Tuesday, 28 Feb 2012
According to Mongol Bank statistics, foreign trade turnover of Mongolia has reached USD 735.2 million in the end of January and it has grown by 32 percent in comparison of January, 2011.
Total export balance of trade has grown by 15.2 percent in comparison of January, 2011 and import balance of trade has grown by 42.1 percent. Import growth has influenced to foreign trade deficit that has been accounted USD 254.6 million.
Coal export has occupied 31.2% of total export and Mongolia has exported 21 million tons of coal to China. Also copper enrichment export has occupied 27.8%, iron ore 15.7% and crude oil 8.1% of total export.
Main export goods’ border prices have been increased by 11.8% and import goods’ prices have been increased by 49.1%. Export and import prices’ increases have influenced to foreign trade total goods circulation growth.
(sourced Mad-mongolia.com)
Showing posts with label Mongolia coal mine. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mongolia coal mine. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Saturday, November 19, 2011
Guildford Coal confirms maiden coking coal resource in Mongolia
Saturday, 19 Nov 2011
Guildford Coal has confirmed an initial JORC Resource of 63.1 million tonnes of coal with coking potential at its South Gobi project in Mongolia. The maiden resource comprises 38.2 million tonnes in the Indicated category and 24.9 million tonnes in the Inferred category.
A boost to the South Gobi project, which comprises five exploration licenses, is that it is located approximately 60 kilometers from the Chinese border station town of Ceke, where coal from Mongolia is currently transported through to China. The maiden resource underpins the potential start up of a 1 to 2 million tonnes per annum open cut mining operation.
Guildford Coal has lodged mining license applications for EL13780X and EL5262X and both are expected to be granted prior to the end of 2011.
The company is also in the process of completing Scoping Studies for the start up operation with the goal of beginning mining from the North Pit by the June quarter of 2012.
Drilling will continue on the other key tenements in the South Gobi Project to define a JORC Resource for the Central, West and East Pits.
Guildford Coal has confirmed an initial JORC Resource of 63.1 million tonnes of coal with coking potential at its South Gobi project in Mongolia. The maiden resource comprises 38.2 million tonnes in the Indicated category and 24.9 million tonnes in the Inferred category.
A boost to the South Gobi project, which comprises five exploration licenses, is that it is located approximately 60 kilometers from the Chinese border station town of Ceke, where coal from Mongolia is currently transported through to China. The maiden resource underpins the potential start up of a 1 to 2 million tonnes per annum open cut mining operation.
Guildford Coal has lodged mining license applications for EL13780X and EL5262X and both are expected to be granted prior to the end of 2011.
The company is also in the process of completing Scoping Studies for the start up operation with the goal of beginning mining from the North Pit by the June quarter of 2012.
Drilling will continue on the other key tenements in the South Gobi Project to define a JORC Resource for the Central, West and East Pits.
Thursday, October 20, 2011
TVN Corporation ramps up drilling at Nuurst coal project in Mongolia
Thursday, 20 Oct 2011
It is reported that TVN Corporation has ramped up drilling at its wholly owned Nuurst Coal Project in Mongolia which has confirmed a continuous thick coal sequence that extends across the full width of the south western limb of licence area.
With the arrival of two additional drilling rigs in recent weeks, the rate of drilling has increased and three holes recently completed support the revised exploration target and demonstrate the extent of the Nuurst Project coal seam development in the south western limb of the Nuurst Licence.
Coal seam development has now been defined to the full 1.5 kilometer width of the licence in this area and for a length of at least 3 kilometres from the southern boundary to the north which remains open. In this area the coal seam development appears to be bound by the licence boundary, remaining open to the north.
Trenching activities in the area of the fault in the south eastern portion of the targeted resource area have extended the sub-cropping coal sequence for over 700 metres of strike length extending south westerly from US coal miner Peabody Winsway Resources’ Tsaidam Deposit which contains a Mineral Resource of 149.7 million tonnes.
The Nuurst Project covers 34.5 square kilometres and is located 120 kilometres south of the Mongolian capital Ulaanbaatar, in an area with a number of operating coal mines.
Nuurst is 6 kilometres from existing rail infrastructure providing low cost access to the key coal export markets of China, South Korea and Japan. The project has a 200 to 300 million tonne exploration target which covers less than 15% of the overall licence.
To date TVN has completed more than 3000 metres of drilling and is aiming to define a JORC Resource by the end of 2011. Drilling and trenching at Nuurst will continue through until mid-November. TVN continues to review the potential acquisition of other coking and thermal coal projects in Mongolia.
