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Close: Mongolia Related ASX Listed Companies, July 1, 2011 | ||||||||
Code | Last | $ +/- | Bid | Offer | Open | High | Low | Volume |
0.047 | 0.003 | 0.047 | 0.048 | 0.049 | 0.052 | 0.047 | 9,957,922 | |
1.380 | 0.010 | 1.355 | 1.400 | 1.350 | 1.400 | 1.300 | 757,478 | |
0.240 | 0.015 | 0.230 | 0.240 | 0.230 | 0.245 | 0.230 | 113,459 | |
0.600 | 0.030 | 0.600 | 0.610 | 0.590 | 0.620 | 0.580 | 1,511,414 | |
0.011 | 0.001 | 0.010 | 0.011 | 0.010 | 0.011 | 0.010 | 3,893,883 | |
0.004 | 0.000 | 0.004 | 0.006 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0 | |
0.110 | 0.010 | 0.110 | 0.115 | 0.100 | 0.115 | 0.096 | 22,412,206 | |
0.160 | 0.010 | 0.155 | 0.160 | 0.155 | 0.175 | 0.155 | 538,956 | |
1.120 | 0.000 | 1.100 | 1.120 | 1.135 | 1.135 | 1.095 | 729,031 | |
0.250 | 0.000 | 0.250 | 0.265 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0 | |
0.470 | -0.010 | 0.350 | 0.470 | 0.470 | 0.470 | 0.460 | 23,150 | |
0.515 | 0.015 | 0.500 | 0.515 | 0.500 | 0.530 | 0.500 | 396,674 | |
20.670 | -0.180 | 20.650 | 20.670 | 20.990 | 21.050 | 20.560 | 828,282 | |
82.830 | -0.160 | 82.820 | 82.830 | 82.750 | 83.000 | 82.440 | 1,949,737 | |
43.770 | -0.030 | 43.770 | 43.780 | 43.970 | 44.070 | 43.640 | 7,857,148 | |
Source: asx.com.au
Hunnu doubles the resource estimate for Unst Khudag Thermal Coal Project, Mongolia
July 1 (Fortbridge) Hunnu Coal (ASX:HUN) announces an upgraded JORC compliant resource estimate for the Unst Khudag Coal Project, Mongolia. The 100% increase takes the JORC Resource to 676Mt to a depth of 150m.
Highlights:
· 100% increase to JORC Resources at Unst Khudag
· JORC Resource of 676Mt to a depth of 150m
· 601Mt classified as Measured (541Mt) and Indicated (60Mt).
· Further upgrades to the JORC Resource model expected in the latter half of 2011 with additional drilling underway.
· A total of 325 drill holes for 28,245 metres were utilised in the JORC Resource estimate.
· The Company is in advanced discussions for off-take with potential future buyers of Unst Khudag Project coal.
· 100% owned rail loading spur at Choir railway station nearing completion. 3Mt per annum of capacity secured on the existing Trans-Mongolian Railway.
· Feasibility study into delivery of rail to mine gate nearing completion.
· New development concept being scoped. +20 year mine life, delivering a product at +5,000Kcal to the Chinese border from the Unst Khudag Mine at a rate of 10Mt to 20Mt per annum.
· Hunnu Coal now has Total JORC Resources across its projects of 766Mt.
· Initial JORC estimate currently being calculated for the Altai Nuurs Premium Hard Coking Coal Project. Altai Nuurs has an Exploration Target* of 250Mt to 500Mt.
· Upgraded JORC estimate currently being completed for the Tsant Uul Project which currently has a JORC Resource of 90Mt.
Erdene Files National Instrument 43-101 Compliant Technical Report for Zuun Mod Copper-Molybdenum Project on SEDAR
HALIFAX, NOVA SCOTIA--(Marketwire - June 30, 2011) - Erdene Resource Development Corp.("Erdene") (TSX:ERD), is pleased to announce that it has received and filed on Sedar a National Instrument 43-101 ("NI 43-101") compliant Technical Report for the Company's Zuun Mod molybdenum-copper project in Mongolia. The report includes an updated resource estimate prepared by Minarco-MineConsult, part of Runge Limited, ("Minarco") following 4,331 metres of additional drilling (15 drill holes) completed in late 2010 and reported in a press release June 2, 2011.
The updated Zuun Mod molybdenum-copper resource estimate has a Measured and Indicated ("M&I") resource of 218 million tonnes ("Mt") at an average grade of 0.057% molybdenum ("Mo"), and 0.069% copper ("Cu") at a cut-off grade ("cog") of 0.04% Mo. This equates to 273.5 million pounds ("M lbs") of contained Mo metal and 330.7 M lbs of contained Cu metal. In addition, there is a 168 Mt Inferred Resource at an average grade of 0.052% Mo and 0.065% Cu, equating to a further 191.8 M lbs of contained Mo metal and 240.5 M lbs of contained Cu metal.
