Mongolia Brief June 24, 2014 Part IV
New Acting CEO and Board of Directors of Mongolian Stock Exchange Appointed
June
24 (infomongolia.com) Following the Government Resolution No.152 dated from May
10, 2014, the Mongolian Stock Exchange (MSE) JSC’s rights of shareholder and
duties were transferred to the Ministry of Finance of Mongolia.
Accordingly,
Mongolian Stock Exchange announced new members of the MSE Board of Directors
following a shareholding meeting decision made on June 23, 2014.
Newly
appointed Members of the Board of Directors are:
Chairman
of the Board of Directors
Mr.
Buyantogtokh NYAMAA, Director of Fiscal Policy and Debt Management Department
at the Ministry of Finance of Mongolia
Board
of Directors
-
Mr. Bazarkhuu DAAJAMBA, Vice Chairman of Financial Regulatory Commission of
Mongolia
-
Mr. Batsukh SUKH-OCHIR, Director of Internal Audit, Monitoring and Evaluation
Division at the Budget Control and Risk Management Department, Ministry of
Finance of Mongolia
-
Mr. Nanjid MUNKHBAT, Executive Director of Development Bank of Mongolia
-
Mr. Nemekhbayar ENKHBAYAR, Director of Economics, Finance and Investment Policy
Division at the Strategic Policy and Planning Department, Ministry of Mining of
Mongolia
-
Mr. Myagmarsuren BATGEREL, Director of Restructuring and Policy Implementation
Department at the State Property Committee
On
the same day, Mongolian Stock Exchange JSC’s Board of Directors held its
meeting and issued a Resolution No.04 to exempt from duty an incumbent Acting
CEO of MSE Mrs. Damdin BOLORMAA and to appoint Mr. Davaasuren ANGARAG as an Acting
CEO of MSE.
Naadam Festival grand opening ticket price set
June
24 (UB Post) Tickets for the Naadam Festival grand opening at Central Stadium
will be available to purchase starting July 1, at the cost of 16,000 MNT,
20,000 MNT and 24,000 MNT, depending on seat locations.
Ticket
reservations for tourists are available for tourist agencies, however, stadium
officials are reporting that the ticket quota might run short despite high
demand, as the number of stadium seats hasn’t been increased.
Chief
of the Social Development Policy Division of the Office of the Ulaanbaatar City
Governor B.Otgonbayar said, “We have discussed issuing electronic tickets for
the Naadam opening, but we can’t introduce a new ticketing system until next
year’s Naadam.”
Erdenet Mining Corporation reduces operational costs and increases income
June
24 (UB Post) Speaker of Mongolian Parliament Z.Enkhbold became acquainted with
the operations of Erdenet Mining Corporation’s ore processing factory last
Saturday.
Erdenet
Mining Corporation (EMC) is one of the biggest copper ore mining and processing
factories in Asia. EMC was established in accordance with an agreement between
the governments of Mongolia and the former Soviet Union in 1978.
EMC
processes 26 million tons of ore per year, and produces around 530 thousand
tons of copper concentrate and around 4.5 thousand tons of molybdenum
concentrate annually. Since 2012, EMC has been manufacturing import
substitution products for its facilities, such as spare parts, metal and rubber
structures, and molded plastic products in its machinery repair plant.
Factory
authorities reported that though EMC has been operating profitably since 2000,
the change in market prices of non-ferrous metals due to the global economic
and financial crisis has caused a decline in the company’s profit in recent
years.
EMC
introduced the Speaker of Parliament to projects worth 1.4 billion MNT being
implemented in accordance with a five-year contract established in 2013 between
EMC and Orkhon aimag. EMC is planning to transplant young birch and larch trees
being destroyed by the factory’s operations to Bayan-Ondor sum, reopen
Erdenet’s airport, repair and decorate the city’s children’s palace and summer
camp, and implement the “Erdenet Factory – Apartment” project. Speaker of
Parliament Z.Enkhbold reminded EMC of the importance of implementing projects
that will support the future economic growth and development of Orkhon aimag.