In other TVN news the company has appointed Daniel Rohr to the position of chief financial officer. Rohr has 20 years management, corporate advisory finance and accounting experience working for a number of listed and unlisted companies.
(sourced proactiveinvestors)
It is reported that TVN Corporation has ramped up drilling at its wholly owned Nuurst Coal Project in Mongolia which has confirmed a continuous thick coal sequence that extends across the full width of the south western limb of licence area.
With the arrival of two additional drilling rigs in recent weeks, the rate of drilling has increased and three holes recently completed support the revised exploration target and demonstrate the extent of the Nuurst Project coal seam development in the south western limb of the Nuurst Licence.
Coal seam development has now been defined to the full 1.5 kilometer width of the licence in this area and for a length of at least 3 kilometres from the southern boundary to the north which remains open. In this area the coal seam development appears to be bound by the licence boundary, remaining open to the north.
Trenching activities in the area of the fault in the south eastern portion of the targeted resource area have extended the sub-cropping coal sequence for over 700 metres of strike length extending south westerly from US coal miner Peabody Winsway Resources’ Tsaidam Deposit which contains a Mineral Resource of 149.7 million tonnes.
The Nuurst Project covers 34.5 square kilometres and is located 120 kilometres south of the Mongolian capital Ulaanbaatar, in an area with a number of operating coal mines.
Nuurst is 6 kilometres from existing rail infrastructure providing low cost access to the key coal export markets of China, South Korea and Japan. The project has a 200 to 300 million tonne exploration target which covers less than 15% of the overall licence.
To date TVN has completed more than 3000 metres of drilling and is aiming to define a JORC Resource by the end of 2011. Drilling and trenching at Nuurst will continue through until mid-November. TVN continues to review the potential acquisition of other coking and thermal coal projects in Mongolia.
In other TVN news the company has appointed Daniel Rohr to the position of chief financial officer. Rohr has 20 years management, corporate advisory finance and accounting experience working for a number of listed and unlisted companies.
(sourced proactiveinvestors)
Monday, September 19, 2011
Foreign investors pray for end to Mongolia's mining ban
Mon,Sep19, 2011
By David Stanway
ULAN BATOR, (Reuters) - Foreign investors in mineral-rich Mongolia hope parliament will revoke a controversial law banning mining in the country's river and forest areas when it convenes for its busy autumn session next month.
The ban, imposed in 2009, has been derided as "half-baked" and "knee-jerk" by representatives of foreign mining investors in Ulan Bator. While dozens of projects have been shut down, hundreds more remain in operation, but in a state of legal limbo.
"Nobody really knows which projects are banned -- the problem is you don't know if you will wake up one morning and find that laws have changed and your mine is no longer legal," said a representative with a foreign mining firm in Ulan Bator.
Hundreds of foreign firms have been coveting Mongolia's copious and mostly untapped deposits of coal, copper, gold and uranium, but legal and political uncertainties cast a shadow over their investments, and analysts worry that the country could lose out.
"Is Mongolia the place to be, or is it Colombia?" asked Bernard Guarnera, president of mining consultants Behre Dolbear. "We vote Mongolia but mining companies have to make a decision based on certainty and stability."
Nearly 2,000 mining licenses came under review as a result of the 2009 law and hundreds were suspended, but Mongolia is not yet able to enforce the rules in full because it does not have the funds to pay compensation.
"I hope this law will be cancelled," said Chuluuntseren Otgochuluu, the director of an independent think tank called the Economic Policy and Competitiveness Research Centre.
"This law is very good in context of health and the environment, but the problem is that many licenses have already been issued and the mines are already operating, and have been taken by banks as collateral. The cost of taking them is huge, and we will also lose trust."
TOO MUCH TOO LATE
Following the democratic revolution of 1990, isolated Mongolia was desperate to attract as much foreign investment as possible, but a decade of laissez-faire regulation put the country's scarce water supplies in jeopardy, and soaring commodity prices also prompted a policy rethink.
It was a parliamentary backbencher who introduced the water and forest bill, which was passed despite opposition from the government.
The problem, said Chimed-ochir Bazarsad, Mongolia representative with the Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF), was timing. Had Mongolia defined where miners could operate before the boom began, it wouldn't have the problems it is facing today.
"At the end of the 1990s we tried to map out where are the ecologically important areas that need to be protected in terms of watersheds, biodiversity and cultural value -- it should have been very clearly defined before the boom," he said.