C @ Limited Broadcasat
July 1, C @ Limited (ASX:CEO) provides the opportunity to listen to an audio broadcast with the Company’s Managing Director, Mark Earley, in a presentation titled “C@ intersects significant coal seams in Mongolia”.
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Water sources being counted
July 1 (news.mn) Water sources in the country are identified and counted every four years, and 801 citizens divided into 48 teams have been engaged in the work since May 15. The Ministry of Nature, Environment and Tourism and the Water Board are jointly responsible for the exercise.
Around 57.8% of the area in all aimags and soums has so far been covered but progress has been delayed because of fuel shortage and lack of vehicles. The work is planned to be finished before July 15.
Both party groups want referendum on election system
July 1 (news.mn) The head of the DP group in Parliament, Ch.Saikhanbileg, has announced his group’s support to the MPP group’s suggestion to hold a national referendum on the draft election law. The referendum is planned to be held on the last Sunday of September, so that its results are known before the Autumn session of Parliament begins on October 3. Saikhanbileg said the proposed referendum will also cover amendments to the Constitution.
The proposal for referendum is likely to be placed before Parliament next week and will need the support of two thirds of MPs to be passed. A referendum will require the same amount of money as a parliamentary election. If Parliament approves the proposal it will be the second referendum in modern times in Mongolia. The first was in 1945 when Mongolians voted for independence.
E.Bat-Uul demands resignation of PM
July 1 (news.mn) MP E.Bat-Uul called a press conference yesterday to demand the resignation of S.Batbold as Prime Minister.
Bat-Uul explained that certain actions of the Managing Council of the MPP have gone against decisions of Parliament which is the supreme authority of the state. Batbold is also chairman of his party and should be held responsible for his party’s violation of the rights and authority of Parliament, Bat-Uul said.
Intergovernmental commission discusses fuel supply issue
July 1 (news.mn) The Mongolia-Russia intergovernmental commission is meeting in Ulaan-Ud city of Buriatia from June 29 to July 1.
Yesterday’s meeting discussed fuel supply and the letter from Rosneft LLC to the Ministry of Mineral Resources and Energy of Mongolia.
What will happen if Mongolia doesn’t cooperate with Russia?
June 1 (UB Post) Even though officials are saying that the petroleum supply is going normally there is still shortage of fuel. Prime Minister S.Batbold wanted to clarify who was telling the truth so he met with D.Zorigt, Minister of Mineral resources and energy and D.Amarsaikhan, director of Petroleum Authority of Mongolia, last Tuesday.
There are 28,960 tons of diesel fuel, including potential stockpiles and oncoming fuel. D.Zorigt said that “Shunkhlai” and “Magnai Trade” companies were providing petroleum products by cash, others only by cards and vouchers. According to him the diesel fuel supply is running normally.
Operations of the mining companies are as usual, as well. There is no problem with A-95, A-80. But A-92 is still an issue. The Minister admitted the situation has worsened over the weekend.
“I met petroleum product importers yesterday. There are 7,500 tons of diesel fuel inventory and another 8,450 tons on the way. That is enough for 2 weeks consumption.
That means the situation is normal. A fuel station used to sell 2,000 liters of petroleum a day yet now 10,000 liters. I have ordered to stop providing petroleum by card and voucher. Now stations are selling fuel by cash up to 20,000 tugrugs maximum” said D.Zorigt.
He requested the Prime Minister to solve problems such as railways, uranium and Tavantolgoi and to discuss the “Rosneft” proposals with The National Security Council and Great Khural.
He said that Russia had been boycotting saying that “If we don’t cooperate with Russia in the fields of uranium, railway, Tavantolgoi deposit…. such problems will be getting bigger, if we don’t solve those problems” he said.
“We have nine sources of petroleum product” said D.Amarsaikhan. Officials are discussing to have three more.
The Prime Minister notified they will be negotiating petroleum supply during the intergovernmental commission meeting between Mongolia and Russia that will be held next month.
China and Russia Compete for Mongolian Coal
July 1 (The Moscow Times) Mongolia said Thursday that it has halved the number of shortlisted bidders seeking to develop the prized Tavan Tolgoi coking coal mine to three, and Chinese and Russian groups are still in the running.
Results of the bid will be announced within days, the Mongolian government said in a statement.
It did not give the names of the bidders who have been shortlisted. However, the Mongolian ambassador to China said separately in Beijing that the government would consider the interests of its two neighbors and that the groups including Chinese and Russian firms were still in the running.
That means two consortiums — Shenhua Energy with Japan's Mitsui and the group comprising Russian Railways, POSCO, utility KEPCO and others — would likely be the final winners.
The Tavan Tolgoi coal deposit, in Mongolia's south Gobi region, has estimated reserves of 6 billion tons of coal, including the world's largest untapped deposit of steelmaking coking coal, which is increasingly hard to find.
Mongolia, which has a gross domestic product of about $6 billion, is hoping to use Tavan Tolgoi to bankroll its long list of infrastructure investments around the country.