The
Speaker of Parliament also visited the molybdenum processing plant of Shim
Technology Ltd. Established in 2005, the plant employs 250 workers, processes
3,600 tons of molybdenum concentrate, and produces 2,500 tons of molybdenum
technical oxide and 800 kg of products containing rhenium annually. In order to
increase its efficiency, the plant invested 407,000 USD in maintenance. During
his visit, the Speaker of Parliament spoke with plant authorities and workers.
Minister
of Mining D.Gankhuyag and Advisor to the Speaker of Parliament Ts.Buyantsogt
accompanied Z.Enkhbold on his visit.
Government ministers attended the Mongolian Business Summit
June
24 (UB Post) Government ministers made a statement to foreign investors and
attendees of the Mongolian Business Summit, a hallmark event organized by the
Mongolian Economic Forum NGO in cooperation with the Economic Council in the
scope of the government’s “100-day action plan to stimulate economic growth”.
The
government’s public relations and social media office reported the following
statements:
Minister
of Mining D.Gankhuyag stated that an objective to make the legal environment
for the mining industry (which plays a major role in the Mongolian economy,
culture and budget) more sustainable and understandable in the long term is
being implemented. Parliament agreed to pass mining industry policy to adhere
to until 2025. Investors’ proposals to support private sector investment, not
to differentiate between investors based on property types or as foreign versus
domestic investors, and to sustain the legal environment were included in the
policy. Parliament will discuss the draft bill to make amendments to the
Minerals Law starting next week. He highlighted that the draft bill includes
goals to legalize objectives set in mineral industry policy, attract investment
to the exploration sector, and develop responsible mining.
Several
draft bills to improve the legal environment were submitted to the State Great
Khural by the Ministry of Finance. Minister of Economic Development N.Batbayar
said that objectives to create favorable conditions for investors, make the tax
law more flexible, and make running enterprises easier and more efficient are
included in the draft bills.
Minister
for Foreign Affairs L.Bold said that Mongolia will keep consistently
implementing policy to strengthen its position in regional and global economic
integration, and the relationship with its two neighboring countries. Allowing
the citizens of 42 countries to travel to Mongolia visa-free opens up broad
opportunities to develop further international cooperation, improve investment,
and support the tourism industry of Mongolia.
Minister
of Energy M.Sodnompil stated that the 50 MW expansion project for the Third
Thermal Power Plant in Ulaanbaatar was accomplished in a short time. The
nation’s energy demands will be met by expanding old power plants without
posing any difficulty to economic industries, and the development of large
energy resources requiring investment are being planned.
G.Jamsrandorj: It’s essential to make official estimates of mineral reserves
June
24 (UB Post) Mongolian miners and
geologists met up last month to established a nongovernmental organization
named Mongolian Institution of Geology and Mining (MIGM). G.Jamsrandorj, Ph.D.
of geological science, engineer and board member of the NGO, clarified some
important function and purpose of MIGM.
Why was it necessary to establish this
institution?
We
can say that presently all countries of the world are included in a unified
economic network. Mongolia is also included in this network. Seeing that
countries may face difficulties and misunderstandings without developing the
mining sector with integrated standards, criterion and investments, countries
united to establish an international template for reporting exploration
results, mineral resources and mineral reserves. The standard code for
reporting mineral reserves is convertible and adaptable to each member country,
and authorized people who estimate reserves are acknowledged in every country.
A
branch of this international template should be established in countries that
exploresand mine minerals. Mongolia didn’t have a branch. For the last ten
years, Mongolian geologists and miners debated and exchanged ideas to make
resources internationally accepted, and finally, we came to an agreement.
Miners and geologists were divided into three groups: those who wanted to
translate, copy and implement the international standard code in Mongolia
straight away, those who thought it wasn’t the time yet, and those who wanted
to create the standard themselves. By establishing MIGM, we established the
foundation for a national branch of the international template.
What sort of NGO is MIGM?
MIGM
is different from the ten thousand NGOs already established in Mongolia. More
than protecting the interests of the people, it gives more importance to the
nation’s interests, respects ethics and professional skills of Mongolian
geologists and miners, and takes responsibilities both domestically and
internationally.
Since it’s only the beginning for the
national branch, does this mean that Mongolia hasn’t joined the international
template?
