UAF and U.S. ambassador to Mongolia connect through common interests Read more: Fairbanks Daily News-Miner - UAF and U S ambassador to Mongolia connect through common interests
FAIRBANKS — The U.S. ambassador to Mongolia spent Wednesday touring Fairbanks, working to forge relationships between two areas he said have a surprising amount in common.
Even though they’re literally half a world apart, Alaska and Mongolia have a natural kinship, Ambassador Jonathan Addleton said. As rugged cold-weather areas with sparse populations and vast mineral resources, the two areas have the potential for good partnerships, he said.
“My trip is partly to understand it better,” Addleton said.
The heart of the budding relationship could be based on mining. Mongolia is among the hottest spots on the globe for new mining activity, and the industry in Alaska has a long expertise working in a similar environment.
Rajive Ganguli, chairman of the University of Alaska Fairbanks Department of Mining and Geological Engineering, has spent much of the past four years building connections between the school and the Mongolian mining industry. He said UAF offers cutting-edge technology and education for a country just starting to realize the potential of its mineral wealth.
The massive Oly Tolgoi mine is expected to open in Mongolia in 2013, with plans to produce 1.2 billion pounds of copper and 650,000 ounces of gold per year in the first decade of operation.
Ganguli said he hopes more formal ties will lead to overseas opportunities for UAF graduates.
“They’ve always had mines there, but now they need Western productivity,” Ganguli said. “I think we have a lot to offer.”
Some of those ties are already in place, including a formal exchange program that will allow students to study for two years at the Mongolian University of Science and Technology and finish their mining engineering degree in three more years at UAF.
Addleton said mining in Mongolia faces some of the same challenges Alaska has seen in its mining history, such as preserving cultural values and the environment.
“The thought is there could be lessons learned and training for Mongolians in that area,” Addleton said.
Mongolia also has long-standing ties with the Alaska National Guard, which has helped the country with military training for much of the past decade. Guard units helped many countries in the area as they shifted toward democracies in the past 20 years, said Maj. Wayne Don.
A National Guard advisory team also worked with roughly 400 Mongolia troops stationed in Afghanistan starting in 2009.
“It’s really been a great partnership and a good one for us to highlight,” said Maj. Wayne Don.
Addleton’s visit also included meetings with Fairbanks Mayor Jerry Cleworth and other city leaders. Fairbanks has sister-city ties with the Mongolian city of Erdenet.
Even though they’re literally half a world apart, Alaska and Mongolia have a natural kinship, Ambassador Jonathan Addleton said. As rugged cold-weather areas with sparse populations and vast mineral resources, the two areas have the potential for good partnerships, he said.
“My trip is partly to understand it better,” Addleton said.
The heart of the budding relationship could be based on mining. Mongolia is among the hottest spots on the globe for new mining activity, and the industry in Alaska has a long expertise working in a similar environment.
Rajive Ganguli, chairman of the University of Alaska Fairbanks Department of Mining and Geological Engineering, has spent much of the past four years building connections between the school and the Mongolian mining industry. He said UAF offers cutting-edge technology and education for a country just starting to realize the potential of its mineral wealth.
The massive Oly Tolgoi mine is expected to open in Mongolia in 2013, with plans to produce 1.2 billion pounds of copper and 650,000 ounces of gold per year in the first decade of operation.
Ganguli said he hopes more formal ties will lead to overseas opportunities for UAF graduates.
“They’ve always had mines there, but now they need Western productivity,” Ganguli said. “I think we have a lot to offer.”
Some of those ties are already in place, including a formal exchange program that will allow students to study for two years at the Mongolian University of Science and Technology and finish their mining engineering degree in three more years at UAF.
Addleton said mining in Mongolia faces some of the same challenges Alaska has seen in its mining history, such as preserving cultural values and the environment.
“The thought is there could be lessons learned and training for Mongolians in that area,” Addleton said.
Mongolia also has long-standing ties with the Alaska National Guard, which has helped the country with military training for much of the past decade. Guard units helped many countries in the area as they shifted toward democracies in the past 20 years, said Maj. Wayne Don.
A National Guard advisory team also worked with roughly 400 Mongolia troops stationed in Afghanistan starting in 2009.
“It’s really been a great partnership and a good one for us to highlight,” said Maj. Wayne Don.
Addleton’s visit also included meetings with Fairbanks Mayor Jerry Cleworth and other city leaders. Fairbanks has sister-city ties with the Mongolian city of Erdenet.
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