The government has previously said more than one winner may be picked to develop the project. The shortlisting came after 18 rounds of talks with all six bidders over issues such as pre-payment, mine management and environmental concerns.
ArcelorMittal, Vale, Xstrata and U.S. Peabody are the remaining contenders.
Mongolia is to have underground subway
July 1 (UB Post) Today, the traffic jams in Ulaanbaatar, home to over a million people, are a pressing issue in need of an urgent solution. City dwellers despair at wasting their precious time sitting in jams. But expanding and reconstructing roads is perhaps not the perfect way to tackle the issue.
On 28th June the city administrations introduced the solutions of the problem to members of parliament. By creating a subway, using buses running on special tracks, building a railway in front of Bogd Khan Mountain, as well as utilizing light railway we can renew the public transportation system and reduce traffic jams.
For instance, by using buses on special tracks, it is possible to transport between 25 and 50 thousand people per hour at an average speed of 27 kmph. According to the precalculation of Ulaanbaatar Public Transport Authority, about USD 200 million is required to implement this project which will be completed by 2020.
However, the project of Korean company “Susang engineering” to build a metro system in Ulaanbaatar caught the attention of MPs.
The company drafted the project in compliance with the general layout of Ulaanbaatar and projects which will be implemented in the city.
A small sized subway is suitable for Mongolia, said a representative at Susang Company’s. Besides its serviceability in Mongolia's harsh climate, this kind of subway requires a smaller budget for construction whilst at the same time providing a safe transport solution.
The subway line will be divided into three directions: west to the east, from south to the north and rotary. The 18 km circular subway construction which will be created in the congested part of downtown and will be erected 15 meters underground.
Besides, the subway construction in new settlement regions are planned to be erected in bridge structure for transportation over the roads
During the subway construction, sewerages will be regulated and systematized and be constructed without interrupting the traffic.
This project requires MNT 4.9 trillion. MP Ts. Gankhuu met the project and said “The underground subway is the most suitable system for Mongolian public transport.
But at MNT 4.9 trillion it is hugely over budget. When I drafted the project to create a subway, it was estimated to spend MNT 1 billion to build a 22 km subway from Tavanshar to Botany Park” he said.
Previously, when he took part in the election, he introduced his project to build a subway in Ulaanbaatar.
“At least one subway line should be created in the Ulaanbaatar.” The money which is required for the project is to be issued in the near future by the government.
According to the statement of the Susang Company, the cost of the subway construction is increasing by 20 percent each year. Thus, by composing a working group, 20 members of the parliament decided to collaborate with the city administrations to gain time and save money.
The date of the project beginning will be clear after the economic evaluation of the transport.
If we build a subway connecting Darkhan, Erdenetet and Ulaanbaatar, our capital city will not be overcrowded and people will be able go to commute to work from other destinations.
Mongol Bank has deficit of MNT253.8 billion
June 30 (news.mn)The Inspecting Council of the Mongol Bank recently discussed its financial report for 2010 and decided to send a copy of it to the Standing Committee of Parliament. The report says the Bank ended the year with a deficit of MNT253 billion and 805 million, because of currency rate differences. The Council recommended issuing bonds to plug the deficit.
It also decided to prepare a repayment schedule for the MNT116 billion loan taken by the Government.
9.8% MONGOLIAN INFLATION, STILL GROWING RAPIDLY
RISKS OF HYPERINFLATION STILL PRESENT
MONGOLIA REMAINS VULNERABLE TO HIGH VARIATIONS IN ITS INFLATION TERMS DUE TO OVER-RELIANCE ON IMPORTED PRODUCTS SUCH AS FUEL AND FOOD.
July 1 (M.A.D.) Yesterday, the Bank of Mongolia stated in a press conference that the current rates of inflation in Mongolia were extremely volatile. 15% in February, 7% in June and now 9.8%.
The Bank of Mongolia issued a comprehensive document which covered three topics, the volatility in the inflation movements, the payments and general accountancy between the various banks of Mongolia and a document concerned with the financing of SME’s in Mongolia.
The Bank further announced that inflation rose by 2.8% in Ulaanbaatar and 1.8% Nationally in the last month. The Bank of Mongolia explained that the largest factor in the growth of inflation in food products as well as the fuel shortages issues that Mongolia has been facing in the last month.
The Bank of Mongolia would like to stabilise inflation at around 5.5% as they believe this is an ideal level for Mongolia to remain competitive and enjoy healthy growth. There still remains a risk of hyperinflation in Mongolia.
EBM Consulting sees increased demand for VIP Facilitation Services in Mongolia
June 30 (AddPR.com) EBM Consulting, the leading due diligence and risk mitigation company with offices in Hong Kong and Mongolia, reported an upsurge in interest in it's Mongolian "VIP Facilitation Services."
"The EBM VIP Facilitation Service offers executives the comfort of having their trips to Mongolia professionally project managed from arrival to departure," said Mark McMillan, Chief Operations Officer at EBM Consulting.
