Mongolia Mulls Selling Stakes of Copper, Coal, Uranium Assets

By John Duce and Michael Forsythe

Feb. 8 (Bloomberg) -- Mongolia, the Asian nation with some of the world’s largest untapped mineral resources, is considering setting up separate companies owning the country’s gold, copper, uranium and coal reserves and selling shares to global investors, the prime minister said.

The country will start the process toward listing this year and plans to sell shares first on the Mongolian Stock Exchange, Prime Minister Sukhbaatar Batbold said in an interview today in Ulan Bator, the capital. Mongolia plans to hire international investment banks to help it sell shares abroad, he said.

“The parliament has given the approval for the government to start the preparation” for the share sales, Batbold said. “This is a demand and a necessity for Mongolia, to make best use of these resources to develop Mongolia.”

The share sales will potentially transform the country’s economy. About one-third of Mongolia’s population of roughly 3 million is classified as poor and herders in western regions face food shortages this year, according to the United Nations. Mongolia is seeking $25 billion in overseas investment over five years to develop metal and coal resources.

“I think it makes sense as long as Mongolia puts sizeable assets into these companies,” said Alisher Djumanov, Beijing- based chief executive officer of Eurasia Capital Management. He estimates the country could raise as much as $3 billion in three years selling equity stakes in resource companies.

Mongolia hasn’t yet decided whether to group all asset classes into three companies, as the Wall Street Journal reported Dec. 10, or to create smaller companies around specific commodities, Batbold said.

State Control

“It would also make it much easier to market these companies if they were only dealing with one resource, such as copper, uranium or coal,” Djumanov said.

Mongolia is seeking to develop the $2 billion Tavan Tolgoi coal deposit and last October signed an agreement with Canada- based Ivanhoe Mines Ltd. and Rio Tinto Group to help develop the $4 billion Oyu Tolgoi copper-gold project starting in 2013. The project, which London-based Rio has called the world’s largest such resource, may operate for as long as 30 years and generate $30 billion to $50 billion in revenue, Mongolian President Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj said last September.

Earlier in the day, Batbold said that while he doesn’t rule out foreign ownership of the $2 billion Tavan Tolgoi coal deposit, state ownership is preferred.

“We have not ruled out foreign mining companies having a stake, but our preferred option is complete state control,” Batbold said at a press conference, where he is hosting an investment conference. “Ownership and investment of all the big projects will be decided on a case by case basis.”

Among the companies which have expressed an interest in developing Tavan Tolgoi are Peabody Energy Corp. and China Shenhua Energy Co., Batbold said in the interview. The country’s parliament is due to make a decision on the mine in its session beginning in April, Mining Minister Dashdorj Zorigt said in an interview today.

To contact the reporters on this story: John Duce in Hong Kong at Jduce1@bloomberg.netl; Michael Forsythe in Beijing at mforsythe@bloomberg.net.

Source:www.bloomberg.com (Bloomberg news service)

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PDAC 2010 NETWORKING RECEPTION

Title: PDAC 2010 NETWORKING RECEPTION
Location: The Continental Hotel, Ulaanbaatar
Description: The Canadian Embassy in Ulaanbaatar invites the mining community of Mongolia to attend the “PDAC 2010” Networking Reception. This event is a platform to exchange information with your peers, share knowledge and experiences, build relationships and create new business contacts.
Join a wide variety of professionals representing both Mongolian and international companies spanning the entire spectrum of the minerals and mining sector.

Canada is the proud host of the biggest mining investment show in the world. Let us tell you
more about it.
PDAC 2010 will be held in March 7-10, 2010 in Toronto, Canada. PDAC is the one place where
everyone from the industry meets under one roof. It is the place to look for potential clients,
suppliers, customers, partners, investors and new technologies. Exhibitors at PDAC will
showcase their businesses and speakers will come from around the world.
PDAC\’s annual convention is the premier event in the global exploration and mining sector. So it
is worth its price in gold to attend it for the interesting meetings, training courses and other events.
Start Time: 18:00
Date: 2010-02-11
End Time: 20:00

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Mongolian press ridicules JSA

ULAN BATOR (Kyodo) Several Mongolian newspapers on Friday featured articles on their front pages reporting that a conspiracy was behind former yokozuna Asashoryu's decision to quit sumo over his alleged assault of a man in downtown Tokyo.