Mongolia
hasn’t joined yet. The abbreviated name for the international template for
reporting mineral reserves is CRIRSCO. The USA, Canada, Australia, Russia,
South Africa and European Union have joined it. Mongolia is pre-negotiating and
doing preparation work to join CRIRSCO in October. MIGM is one proof of how active
Mongolia is.
What does Mongolia have to do to join? Is
there any terms and conditions?
Of
course, there is. First of all, we established an NGO for it. It’s required to
have official mineral reserves and resource classification, which are
commensurate with the international classification, and have a regulation and
standard for reporting mineral reserves. We’re now developing both of these
requirements. All of these regulations and changes were included in the draft
law to make amends to the Mineral Law.
You said Mongolia is to join CRIRSCO in
October, can you clarify that?
The
work to join CRIRSCO started in 2012. Relevant government agencies mutually
agreed and according to the conclusion of agreements, a meeting of CRIRSCO will
be held in Mongolia in October. CRIRSCO experts used to frequently visit
Mongolia to overview our work, give professional advice and introduce
international standards, criterion and experience. This is a form of
cooperation and agreement.
What are the requirements set for Mongolian
specialists for this sector?
For
qualifications and experience, specialists of this sector must reach and be
acceptable at international levels. Mongolia has many people who meet this
qualification. There are several geologists in Mongolia with certificates from
internationally approved agencies for reporting mineral reserves of other
countries. For instance, the Managing Director of MIGM B.Oyungerel. Identifying
and training people of these capabilities is one of our institution’s
objectives. The most important aspect is ethics issues of specialists.
When determining resources, what could be
the reasons for professional mistakes? Do they lack skills and capacity or do
they deliberately make mistakes?
It’s
common for license holders of deposits to exaggerate the amount of a deposit in
order to sell and profit. This is to raise deposit prices higher. Sometimes, it
may be the opposite. They may try to understate the amount of resources. For
example, in Mongolia, the government deems coal deposits of more than 100
million tons of strategic importance. When deposits are classified like so,
license holders have to give up 34 percent of their revenue to the government.
Therefore, license holders try to set the amount of resource lesser than it
actually is. Due to these sorts of issues, investors bring authorized experts
from abroad and get them to determine resource amounts. Furthermore, Mongolia
doesn’t have a national standard code for reporting mineral reserves. If
Mongolia joins CRIRSCO and stock exchanges are able to trust national
specialists to make reserve estimates at international level, the above issue
will gradually be eliminated.
What exactly are reserve estimates?
After
being estimated through surveys, minerals and mineral concentrations of
sufficient amount and acceptable mineral quality for mining can be explored. If
reserves are beneficial for mining, it’s considered as deposit. For example, if
phosphorus and sulfur content in iron ores exceed relevant requirements
(thresholds set by factories) the deposit isn’t appropriate to use because its
iron resources content isn’t sufficient.
Then what is resource classification?
Resource
classification is basically a complex set of requirements set for doing mineral
explorations. Overall, it’s a general requirement or a standard to resolve all
issues related to future mining, including determining distance between
drillings depending on mineral types, which mineral should take up how much
percentage of total resource, how a certain percentage of a mineral should be
extracted in order to mine and such. Reserves are assessed and drilled to some
decree, whereas, resources are minerals that haven’t been completely assessed
and are at estimation stage. Since it’s only being estimated, it may not
necessarily be there.
In order to get specialists that reach
international levels and to increase their number, what does Mongolia need to
do?
I’m
sure MIGM will eventually give trainings and advices to geologists and miners
to increase their professionalism. It’ll be better if the training is not done
for academic purposes like it is now, but to increase their professionalism
through practical work and by giving them work experience. We have every
necessary condition to do this in Mongolia. We can exchange experience and ideas
with foreign specialists. We can organize practical work at mines in the
country or in foreign countries, and then, give out special certificates. We’ll
consider both their professional capacity and ethics. These people will
determine mineral reserves and resources and their decision will contribute in
deciding whether to mine that deposit. This means that investments will be
possible as soon as they estimate resources and say it’s ready to mine, without
any external interference. Currently, the Minerals Council of Mongolia (MCM) is
carrying out duties to approve and register mineral resources. If we train
specialists in this profession, the MCM will no longer need to participate in
estimating reserves.