"In the last few months we've seen an upsurge in demand for our VIP and Executive Facilitation Services in Mongolia, with particular interest in the provision of airport facilitation, transportation, personal protection and concierge services."
"EBM personnel have been operating in Mongolia for several years and we opened our office in Ulaanbaatar in March 2011," Mr McMillan continued.
Mark McMillan heads up the management of the "EBM VIP Facilitation Service" in Mongolia. Mr McMillan has seven years’ experience of providing and managing Executive Protection and Facilitation Services in Asia and the Middle East, including five years as a VIP close protection operative in Iraq.
EBM's VIP Facilitation Service is available in Asian jurisdictions including the Philippines, Vietnam, China, Indonesia, Thailand and Singapore.
‘OANA meeting in Mongolia, a step toward development of global media’
July 2 (Tehran Times) TEHRAN – The managing director of Montsame, the Mongolian news agency, has said the recent meeting of the OANA was a major step toward the development of global media.
The Organization of Asia-Pacific News Agencies (OANA) held its 33rd Executive Board meeting on Tuesday and Wednesday in Ulaanbaatar, the capital city of Mongolia.
The director also described the meeting as positive, expressing hope that such a meeting will improve cooperation between regional media outlets.
At the end of the event, OANA president also thanked the members for their active participation in the meeting.
During the meeting, it was also decided that the fiftieth anniversary of OANA to be held in Bangkok, Thailand.
Established in 1961, OANA aims to secure direct and free flow of news in the region. Turkey currently holds the rotating presidency of OANA
Official refuses to give certificate to MPRP leaders
July 1 (news.mn) Ambassador to Russia D.Idevkhten is in Mongolia on vacation but many suspect his visit is related to the refusal of the State Registrar General to give to MPRP leaders N.Enkhbayar and Ts.Shinebayar the certificate of their party’s registration as ordered by the Supreme Court. The name MPRP has been registered under D.Idevkhten since 1997, when he was its Secretary General and N.Enkhbayar the Chairman.
Managing officials of the MPRP have called on Idevkhten to discuss the matter.
N.Enkhbayar: I want to apologise and correct my wrongdoings
-Mongolian People’s Revolutionary Party is to stay at the top of people’s heart-
July 1 (UB Post) N.Enkhbayar, leader of The Mongolian People’s Revolutionary Party (MPRP), attended the MPRP’s press conference yesterday. He was accompanied by Ts.Shinebayar, MPRP’s Deputy Chairman, N.Udval, MPRP’s General Secretary and other party members.
They announced that MPRP officially took the name Mongolian People’s Revolutionary Party, and claimed that justice was on their side, and not on the side of The Mongolian People’s Party (MPP).
They also addressed the other political forces in Mongolia and announced that MPRP would solidify national unity and work for the sake of people through solving social problems today by making necessary changes to educational and health institutions.
MPRP also called for other political forces to cooperate against harmful policies of The Mongolian People’s Party and The Mongolian Democratic Party at the press conference. It appears that MPRP has prioritized three tasks above all things.
The first task is to work for equal distribution of the profit that comes from natural resources. They specifically informed journalists that they would work for handing all of Tavan Tolgoi shares to the people.
The next big task MPRP prioritized is about the 1st July incident, where many people’s rights were horribly violated and five people lost their lives.
MPRP expressed its condolence to the people who were injured and families of those killed and announced 1st July was to be the day to protect those whose rights were violated in the incident.
The other task MPRP is focusing on is to make parliamentary elections fair.
They are planning to discuss election laws with other political forces. At the end of the press conference, MPRP gave MPP a warning to stop making allegations about MPRP registering in The Supreme Court was illegal.
They noted such allegations were illegal and unethical and told that they would not be under pressure just because of criticizing policies of MPP and MDP. After MPRP made this final statement, journalists had a chance to ask questions, most of which were directed at N.Enkhbayar; the party leader.
-What about properties of MPRP? Is MPRP going to take its properties from MPP?
-We can talk a lot about properties. But I do not think this is the main problem. It is not important if a party has properties or not. What is important is that every Mongolian has to own roperties. Therefore, firstly, we will work for handing over Tavan Tolgoi mine to the people.
-How about the headquarters building? Is MPRP going to have a new one?
-Everyone is talking about the headquarter building. They had a building built called “The Palace of Independence”. People, not us or them, should own that building. I said this few months ago. We need a lawsuit here.
We must remember who donated how much for the MPP headquarter building. For instance Nyamtaishir, the director of Mongolian Gold Group; known as MAK, donated one billion tugrugs.
He did not donate for charity, but for MPP’s headquarters building. He did that because he had support from people in MPP. You should be investigating this, not asking me if I will try to take over that building. Let me ask you if you tried to investigate. My guess is they did not allow you to do so.
-MPRP was in Mongolian politics from the beginning; for whole 90 years . Whose history would that become now? MPP or MPRP?