Most of them failed to mention Asashoryu's problematic behavior, instead stressing that Japanese sumo officials had pressured him to retire for fear of the fiery yokozuna breaking sumo legend and former yokozuna Taiho's record of 32 title wins.

The newspapers credited Asashoryu with helping bolster sumo's waning fan base as well as contributing to the increase in revenue for the ancient Japanese sport.

Zuunii Medee, a national newspaper, called on the "suspension of sumo broadcasts in Mongolia."

Khaltmaagiin Battulga, who is president of the Mongolian Judo Federation and a minister in the government, said in an interview with Mongolyn Medee, "It appears that Japanese people were afraid of a yokozuna who has foreign nationality breaking a record in the country's traditional sport."

Asashoryu, whose real name is Dolgorsuren Dagvadorj, does not hold Japanese citizenship and therefore cannot remain with the Japan Sumo Association now that he is retired.

Source:Kyoda News Service and www.japantimes.co.jp

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Gulfside Minerals Ltd. - Additional licenses acquired

VANCOUVER, Feb. 5 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ - Robert L. Card, President of Gulfside Minerals Ltd., ("Gulfside" or the "Company") (TSXV: GMG), is pleased to report that the Company has signed two Letters of Intent ("LOI") to acquire additional Licenses comprising 10,319 hectares (25,499 acres) adjoining its Onjuul and Black Hole projects to the north and north east which are located 170 km south west of Ulaanbaatar in Mongolia. The agreements call for payments in cash and shares over a 27 month period and are subject to TSX Venture Exchange ("TSX") approval.

Gulfside has engaged Norwest Corp., of Salt Lake City Utah ("Norwest"), to oversee the exploration of the Onjuul and Black Hole projects. Initial indications from the first phase of the drilling program suggest the coal bearing structure trends north and east into the licenses covered under the LOI's.

Phase 2 of the drilling program is scheduled to resume this spring with a goal to confirm and expand the current historical resource as well as step out into the newly acquired licenses.

The table below summarizes four of the closest holes to the proposed property. The total coal in all drill holes from the first phase of the drill program range from 16.50 meter to 57.70 meters and the thickest seams range from 8.10 meters to 42.40 meters. These results were reported on a news release dated December 22, 2009.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Meters from Thickest Thickest Seam
Identification proposed Total Coal Seam Interval
Number Number property (Meters) (Meters) (Meters)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
2 NJ-09-23C 200 52.66 28.84 37.6-66.44
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
3 NJ-09-24C 500 34.36 12.10 26.8-38.9
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
4 NJ-09-25R 300 28.17 10.37 85.83-96.2
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
9 NJ-09-31R 500 57.70 42.40 62.7-105.1
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Company is also pleased to report that the vendors of the Black Hole project has agreed to a modification of terms of acquisition by reducing and extending the terms of cash payments and have demonstrated their faith in the project by accepting Company shares for partial payments. The amended agreement is subject to approval by the TSX.

After arriving back from Mongolia on February 1, 2010 Gulfside President, Robert Card said, "I believe that these new licenses provide an opportunity to expand our resource base in the region."

Kerry F. Griffin BSc., Diploma Eng Geol, MAIG, an independent consultant to the Company and the qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101, has reviewed and approved the technical content of this news release.

On behalf of the Board of Directors

Gulfside Minerals Ltd.

"Robert L. Card"

Robert L. Card

President

"Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release."

Forward-Looking Statements: This document includes forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements concerning GMG's planned exploration program in Mongolia and other statements that are not historical facts. When used in this document, the words such as "could," "plan," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "may," "potential," "should," and similar expressions are forward-looking statements. Although GMG believes that its expectations reflected in these forward looking statements are reasonable, such statements involve risks and uncertainties and no assurance can be given that actual results will be consistent with these forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ from these forward-looking statements are disclosed under the heading "Risk Factors" and elsewhere in the corporation's periodic filings with Canadian securities regulators.

SOURCE: Gulfside Minerals Ltd.