Will the MCM become unemployed in a few
years?
I
assume that this work will start in two to three years. During this period, our
NGO will cooperate with the Mongolia Stock Exchange, Ministry of Mining,
Mineral Resources Authority and banks to establish a committee for reporting
mineral reserves. This organization will become a member of the international
organization, CRIRSCO, and work with them. A member of MIGM and an authorized
person will be responsible for determining mineral reserves. The MCM will
probably have nothing to do. Their obligation to discuss and register mineral
reserves will be transferred to others and they’ll be left with only accepting
geological works that are financed through the state budget.
Who will pay specialist to determine
mineral reserves?
According
to current practices, companies doing mineral explorations contribute a certain
amount for giving salaries to experts who review estimates and write up reports
as well as for having reserves discussed by the MCM, have it registered in the
registry, and to conduct technical and economic feasibility studies. If
international regulations are adopted, I assume a specialized person can do all
of these works just once and get the same amount of salary. However, it’s
not certain at the moment.
Many
procedures and bureaucracy will decrease by having one person do all of these
works. With the current practice, there are many procedures related to mineral
reserves. Just to do feasibility study for reserves, one or more years are
required and after transferring the issue to many different organizations and
people, a special mining license is approved. These procedures waste much time
and effort of many people. However, by making a specific group responsible for
this work, these procedures will be simplified and the amount will be reduced
drastically.
A.Baskhuu nominated for FILA Hall of Fame
June
24 (UB Post) The International Federation of Associated Wrestling Styles (FILA)
decided during its Bureau meeting on June 14, to induct State Honored Coach of
Mongolia A.Baskhuu in their International Wrestling Hall of Fame this year.
FILA
announced that it will finance all required expenses for the induction ceremony
for A.Baskhuu , who will be the ninth referee to join the Hall of Fame. The
exact date of the ceremony has not been announced yet.
A.Baskhuu
is the chief coach of all national wrestling teams of the Sports Training
Center of the Ministry of Culture, Sport and Tourism, and is the only Mongolian
to serve as a referee in six Olympics, 30 world championships, four world cups
and 45 European and Asian championships.
He
was awarded the “Golden Whistle” at the 1988 Seoul Olympics, and has also
received the prestigious FILA Gold Star, the highest honor awarded by the
International Wrestling Federation in recognition of brilliant referee skills
and contributions to the sport.
O.Gundegmaa displays top form at ISSF World Cup
June
24 (UB Post) After a lengthy break, Mongolia’s top female shooter O.Gundegmaa
has shown that’s she’s on top form at the International Shooting Sport
Federation (ISSF) 2014 World Cup Rifle / Pistol in Maribor, Slovenia,
with a silver medal in the 25 meter pistol category.
She
also ranked sixth in the 10 meter pistol with 114.5 points, out of 82 shooters
in the World Cup. She qualified from the preliminaries to the final round with
384 points in total. Mongolian International Master of Sports E.Davaakhuu
competed in the men’s 10 meter pistol and ranked 15th with 578 points, out of
85 shooters.
O.Gundegmaa
and E.Davaakhuu returned on Saturday and many of their supporters welcomed them
home and congratulated their achievements at the airport.
President of 2014 Incheon Asian Games visits Mongolia
June
24 (UB Post) The President of the 2014 Incheon Asian Games Organizing Committee
Kim Youngsoo and other delegates are discussing collaborative projects and the
Asian Games with the Mongolian National Olympic Committee, as part of their
official visit to Ulaanbaatar ending tomorrow.
The
17th Asian Games will kick off on September 19 and will challenge athletes
until October 4, in the third largest city in South Korea, Incheon.
Athletes
from 45 Asian countries are preparing themselves to compete at the Incheon 2014
Asian Games in 38 sports categories. South Korea previously hosted the Asian
Games in Seoul in 1986 and in Busan in 2002.
Mongolian
athletes have participated in the Asian Games nine times since 1974. This time,
Mongolia is sending 340 athletes to vie for medals in 25 sports, according to a
preliminary statement addressed to the organizing committee.
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