-MPP has to stop acting like the history of the whole 90 years is theirs. That 90 years history belongs to all Mongolians. There is no such thing that some political party could actually own that. Therefore, let us all own that history.
-Is your party going to be viewed as a new political party registered as 19th to be the register; or as the first and oldest political party of Mongolia?
-We will be at the top in people’s hearts and we will work hard to achieve that. The number on the sheet is not relevant. In some countries of the world they decide which party’s name is to be written at the top in election sheet by drawing lots.
MPP is being made obsolete talking about numbers on sheets. They still keep going against a fair election and they are saying “MPRP is a new party whose number is 19th. MPP’s number is 1st.”
-Election law is being discussed in the parliamentary assembly. However, the discussion is stuck at the moment because MPP is going for a majoritarian voting system and MDP wants a proportional system. Which side are you on?
-People ask why I didn't talk before, like I do now. A human being is always changing whereas rocks stay the same, but plants grow differently every year. What I want to say is a living thinkgs always change. That is why I changed.
Unfortunately, many people who used to work with me are changing in a bad way, when changing we have to become better . The two big political parties were always competing, one left-wing party and one right-wing party, and people were making decisions based on who was better and hoped for growth and development.
Election law was perfectly suited for that competition. I held that opinion about election law for a while. However, people who thought just like me lost control and started making decisions against people.
Therefore, I came to think that this electoral system was creating two irresponsible political forces and that was not right. It turned out bad for people because it created the July 1st incident, it did not allow people to fully own Tavan Tolgoi and it allowed the Oyu Tolgoi contract to be made wrong.
That is why I think new political forces have to be given a chance to come into parliament. Therefore, I think the right system is a mixed electoral system.
-Are you not the one who taught today’s MPP to act like they do?
-I understood that and now, I want to fix my mistakes. We did some good, but we also did some wrong. When I say let us all apologise to our people and correct our wrongdoings, they keep telling me “No, you are the only one to blame, not us.” If they are not to blame, why did they make the Oyu Tolgoi contract wrong? Why are not they doing what they promised to do in their agenda for the last election?
Why are not they giving Tavan Tolgoi to people? Why were people shot at 1st July incident and who shot them? These questions are theirs to answer. When I tell them to cooperate, they are saying “no” to me.
They should answer those questions. They are changing in a bad way; when I am changing in a good way. I want to tell them to think about the Mongolian people.
-B.Hurts is held in jail in London. That case is often linked to you. What do you say about that?
-I do not want to talk about this because it is classified. However, today’s Mongolian government made classified material public and made an announcement that favours absolutely no one.
I told the political leaders about this. How can you make classified material public even when that does not favor B.Hurts? I do not understand if they are trying to help or harm B.Hurts. All I want to say is that we should bring that man back to Mongolia by doing everything we can.
-People are saying that many more MPP members will be joining MPRP after MPRP finally took its name and there are discussions going on about a group forming in parliamentary assembly. What do you say about this?
-Every MPRP candidate who ran for 2008 election belongs to MPRP today. They probably think that they have to face their people and voters under the name MPRP. I hope they will do that.
-Did MPRP get its name with the support of the President?
-There is no such thing. It has been long time since I saw the President. According to Article 6.3 and 15.6 of the Political Parties Law, a name of an existing party cannot be adopted and a new name can be adopted. In the Supreme Court’s register, there was not any political party called MPRP.
Therefore, there was no problem for us to adopt the name. There was not any support from the President or anyone. We could have adopted our name a lot sooner if we looked at the matter according to the law, but MPP made the process longer.
Made for Mongolia: An Ambassador for the Times
Jonathan Addleton was born in Pakistan but has roots in middle Georgia. He represents the U.S. in Mongolia during a time of economic transformation.
Note: GlobalAtlanta's Trevor Williams traveled to Mongolia in late February. He is currently putting together a special report about the country's economy and the Georgia connections he found there.
June 30 (GlobalAtlanta) By Georgia standards, it's a frigid February day when Jonathan Addleton climbs a flight of stairs to the top of the Genghis Khan monument on the outskirts of this dusty capital city.
But the American ambassador to this nation of 3 million people is accustomed to far colder weather. Mongolian winters are sunny, but temperatures can sink to 40 degrees below zero when the constant blue skies give way to night.
Some call it gaudy, the 131-foot silver statue honoring the man credited with founding the Mongol empire more than 800 years ago. Seated on a horse, the great khan looks sternly out over a snow-covered landscape that - except for a few rail spurs and one paved highway - hasn't changed much since he first roamed it.
Mongols once commanded the largest land empire in history. Now their Alaska-sized, landlocked country is sandwiched between two global powers, China and Russia.
It has a tiny population, but beneath the sweeping steppes lies vast and largely untapped mineral wealth in the form of coal, gold, copper, uranium and rare-earth minerals.
A former communist country with close Soviet ties but now a market-based democracy, Mongolia's strategic role in north and Central Asia is expected to grow along with its small but dynamic economy. The International Monetary Fund projects gross domestic expansion of about 10 percent this year as mining firms uncover more bounty from beneath the earth.
