coal Trade, Investment Conference and Exhibition, September 5-6th, 2019, Ulaanbaatar

It was heartening to see at the latest PDAC (The Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada) convention how Mongolia commanded the attention of many of the 25,843 attendees from more than 130 countries at the world’s premier annual mineral exploration and mining event, held in Toronto from March 3 to 6. 

Photo by R.Delger /MMJ/