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China column – Breaking the resource curse in Mongolia

While in Mongolia, China editor Paul French discovers a lucrative vein of mineral wealth – but can the locals benefit from its exploitation?

December is not the best time to visit Ulan Bator, the capital of Mongolia. The temperatures hover somewhere worse than -20C in daytime and then -30C at night. Nobody cares much about the precise temperature – once it’s that cold it doesn’t really make any difference.

However, despite the cold, Mongolia, and Ulan Bator particularly, is changing fast. Not so long ago it was a sleepy backwater of two million people spread across a country the size of western Europe. The almost forgotten former Soviet satellite state forged a vibrant democracy back in 1990, but has remained largely in the shadow of its two mighty neighbours Russia and China.

These days Ulan Bator is looking decidedly prosperous. Traffic jams snarl up the streets (nobody who can possibly afford not to wants to wait in a bus queue in these temperatures). A new Louis Vuitton store is reportedly outselling the branch in Lyons. New bars and restaurants are popping up, and prices are rising.

Just a few years ago you could drive out of downtown Ulan Bator and suddenly find yourself in the seemingly never-ending Mongolian grasslands. Now there are teeming suburbs that look like no others on earth. Endless rows of “gers”, the traditional Mongolians felt tents, are camped on the city’s fringes and forming new communities. And there are a lot more foreigners than there used to be.

The rising optimism is centred on Mongolia’s largely untapped mineral wealth. Everyone has known that Mongolia was, literally, sitting on gold – the reserves proven, the locations known – but exploiting it is a major political issue.
Everyone wants in on the action. Michael Aldrich, an international lawyer who’s been based in Beijing for a long time but is now working in Ulan Bator, puts it bluntly. He argues the Mongolian government has said it’s open for business and the customers are starting to flock.

But Mongolia is not a highly controlled one-party state like China, or a country producing crony capitalism and oligarchs, like Russia. Mongolia is a multi-party democracy with vibrant and sometimes hectic elections. There is a free and highly vocal press and a citizenry keen to see some rewards from their mineral wealth.
Hence the buzz phrase everyone is talking about, on TV, in the newspapers, on the shelves of the bookshops: “resource curse”. This refers to the paradoxical situation of the world’s resource-rich countries being among the poorest.

Honey pot

In the past the government held back from opening the floodgates. The perception of giving the wealth away had led to demonstrations, sometimes violent, and an angry populous. Still, the process has started – Canada’s Ivanhoe Mines and the Anglo-Australian Rio Tinto are licensed to start work in the massive Oyu Tolgoi field of copper and gold.

Limited liability companies have been formed, with the government holding a 34% interest. But worries persist. Is the government experienced enough to maintain a close watch on these new entities?

But Mongolia is not China. Bad practices will be made public and demonstrations will occur. Foreign miners entering Mongolia know that workplace safety is a major concern and both the government and the press are watching – public opinion is a factor in Mongolia. And to help ease concerns the government is encouraging local mining companies to modernise and compete.

Several deals were put on hold recently over concerns about corruption. The foreign miners are bringing a lot of money into what is still generally a poor country, so it’s interesting to note that the government has not simply grabbed the cash, but is remaining cautious. Similarly with the environment – new laws require that mining companies put in place reclamation projects at the end of the extraction process.

There will be more licensing and more miners entering Mongolia. Tavan Tolgoi is a massive deposit of coking coal in the south Gobi desert. China, reliant on coal-fired power stations, would like some of this. American, Japanese and Brazilian companies are also interested.

To help avoid the resource curse, NGOs and pressure groups are being formed to lobby for the wealth to be spent on social infrastructure – electricity, water and schools. But others worry and see elite groups of local politicians and foreign businessmen forming cartels.

There will, inevitably, be a learning curve but that with a free press, politicians who can be elected or deselected and a vibrant public debate, Mongolia could just become one country to escape the curse.

Based in Shanghai, Paul French is a partner in the research publisher Access Asia.

Source:www.ethicalcorp.com

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Mongolia Favors Tavan Tolgoi Contract Auction Over Stake Sale - Sources

By Ellen Sheng
Dow Jones Newswires
(Adds information about deal structure, background about Tavan Tolgoi.)