The country's potential isn't lost on Mr. Addleton, a descendant of Georgia farmers with a deep family history in Macon.
He became U.S. envoy to here in 2009, but it wasn't his first rodeo in a land that famously has more horses than people. He spent 2001-04 heading up the U.S. Agency for International Development.
That was around the time potential foreign investments in the Oyu Tolgoi gold and copper deposit began making headlines. Now, mining consortia from all over the world are lining up to tap if further, with their eyes also set on Tavan Tolgoi, which has one of the largest untapped deposits of coking coal, a key component in making steel.
As Mr. Addleton reaches the monument's outdoor observatory atop the horse's head, he meets a group on a staff retreat. It doesn't take long before he's recognized.
It's unplanned, but it can hardly be avoided in a nation with so few people. Dressed in a gray sweater and camouflage jacket, the mayor of Dalanzadgad steps up and extends his hand
Mr. Addleton at first has trouble placing him, but then remembers the brief visit to his city, the capital of Ömnögovi province.
Located in the Gobi Desert in the southern part of the country and largely unknown to the outside world, the province is home to both of the major new mines set to light the fuse on the country's economy.
On the way back to town, after smiling for photos with the mayor and his employees, Mr. Addleton grows pensive.
The encounter has reminded him of the goodwill the U.S. enjoys here, but it also brings to mind the obstacles Mongolia faces on its economic ascent.
"Mongolia has a choice," Mr. Addleton says, tapping a familiar theme that he uses to teach audiences about the country. “It can build on big opportunities but it will also face intense challenges in the years ahead.”
Mongolia's mining wealth can simply enrich a few tycoons and accelerate environmental degradation, or the country could learn from the struggles of mineral-rich countries in Africa, South America and elsewhere and really invest in structures that will lead to long-term prosperity, he says.
Watching Mr. Addleton in a country he has grown to love, one can't help but believe that he really cares how things turn out, even well beyond the life of his assignment.
It makes sense, given the fact that his whole career to this point has been spent on programs helping countries reduce poverty and bolster democracy for the long term.
Prepared for Service
Dr. Addleton learned about serving others from an early age. He was born in Pakistan to Christian missionary parents who had left their home in middle Georgia to win converts abroad.
He attended a small Christian boarding school in northern Pakistan's Himalayan foothills. His classmates, mostly expatriates, came from all over the world, providing an early lesson in international diplomacy
Every four years the Addletons would return to the U.S. so his father could travel across the country, preaching and raising funds for their four-year missionary tour. In a strange way, the U.S. was home, even though it wasn't where he lived.
His parents now live on Ben Hill Drive, a road named after his grandfather, Ben Addleton, who had 14 children and also worked as a carpenter for a local railway company. It leads to a forested area that back in the early 1940s was once the 120-acre Addleton family farm.
Up until a few months ago, his 81-year-old father served as pastor in a small rural church in Taylor County, 40 miles southwest of Macon. His younger sister, Nancy White, serves on the Macon City Council, and his older brother, David, is a Macon attorney.
Though he always returns to Georgia, Mr. Addleton, his wife and three children have lived in Cambodia, Yemen, Pakistan, Jordan, South Africa, Kazakhstan and Belgium over the last 25 years.
In an interview at his present home in Ulaanbaatar, a large yellow house with an eagle seal marking it as the U.S. ambassador's residence, Mr. Addleton credits his upbringing with his ability to feel at home anywhere in the world.
Remembering his heritage has motivated and informed his life of public service.
"It's not about me. That has been a major lesson in my life, and I just try to remember that every day I live," he says. "The smallest thing to you might mean the world to someone else, and you never know when you might have a chance to make an impact."
Mongolia is a relatively low-key foreign service post, with only about 20 full-fledged embassies in the city.
According to Canadian Ambassador Greg Goldhawk, Mr. Addleton's friend and neighbor, the tight-knit community affords diplomats significant influence.
"You can actually go home and at the end of a day and say, 'I made something really good and useful and helpful happen today.' That, as a personal feeling, it's enormously satisfying," said Mr. Goldhawk, who spent four years at the Canadian consulate in Atlanta during the early 2000s.
Mr. Addleton's duties are much broader than they were as USAID director, and he's got a larger team to carry out his objectives.
The ambassador takes a hands-off approach, expecting work to get done but also trusting his staffers to do it well, Chuck Howell, who sits in Mr. Addleton's old chair as mission director for USAID, told GlobalAtlanta.
"He's a great manager in my mind," he said.
A Week in the Life
In a given week, the ambassador might deal a combination of commercial, defense, diplomatic and cultural issues, and that's what excites him about the job.
On a Monday night, a businessman is in Mr. Addleton's living room. His Virginia-based company, Gateway Development International, is working to introduce a technology that will help build cheap, energy-efficient homes in Mongolia.