"The government didn't do it and now it is trying to determine no-go areas after already issuing the mining licenses, so now it is all about negotiation."
The president, Tsakhia Elbegdorj, has suspended approvals of all new mining projects until comprehensive new regulations are drawn up.
As technically illegal mining operations continue to operate, environmentalists have tried to take the law into their own hands, with activists even known to attack mines with hunting rifles in order to disable machinery.
Some say it has not only caused uncertainty among investors, but has also given opportunities to "ninja miners" -- illegal privateers armed with pans and shovels who pay no regard to the environment.
Most of the "ninjas" were driven into the perilous industry 10 years ago when a catastrophic winter killed off much of their livestock.
Chimed of WWF said the ninja miners were impossible to regulate, and were now entrenched in their communities with well-established trade networks.
Mongolia has a history of introducing and then hastily repealing populist legislation aimed at squeezing more revenues from its mining boom. In 2001, it revoked a gold export tax imposed in 1998, and a mining windfall profit tax was also cancelled in 2009 after two years of complaints.
While many hope the forest and water law will also be repealed, its parliamentary backers are determined to keep it. Environmentalists also say revoking the law would be equally knee-jerk.
Dugersuren Sukhgerel, executive director of an non-government organisation known as Oyu Tolgoi Watch, said it was clear that miners were gaining too much influence in Mongolian politics.
"The miners say 'give us the right environment', but what they mean is 'give us a lawless environment'," she said.
(sourced Reuters)
By David Stanway
ULAN BATOR, (Reuters) - Foreign investors in mineral-rich Mongolia hope parliament will revoke a controversial law banning mining in the country's river and forest areas when it convenes for its busy autumn session next month.
The ban, imposed in 2009, has been derided as "half-baked" and "knee-jerk" by representatives of foreign mining investors in Ulan Bator. While dozens of projects have been shut down, hundreds more remain in operation, but in a state of legal limbo.
"Nobody really knows which projects are banned -- the problem is you don't know if you will wake up one morning and find that laws have changed and your mine is no longer legal," said a representative with a foreign mining firm in Ulan Bator.
Hundreds of foreign firms have been coveting Mongolia's copious and mostly untapped deposits of coal, copper, gold and uranium, but legal and political uncertainties cast a shadow over their investments, and analysts worry that the country could lose out.
"Is Mongolia the place to be, or is it Colombia?" asked Bernard Guarnera, president of mining consultants Behre Dolbear. "We vote Mongolia but mining companies have to make a decision based on certainty and stability."
Nearly 2,000 mining licenses came under review as a result of the 2009 law and hundreds were suspended, but Mongolia is not yet able to enforce the rules in full because it does not have the funds to pay compensation.
"I hope this law will be cancelled," said Chuluuntseren Otgochuluu, the director of an independent think tank called the Economic Policy and Competitiveness Research Centre.
"This law is very good in context of health and the environment, but the problem is that many licenses have already been issued and the mines are already operating, and have been taken by banks as collateral. The cost of taking them is huge, and we will also lose trust."
TOO MUCH TOO LATE
Following the democratic revolution of 1990, isolated Mongolia was desperate to attract as much foreign investment as possible, but a decade of laissez-faire regulation put the country's scarce water supplies in jeopardy, and soaring commodity prices also prompted a policy rethink.
It was a parliamentary backbencher who introduced the water and forest bill, which was passed despite opposition from the government.
The problem, said Chimed-ochir Bazarsad, Mongolia representative with the Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF), was timing. Had Mongolia defined where miners could operate before the boom began, it wouldn't have the problems it is facing today.
"At the end of the 1990s we tried to map out where are the ecologically important areas that need to be protected in terms of watersheds, biodiversity and cultural value -- it should have been very clearly defined before the boom," he said.
"The government didn't do it and now it is trying to determine no-go areas after already issuing the mining licenses, so now it is all about negotiation."
The president, Tsakhia Elbegdorj, has suspended approvals of all new mining projects until comprehensive new regulations are drawn up.
As technically illegal mining operations continue to operate, environmentalists have tried to take the law into their own hands, with activists even known to attack mines with hunting rifles in order to disable machinery.
Some say it has not only caused uncertainty among investors, but has also given opportunities to "ninja miners" -- illegal privateers armed with pans and shovels who pay no regard to the environment.
Most of the "ninjas" were driven into the perilous industry 10 years ago when a catastrophic winter killed off much of their livestock.