HONG KONG -(Dow Jones)- The Mongolian government appears to be leaning toward a mining contract or production-sharing arrangement rather than the sale of a stake in the huge, undeveloped Tavan Tolgoi coking coal deposit, people familiar with the situation said.

At least one bank mandated to advise on the stake sale has been dropped, one person familiar with the situation said Friday. J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM: 38.38, 0, 0%) and Deutsche Bank AG (DB: 59.51, 0, 0%) were advising on the sale of a 49% stake in Tavan Tolgoi. Government officials and bankers had expected the sale to raise billions of dollars.

Spokeswomen from both banks declined to comment.

Interested bidders included companies such as BHP Billiton Ltd. (BHP: 68.39, 0, 0%), Brazil's Vale SA (VALE: 25.24, 0, 0%), Peabody Energy Corp. (BTU: 42.1, 0, 0%), India's Jindal Group and China Shenhua Energy Co.(1088.HK) among others, a person familiar with the matter said earlier.

Mongolia's prime minister said earlier this week discussions with a consortium of 11 bidders would continue, according to a person familiar with the situation, but discussions would be focused on production-sharing and contract mining rather than a sale.

Production-sharing would require companies to pay for capital expenditure in return for a 20- to 30-year license to mine a certain amount, of which they can retain a specific percentage, the person said. Companies may or may not be required to make an upfront payment.

Meanwhile, Mongolian officials are still in talks about how to structure the development of the mining deposit.

"There is no decision on what will happen with this mine. Negotiations are still going on," urevjav Gansukh, the Mongolian ambassador in Singapore, said Friday.

The Tavan Tolgoi mining deposit, located in Mongolia's South Gobi desert, has estimated cocking coal reserves of 6.5 billion metric tons and was originally developed with government funding.

Mongolia has some of the world's largest untapped reserves of coal, copper and other commodities. Lawmakers are targeting some US$10 billion to US$15 billion in new mining investment in the next five years, Ch. Khurelbaatar, a government member of parliament and head of Mongolia's standing committee on finance and budget, said late last year.

Copyright © 2009 Dow Jones Newswires

Source:Dow Jones Newswire

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Mongolian author rides camel to bring children closer to books

Jambyn Dashdondog, Mongolian children’s books author is in town with an aim — to make children fond of books.

In his native country, Dashdondog is known to bring joy to children through his “mobile library”. Author of 108 books, the author makes sure children even in the remotest part of his country have story books to relish. To achieve that end, Dashdondog does not mind riding a camel.

Travelling vast expanses of his country, with books in tow, Dashdondog wants to enable students in the countryside — the nomadic groups of Mongolia — to “spend their holidays reading books”.

He started the Mongolian Children’s Mobile Library project in 2002, with the help of many volunteers including students, writers and artists, as well as his own family.

Dashdondog is one of the delegates visiting Delhi for the International Conference on Children’s Libraries — Building a Book Culture — organised by the Association of Writers and Illustrators for Children (AWIC). “His mobile libraries on camel back and horse cart are interesting to look at,” said an AWIC official.

In fact, Dashdondog has won the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY)-Asahi Reading Promotion Award in 2006. The award is given biennially to a project run by a group or an institution making a lasting contribution to promote reading among children and youth.

“He read children’s literature and started his efforts to translate these into Mongolian,” said the AWIC officials, organisation promoting reading habits in India. Dashdondog has spent 18 years loading his books on any means of transport — horses, cows, camels, reindeers or automobiles — to access rural areas with his mobile library.


Interestingly, he cannot communicate in English and has an interpreter from the Mongolian Embassy. Many other delegates from abroad addressed the event at the India International Centre today with former president A P J Abdul Kalam as the chief guest.

Kalam emphasised on the importance of reading among children. “Overburdened in school and with excessive homework assigned to them, children generally get little time for extra reading. Television further takes away most of their spare time. Further, unimaginative and uninteresting textbooks diminish children’s interest in books,” Kalam said, adding parents, teachers, librarians can play a role in inculcating reading habits among children.

By Maroosha Muzaffar, reporter of Indianexpress.com

Source:www.indianexpress.com

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Sumo Grand Champion to Retire After Brawl

By YUKA HAYASHI
TOKYO -- The grand champion of sumo, Japan's ancient national sport, made a surprise announcement Thursday that he would retire as a wrestler after his drunken brawl on a Tokyo street made headlines.