The company needs to import a shipping container with all the equipment needed to make hollow styrofoam blocks. At a construction site, these forms stacked and filled with concrete to quickly erect insulated walls.
The problem, Gateway CEO Adam Saffer tells Mr. Addleton, is that he doesn't know what obstacles the shipment will face at customs. And even if it gets through, an exhorbitant tax on companies that import chemicals could make it too expensive to fabricate the forms.
"We need your help, Mr. Ambassador," Mr. Saffer says.
Later in the week, Mr. Addleton has meetings with other American companies weighing Mongolian investments. He's also slated to attend an international coal investment conference Ulaanbaatar is hosting.
His schedule quickly fills up: A ceremony presenting certificates to low-income kids learning English through an embassy-sponsored program. A meeting in which American officials discuss wth Mongolian leaders what to do if pirates board their ships. (Though landlocked, dozens of ships are registered in Mongolia and fly its flag.) A visit honoring Mongolian peacekeeping forces on their way to aid the international effort in Afghanistan.
On a Wednesday night, Mr. Addleton heads over to the Chinggis Khan Hotel. It's Kuwaiti national day, and the country's embassy has organized a celebration. There's a full buffet and musicians playing Mongolian horse-head fiddles.
Mr. Addleton has no official role at the event. He mostly stands in the background, flanked by his Scottish wife, Fiona, chatting with fellow dignitaries. He's not a natural extrovert, but he's genuinely fascinated by people and what drives them.
That interest led him to study journalism at Northwestern University and to earn his doctorate in the economics of migration from Tufts University.
As a youngster, he wanted to be a foreign correspondent, but journalism was different in those days. Gaining a spot overseas came at the expense of a long slog up the ranks of a U.S. newspaper.
Besides, it was the international aspect of the correspondent's life that intrigued him, and he wanted be making the impact, not just writing about it.
Was joining the foreign service responding to a calling akin to the one that led his father overseas?
Back at home for a final interview, he smiles at the question and leans back on the sofa.
The son of a preacher doesn't presume to know all of God's plans, but he does make one prediction about his current occupation.
"It's the best job I'll ever have," he says.
Read more: Mongolia's Mad Dash to Modernity
Incentive Travel Specialist Runs First Mongolia Trade Mission
June 30 (Response Source) Incentive travel specialist, CT Group Travel, declares its first ever trade mission to Mongolia a huge success.
CT Group Travel is the UK’s leading organiser of overseas trade missions, organising and managing up to 2 trade missions every week of the year.
Whilst trade missions can be organised to any destination worldwide, the vast majority are to the Middle East, Africa, South America and the Far East, with Mongolia being added to CT Group Travel’s portfolio for the very first time in May 2011.
Trade missions provide an excellent opportunity for companies to identify potential business opportunities in overseas countries. The advantage of taking part in a CT Group Travel mission is having everything arranged for you - flights, accommodation, transportation and pre-arranged meetings with relevant local companies, all of which have expressed a specific interest in meeting the mission’s participants.
Being part of an organised trade mission provides companies a fast track route to meeting suitable companies to trade with overseas, generating high quality opportunities that often lead to the development of long and prosperous partnerships.
What made the trade mission to Mongolia such a success is their keenness to identify international partners beyond the many historic relationships they have with businesses in neighbouring China and Russia.
The potential to trade with Mongolian businesses for UK companies is huge; especially for businesses involved in industries such as agriculture and mining, as Mongolia has several rich mineral resources.
There were 17 participants in total, ranging from Multi Nationals to SME’s. Managing Director Mark Kempster commented, “Due to the success of the first trade mission we are already organising two more missions to Mongolia that will take place within the next 8 months”.
As well as organising trade missions UNIGLOBE member CT Group Travel also specialise in providing conference management, and operate successful and popular corporate rewards travel schemes for many businesses throughout the UK. Travel incentives for employees prove to be a very popular way to motivate employees to hit targets set by businesses, especially when there are free flight tickets or paid overseas holidays up for grabs.
FACTBOX-Key political risks to watch in Mongolia
BEIJING, July 1 (Reuters) - Mongolia sits on vast quantities of untapped mineral wealth, and foreign investment in a number of gigantic mining properties is expected to transform its tiny economy in the next decade.
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RESOURCE INVESTMENT POLITICS
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What to watch:
-- How Mongolia uses the proceeds from its mining projects. It has set up education and fiscal stabilisation funds, but it has also promised direct dividends for Mongolian citizens.
-- How it deals with rapid economic change as foreign investment transforms the country's mainly rural economy. Overall investment in Oyu Tolgoi alone will stand at roughly the equivalent of the country's entire GDP in 2009.
-- Whether Tavan Tolgoi provides the ownership model for other "strategic resource" projects, or Mongolia sells other properties outright.
ENERGY DEPENDENCE
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What to watch:
-- Any power import deals signed, and the talks leading up to them.
-- How mining firms source their power, and whether on-site plants will be designed to supply a national power grid.