Chimed of WWF said the ninja miners were impossible to regulate, and were now entrenched in their communities with well-established trade networks.
Mongolia has a history of introducing and then hastily repealing populist legislation aimed at squeezing more revenues from its mining boom. In 2001, it revoked a gold export tax imposed in 1998, and a mining windfall profit tax was also cancelled in 2009 after two years of complaints.
While many hope the forest and water law will also be repealed, its parliamentary backers are determined to keep it. Environmentalists also say revoking the law would be equally knee-jerk.
Dugersuren Sukhgerel, executive director of an non-government organisation known as Oyu Tolgoi Watch, said it was clear that miners were gaining too much influence in Mongolian politics.
"The miners say 'give us the right environment', but what they mean is 'give us a lawless environment'," she said.
(sourced Reuters)
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Coking coal prices from Australia soften after large purchasers from Mongolia
Tuesday, 06 Sep 2011
ET reported that a cut in production by steel producers and higher purchases of coking coal by large countries, from Mongolia, has led to a softening of benchmark coal prices from the traditional coal producing country, Australia. The fall in coal prices will give steel companies, including those from India, a chance to recover lost margins after the sharp erosion in profits seen in previous quarters due to high iron ore and coal prices.
Prices of coking coal had surged to above USD 300 a tonne, from USD 200 in 2010, due to supply restrictions from Australia following flooding of mines and increased demand from China. With China now buying more coal from Mongolia, demand for Australian coal has fallen, leading to a softening in prices.
Mr Jayant Acharya, commercial director JSW Steel, said that "There is a pressure on Australia as large purchasers such as China and South Korea have started buying from alternate markets. Moreover, coal prices at USD 300 to USD 310 were too high for steel companies, who did not find it viable at that level."
China alone bought 35 million tonnes of coal from Australia in 2010. This year they have already bought 30 million tonnes from Mongolia, which is fast emerging as an alternate destination for critical resources. Even South Korea, that is home to large steel producers such as POSCO has been looking at Canada and the US for its coal supplies. Both iron ore and coking coal account for three fourths of the cost of production of steel.
Mr Jayant Acharya said that "There is a substantial drop in prices when compared to the peak levels of USD 330 or even USD 315 per tonne in the previous quarter. Since it is for hard coking coal which is the best grade, prices of other grades of coal too will be affected. However, at this stage, it is indicative of where prices could be headed. We will have to see whether other major mining companies also follow suit and lower prices."
International reports said Anglo American has settled October to December 2011 quarter for hard coking coal at USD 285 due to the downward price trend in the backdrop of weak global steel prices.
(Sourced from Economic Times)
ET reported that a cut in production by steel producers and higher purchases of coking coal by large countries, from Mongolia, has led to a softening of benchmark coal prices from the traditional coal producing country, Australia. The fall in coal prices will give steel companies, including those from India, a chance to recover lost margins after the sharp erosion in profits seen in previous quarters due to high iron ore and coal prices.
Prices of coking coal had surged to above USD 300 a tonne, from USD 200 in 2010, due to supply restrictions from Australia following flooding of mines and increased demand from China. With China now buying more coal from Mongolia, demand for Australian coal has fallen, leading to a softening in prices.
Mr Jayant Acharya, commercial director JSW Steel, said that "There is a pressure on Australia as large purchasers such as China and South Korea have started buying from alternate markets. Moreover, coal prices at USD 300 to USD 310 were too high for steel companies, who did not find it viable at that level."
China alone bought 35 million tonnes of coal from Australia in 2010. This year they have already bought 30 million tonnes from Mongolia, which is fast emerging as an alternate destination for critical resources. Even South Korea, that is home to large steel producers such as POSCO has been looking at Canada and the US for its coal supplies. Both iron ore and coking coal account for three fourths of the cost of production of steel.
Mr Jayant Acharya said that "There is a substantial drop in prices when compared to the peak levels of USD 330 or even USD 315 per tonne in the previous quarter. Since it is for hard coking coal which is the best grade, prices of other grades of coal too will be affected. However, at this stage, it is indicative of where prices could be headed. We will have to see whether other major mining companies also follow suit and lower prices."
International reports said Anglo American has settled October to December 2011 quarter for hard coking coal at USD 285 due to the downward price trend in the backdrop of weak global steel prices.