The resignation of the 29-year-old Mongolian wrestler known as Asashoryu is a huge blow to the sport, which has suffered from shrinking fan base and a series of mishaps in recent years. He had just won his 25th national tournament last month and is third on the all-time list of title winners.

"I have caused a lot of trouble for so many people," Asashoryu said at a press conference. "I decided to step down to bring this to a closure."

The resignation of the yokozuna -- the title given to highest-ranking wrestlers -- came after Japanese weekly magazines reported late last month that he had struck a man and broke his nose after a late-night drinking binge. The wrestler said what really happened was "quite different" from those media reports, but didn't give his own account of the incident.

Asashoryu's departure is the latest in the series of embarrassing episodes for the one-proud sumo association, which has been jolted by various scandals recently, from the arrests of marijuana-smoking wrestlers to a hazing-death of a trainee. On Monday, the sumo association was shaken by the surprise election of a self-styled reformer to a seat on its powerful board despite the board's effort to name pre-selected candidates.

Still, mishaps by top wrestlers have long been part of the sumo tradition. In 1987, a 24-year-old yokozuna called Futahaguro was forced to step down after a skirmish in his stable led him to beat the wife of the stable master. In 1949, yokozuna Maedayama lost his job after skipping a match to watch a baseball game played by the San Francisco Seals during the team's tour of Japan.

Asashoryu has repeatedly gotten into trouble, embarrassing the officials of the Japan Sumo Association, the sport's governing body known for its strict adherence to hierarchy and traditional rituals. In 2007, he was suspended from participating in two tournaments after it was discovered that he had played in a soccer match in Mongolia while taking a break from sumo citing injuries. In another case, he was admonished for grabbing the top knot of his opponent during a match.

The association had been investigating Asashoryu's latest mishap during the days leading to his resignation.

Asked to discuss his best memory as a sumo wrestler at the press conference, he said it was beating yokozuna Musashimaru, his arch rival, while his parents watched on the ringside during their visit from Mongolia. "I was so proud of myself," he said wiping tears off with his fingers.

Asashoryu said he didn't have specific plans for what he would do after his retirement but added: "To be perfectly honest, I'd like to take a break for a little while."

Write to Yuka Hayashi at yuka.hayashi@wsj.com

Source:Wall Street Journal

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Mongolia ends $2 bln Tavan Tolgoi stake sale

4 February 2010
HONG KONG - Mongolia’s government has canceled the auction of an estimated $2 billion stake in one of the world’s largest undeveloped coal deposits, ending hopes of global mining giants eager for a slice of the project, sources said.

JP Morgan and Deutsche Bank were no longer advising on the sale of the 49 percent stake, three sources familiar with the matter told Reuters on Thursday. The two banks were retained more than a year ago to run the auction.


Shortlisted bidders for the stake in the Tavan Tolgoi mine included heavyweights BHP Billiton, India’s Jindal, Brazil’s Vale, US coal miner Peabody, and China’s Shenhua.

The Mongolian government could not be immediately reached for comment. Deutsche Bank and JP Morgan both declined to comment.

Mongolia’s government had decided to hold 100 percent of the huge Tavan Tolgoi coal deposit, the sources said. The reversal shows the determination of the government to, in the case of Tavan Tolgoi, fully control one of its most prized natural resources.

Late last year, Mongolia struck a deal to develop a massive copper and gold project with Ivanhoe Mines and Rio Tinto.

A South Korean COPEC consortium, a group of Japanese companies, and a Russian consortium including Gazprom and Renova were also named as bidders.

Mongolia’s state-owned Erdenes MGL was originally slated to own at least 51 percent of the project.

Now, the sources said, the country’s government hoped to strike a deal with a global miner to develop Tavan Tolgoi on a contract basis, without a significant equity holding in the project.