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Exploration underway at Canowindra
July 1 (Cowra Guardian) Canowindra will play host to a team of 29 geophysicists/technicians from Mongolia here to run a large-scale geophysical survey for Gold and Copper Resources Pty Ltd (GCR).
GCR is an Orange-based exploration company with tenement holdings around Orange and the Central West where mineral exploration for precious metals is being carried out.
Grant Hendrickson, a Canadian Geophysicist, heads up the team and will be completing this large-scale IP survey in the district, an Australian first.
The team will be staying in Canowindra for a period of three months which will be a significant boost to the local economy with accommodation and meals supplied by businesses in the town.
Local resident Leanne Coady has been retained as the team’s Liaison Officer in Canowindra and will have a busy time ahead.
Holding Back the Gobi
June 30, Dalanzadgad, Mongolia (National Geographic) -- Few places in the world are feeling the effects of global warming as powerfully as Mongolia, the almond shaped country located between northern China and Siberia. Mongolia’s average temperature has gone up by 2.1 degrees Celsius in the last 70 years, about three times the global average. The added warmth is drying the land and the country’s lakes and rivers. Studies of precipitation suggest that rain is falling more frequently in intense bursts rather than in gentle sprays.
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I traveled to South Gobi with two foresters: Tsogtbaatar, a member of Mongolia’s Academy of Sciences, and Park, the former head the Korean organization Northeast Asian Forest Forum. (Both Tsogtbaatar and Park, following custom in their counties, go only by given names.) The two foresters might be called tree huggers, but in South Gobi trees are too bushy and spiny to clasp without injury. Eight years ago, with help from South Gobi locals, Tsogtbaatar and Park started planting long rows of saplings. They wanted to prove to skeptical residents of the region that windbreaks of trees could hold soil in place and trap dust blowing in the wind, They wanted to prove that trees could make South Gobi more hospitable for people, their livestock and the sparse vegetation that is the foundation of herding life.
Tsogtbaatar and Park making a striking pair. Park dresses neatly all in black. He’s diminutive. Tsogtbaatar is stocky, with a paunch that hangs slightly over his belt. He laughs heartily and frequently in a ha-ha-ha staccato. Neither can speak the other’s language so they communicate in broken English, often gently poking fun at each other.
Tsogtbaatar and Park showed me several examples of what they’ve accomplished. Where I come from, New England, the woodlands they’ve created would seem pitifully stunted. But here, where, only about one tenth as much rain falls, the small forests inspire awe. Just outside the city of Dalanzadgad, the capital of South Gobi, Tsogtbaatar and Park planted a 2.5-mile-long windbreak about 200 yards wide with thousands of trees in rows. The leaves of ten foot-tall poplar trees glisten in the sun and rustle in the wind. Nearby, slower growing Siberian elm exude a spicy aroma. Tsogtbaatar says when the short-lived poplar die, in several decades, the elm will come into their own, improving the lot of residents of Dalanzadgad for many years.
The pair of foresters had not been back to see the fruits of their labor for several years. Tsogtbaatar says many people question whether an artificial forest can even be created in South Gobi. “They say Tsogtbaatar and Park are crazy,” he says. So, even though it is too early to know how well the trees halt dust or secure soil in place, the sight of their little woodlot pleases them. Park says by proving wrong the skeptics, and showing how to make a forest grow here, they’ve performed an important service. “Our work is almost done. Now it’s government’s job,” he says in slightly broken English. Whether a large-scale tree-planting program will ever take place, though, is uncertain. As Tsogtbaatar says, speaking with an accent with hints of his first foreign language, Russian, “in Mongolia, very difficult to plan ahead. Just hope for best.”
<Mogi & Friends Fund A/C>
Total +9.9%, Quarter-to-date -37.5%
Mogi & Friends Fund is a tiny fund of A$23K I created in late September with a few friends to put my own (and a few friends’) money where my mouth (just mine) is.
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Mogi
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"Mogi" Munkhdul Badral
Executive Director
CPS International LLC
Telephone/Fax: +976-11-321326
Mobile: +976-99996779
Email: mogi@cpsinternational.mn
P Please consider the environment before printing a copy of this email.
Central Tower · 12th Floor · Left Wing · 2 Sukhbaatar Square
Sukhbaatar District 8 · Ulaanbaatar 14200 · Mongolia
CPS International is a marketing arm of CPS Securities in Mongolia. CPS Securities is a Perth, Western Australia based AFSL License Holder. To trade ASX and international stocks, feel free to contact me at mogi@cpsinternational.mn or +976-99996779.
Disclosure/Disclaimer
CPS Securities, its directors and employees advise that they may hold securities, may have an interest in and/or earn brokerage and other benefits or advantages, either directly or indirectly from client transactions mentioned in correspondence from CPS International.
CPS International advise this email contains general information only and does not include advice. In preparing this communication, CPS International did not take into account the investment objectives, financial situation and particular needs of any person. As with any speculative mining company there are significant risks.
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