(Sourced from Economic Times)
Monday, August 22, 2011
US vice president visits coal-rich Mongolia
Mon, Aug22, 2011
By Michael Kohn (AFP)
ULAN BATOR — US Vice President Joe Biden arrived in Mongolia Monday for talks with the leaders of China's resource-rich neighbour, which is opening up its vast coal reserves to foreign investors.
Biden left China after a five-day visit aimed at shoring up the reputation of the United States' beleaguered economy and flew to the Mongolian capital Ulan Bator, where he will meet the president and prime minister.
The vice president is the most US senior leader to visit Mongolia since 2005, when then president George W. Bush made a brief stopover in the capital.
Sandwiched between China and Russia, Mongolia has traditionally pursued a careful foreign policy that seeks not to alienate its giant neighbours.
But the young democracy has also sought closer ties with the United States and sent troops to both Iraq and Afghanistan.
Mongolia is opening up its vast coal reserves to foreign investors, hoping to stimulate growth and pull thousands of people out of poverty in the mineral-rich but still underdeveloped Asian country.
Last month US mining giant Peabody Energy said it was among the firms chosen to help develop a section of the highly coveted Tavan Tolgoi coal mine in the Gobi desert, although later reports said the deal was still under negotiation.
Tavan Tolgoi is one of the world's largest coal fields with 6.4 billion tonnes of reserves, and competition for the government contracts to develop it has been intense.
In June, President Elbegdorj promised to give US companies a role in its booming energy sector during talks in Washington with President Barack Obama.
The United States said Biden's visit -- the second leg of an Asia tour that will also take in key US ally Japan -- was a "strong expression of support for Mongolia?s growing democracy".
"Mongolia has been working with us on a raft of important issues -- non-proliferation, peacekeeping, on human rights," said a statement on the website of the US embassy in Ulan Bator.
"On the defence and security side, Mongolia is making substantial contributions of troops to the operations both in Iraq and Afghanistan. So there is a lot of good work and a lot to talk about."
Biden used his China visit to reassure Beijing that the world's biggest economy would never default on its debts following a historic downgrade this month of the country's top-notch credit rating.
China is the largest foreign holder of US debt, and Biden used the official visit -- his first as vice president -- to assure its leaders that their massive investment remained safe.
Beijing has used the proceeds of its export machine to invest around $1.17 trillion in US Treasury bonds, and the world's second-largest economy last week appealed for global financial stability as panic gripped the markets.
But the country's leaders were conciliatory in their public appearances with Biden, with Premier Wen Jiabao saying his "clear message" had served to boost investor confidence in the United States.
The US vice president will attend a demonstration of traditional Mongolian sports -- likely to include archery, wrestling and horse racing, according to his aides -- before flying on to Japan later Monday.
Monday, March 7, 2011
Vale, ArcelorMittal compete for Mongolia coal mine
Mar7, 2011 |Reuters
ArcelorMittal , the world's largest steelmaker, Brazil's Vale and a Korea Resources consortium, are among six short-listed bidders to develop Mongolia's Tavan Tolgoi mine, the world's biggest untapped coking coal deposit, South Korea said.
Swiss miner Xstrata , U.S. coal miner Peabody and Japan's Mitsui & Co consortium are the other three preferred bidders to develop the west Tsankhi block of the mine, Korea Resources said in a statement.
It estimated a $7.3 billion initial investment to develop the Tsankhi block, which has 1.2 billion tonnes of coal reserves and can produce 15 million tonnes annually for 30 years.
Tavan Tolgoi has estimated reserves of 6 billion tonnes of coal, including the world's largest untapped deposit of coking coal, used by steelmakers.
Tags : Tsankhi block, steelmakers, raw material, Mitsui and Co. Itochu Corp
ArcelorMittal , the world's largest steelmaker, Brazil's Vale and a Korea Resources consortium, are among six short-listed bidders to develop Mongolia's Tavan Tolgoi mine, the world's biggest untapped coking coal deposit, South Korea said.
Swiss miner Xstrata , U.S. coal miner Peabody and Japan's Mitsui & Co consortium are the other three preferred bidders to develop the west Tsankhi block of the mine, Korea Resources said in a statement.
It estimated a $7.3 billion initial investment to develop the Tsankhi block, which has 1.2 billion tonnes of coal reserves and can produce 15 million tonnes annually for 30 years.
Tavan Tolgoi has estimated reserves of 6 billion tonnes of coal, including the world's largest untapped deposit of coking coal, used by steelmakers.
Tags : Tsankhi block, steelmakers, raw material, Mitsui and Co. Itochu Corp
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