Source:Reuters News Agency

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Rezidor announces the Radisson Blu Hotel, Ulaanbaatar in Mongolia

The Rezidor Hotel Group, one of the fastest growing hotel companies worldwide, announces a new hotel in a new country: The Radisson Blu Hotel, Ulaanbaatar with 175 guest rooms is scheduled to open in Q1 2011. "We are delighted to enter Mongolia which is a fascinating destination and the 61st country where Rezidor is present", comments Kurt Ritter, President & CEO of Rezidor. "Our co-operation will strengthen the business of both our companies, and bring a new clientele to Mongolia", adds Jan Wigsten of "Nomadic Journeys", owner of the hotel.

The Radisson Blu hotel, already under construction, is located in the heart of Mongolia's capital city Ulaanbaatar, 200 meters from Sukhbaatar Square and Peace Avenue. Adjacent to the building (the rooms look down on it) is the 100-year old Choijin Lama Temple which features the 18th-century gold-covered statue of Buddha Shayaryamuni; the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; the Opera House; and the Museum of Natural History. Besides 175 rooms, the hotel will feature 3 restaurants (including a Paulaner micro brewery), a wellness centre and 1,500 square meters of conference and meeting space.

Mongolia is known as the home of Genghis Khan and its beautiful, undulating steppe grasslands which extend into China and Russia. Virtually unknown to the outside world prior to the 1990s, the country is emerging as a travel destination. Considered remote and exotic with a rich history, Mongolia has a unique combination of attractions for visitors - annual tourist arrivals have been growing at a compound annual rate of 15%. Corporate travel also offers considerable opportunities as Mongolia's economy will experience impressive growth. With its extensive mineral deposits it is a key exporter of commodities helping fuel the rapid economic advancement of neighbouring China. The country has made a successful transformation from a state-controlled to market-driven economy.


About The Rezidor Hotel Group | The Rezidor Hotel Group is one of the fastest growing hotel companies in the world. The group features a portfolio of close to 370 hotels in operation and under development with more than 78,300 rooms in 58 countries.

Rezidor operates the brands Radisson Blu Hotels & Resorts, Regent Hotels & Resorts, Park Inn and Country Inns & Suites in Europe, Middle East and Africa, along with the goldpoints plusSM loyalty programme for frequent hotel guests. Rezidor has signed a worldwide license agreement with the Italian fashion house Missoni, in order to develop and operate a lifestyle hotel brand of the same name: Hotel Missoni.

In November 2006, Rezidor was listed on the Stockholm Stock Exchange. Carlson Companies is the main shareholder.

The Corporate Office of the Rezidor Hotel Group is based in Brussels, Belgium.

For more information on Rezidor, visit www.rezidor.com


TAGS
sukhbaatar square, history mongolia, rezidor hotel group, kurt ritter, lama temple, genghis khan, steppe grasslands, driven economy, ministry of foreign affairs, museum of natural history, economic advancement, statue of buddha, impressive growth, micro brewery, presid


CONTACT
Christiane Reiter
Phone: +32 2 702 9331
Email: Christiane.Reiter@Rezidor.com


ORGANIZATION
The Rezidor Hotel Group
www.rezidor.com/
Avenue du Bourget 44
Brussels, 1130
Belgium
Phone: +32 2 702 9200
Fax: +32 2702 9300
Email: info@rezidor.com

Source:www.rezidor.com

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Mongolian sumo champion announces retirement

TOKYO — Controversial sumo grand champion Asashoryu announced his retirement on Thursday following a drunken rampage in which he punched a Tokyo man and broke his nose.

"I decided to retire. So many things have happened. But I feel fine right now," the 29-year-old Mongolian told reporters.

Asashoryu, whose real name is Dolgorsuren Dagvadorj, attacked the man at a night club in the middle of the season-opening tournament last month in Tokyo.

Source:AFP News Agency

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Bad boy Asashoryu to retire -- media

TOKYO (Reuters) - Troubled sumo grand champion Asashoryu has announced his retirement, Japanese media reported on Thursday, after a probe into reports of a drunken scuffle in Tokyo last month.

"Thank you for everything, I will retire," Kyodo news agency quoted the 29-year-old as saying.

The Japan Sumo Association (JSA) on Tuesday ordered an investigation following reports that Asashoryu had allegedly broken a man's nose in an incident outside a nightclub last month.

The head of Asashoryu's sumo stable told Japanese media at the weekend that the Mongolian grand champion had been too drunk to remember the incident.

Asashoryu won his 25th Emperor's Cup last month, but sumo officials said he would face punishment if the reports were proven. The JSA had said it would reach a decision by Thursday.

Asashoryu has been dogged by controversy during his colourful career, for everything from pulling an opponent's hair to starting a soapy bathroom brawl during a post-bout soak.

In 2007, he was banned after being caught playing soccer in Mongolia, having forged a doctor's note for a back injury.

(Reporting by Dan Sloan; Editing by Ian Ransom;

Source:Reuters News Agency

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Vegetarianism takes (tender) root in meat-loving Mongolia

More Mongolians are going vegetarian as people seek healthier diets and restaurateurs seize the initiative. Vegetables remain unpopular, though; menus tend to feature traditional meat dishes made with soy.

By Andrew Cullen Contributor / February 3, 2010

An unlikely vegetarian movement is taking root in Mongolia, where livestock outnumbers people 14 to 1 and meat consumption tops 200 pounds per person a year.

The first vegetarian restaurant in Mongolia, Ananda’s Cafe, opened in 2006. Today more than 20 vegetarian and vegan restaurants pepper the capital, Ulan Bator, and a handful of others are scattered throughout the country. Ananda’s has launched a catering service, and another popular restaurant, Luna Blanca, now sells frozen faux-mutton dumplings in supermarkets.

The restaurateurs, mostly Mongolians, belong to Christian and Buddhist-influenced spiritual movements that promote vegetarianism, some of them fringe foreign meditation sects.

Mongolians are turning to vegetarianism “mostly because of health. Also because of meditation – they’re following this trend,” says Solongo, a former assistant doctor for the United Nations, who like most Mongolians uses only one name. She estimates that vegetarians number around 30,000 or 40,000, just over 1 percent of the population. In the US, about 3 percent of adults are vegetarian, according to Vegetarian Times.

Increased trade with Russia and China and expanding Internet access are providing more information about food and nutrition, she adds.

“When things go to extremes, like extreme meat consumption, things go to the other extreme,” says Altanzaya, a sociologist and a co-owner of Luna Blanca who considers herself Buddhist. “Our goal is to make it available.”

Mutton dumplings, meat stew
Mongolia’s unique brand of Buddhism does not emphasize sparing the lives of animals for food, probably out of pragmatism. The country’s dry, mountainous landscape and nomadic culture mean that people have historically ignored agriculture and depended instead on meat and dairy products.

That high-protein diet fueled Genghis Khan’s hordes as they swept across the known world some 800 years ago. Historians have noted that Mongolian soldiers could ride for days at a time, drinking blood from their horses’ necks for nourishment on the go.

Some here consider meat the only real food. “If there’s no meat, [my father] doesn’t consider it a meal. You give him leaves and he says, ‘What am I, a goat?” says Dolgor, a young mining company employee.

The staples here are often bland, relying heavily on flour, rice, and meat, particularly mutton. Dishes that most Mongolians refer to as the “national foods,” buuz and huushuur – mutton-filled dumplings steamed or fried, respectively – and tsoivan, steamed noodles mixed with meat and root vegetables, originated in China.
Even more than meat, the traditional Mongolian diet depends on dairy products. Milk is viewed as sacred; each morning, women in countryside homesteads and urban apartment blocks throw an offering of the day’s first milk tea to the sky.

A few generations ago, herding families subsisted almost entirely on milk products during summer, when grazing is good. Milk comes in all forms here: unsweetened yogurt, dried curds, thick cream, distilled liquor, pale cheese, or the ubiquitous milk tea.

'White food'
According to Altanzaya, one of the challenges of starting a vegetarian restaurant in Mongolia is getting people to realize that the menu isn’t just dairy. The Mongolian terms are only subtly different; the phrases for dairy products (tsagaan idée) and vegetarian food (tsagaan khool) both translate to “white food.”

The menus of most vegetarian restaurants here use soy-based meat substitutes to mimic traditional Mongolian dishes. At all of them, vegetarian buuz and tsoivan are among the most popular items. Vegetable-based meals are less common, except at Ananda’s Cafe, which anchors its menu on a different vegetable medley every day – cauliflower, eggplant, zucchini, and others – to lure vegetarians hungry for a broader spectrum of nutrients.

The food’s originality, or lack thereof, is often beside the point. “The more we care about the environment and others and animals, the better we feel,” says Altanzaya.

Skepticism on both sides
Mongolian vegetarians often face skepticism. “A lot of people think we’re crazy,” says Erdenchimeg, a chef at the Loving Hut, a chain owned by the Supreme Master Ching Hai International Association, which promotes meditation and prayer. She became a vegetarian in 2008 and in recent months switched to veganism – all part of a commitment to lessening her impact on the environment, she says.

Javkhlan, a university teacher in western Hovd Province, also took up vegetarianism18 months ago, after he began practicing the Supreme Master’s meditation technique. He cooks tofu, dehydrated soy meat, and what few vegetables are available in the province center. The imitation meat tastes bland without flavoring, but he doesn’t miss meat, he says. “I’m happy being vegetarian. My health has improved.”

Still, even some of the vegetarian restaurants’ employees haven’t fully committed, for example, Amarmurun, a server at the Stupa Cafe, part of the international Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition, a Tibetan Buddhist organization. “I like meat,” she says sheepishly. “I just work here.”

Source:Christian Science Monitor Newspaper

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About alleged Chinese and Mongolian spy wanting to stay in Canada for fear of persecution

Photo: Gankhuyag Bumuutseren is seen here, highlighted, at a meeting of the Inner Mongolian Peoples Party in the U.S. Mr. Bumuutseren infiltrated the group for the Chinese intelligence agencies in order to monitor its members and their activities.

National Post newspaper of Canada just run a story on a Mongolian man allegedly spied for China. The man disclosed this as he was desperately seeking a way to stay in Canada. According to the story, " hours before
the Canada Border Services Agency was scheduled to deport Gankhuyag Bumuutseren for espionage, he sought sanctuary in St.James Anglican church in Etibicoke."

Bumuutseren said he was spying for China for eight years in Mongolia as well in the USA.Allegedly, he was collecting information about dissident Inner Mongolians staying in Mongolia. It also turns out that he was also collecting information for Mongolian intelligence services on Chinese intelligence and army and Tibetan, Kazakh and Inner Mongolian activists.

While this sounds like a good spy novel, it is very likely fake. Why would Chinese recruit a psychologist and vegetable vendor while there are many other half Chinese and half Mongolian people holding Mongolian passports. Mongolia has visa free regime with China and easy to travel back and forth bewteen China and Mongolia.It would not be hard for both secret services to recruit agents from thousands of Mongolians crossing the border everyday.

Many Mongolians in the West, wanting to get right to stay , make up stories and pretend as they are political or gay rights activists facing persecution back home. Nothing new and surprising about this. This time, economic refugee claims he is a Chinese spy.
It is very likely that there are many Chinese spies in Mongolia.Recently, Mongolian Central Intelligence Agency issued statement saying foreign intelligence activity in Mongolia has intensified and the agency expelled 4 or 5 foreign nationals spying on territory of Mongolia.This guy's story makes Chinese and Mongolian secret services as dumb and stupid.

Why would Mongolian secret service use vegetable vendor as agent? Why he did not face criminal charge of "treason" in Mongolia if he was truly Chinese spy?
Looks like the guy prepared for this show for a long time.He got close with Inner Mongolian People's Party and had his picture taken with them and even knows them personally.

Surely, this is interesting and we'll see where this will lead to?

By research unit of MonInfo News Service

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Just like the herders, we must prepare ourselves for hard times

Arshad Sayed, Country Manager, the World Bank in Mongolia
Rogier van den Brink, a lead economic for Mongolia, the World Bank

February 1, 2010 – Mongolia’s herders have learnt a hard lesson this winter; a lesson that can perhaps be applied to managing Mongolia’s economy.

This winter has been harsher than usual. Nineteen out of Mongolia’s 21 aimags have experienced the effects of a white dzud. Heavy winter snow, strong winds and lower-than-normal temperatures over a prolonged period of time have resulted in some herder families losing up to 70 per cent of their livestock. The ripple effects of this dzud will be felt by herder families, soum centres, aimags and the country as a whole for years to come.

Could the dzud’s impact have been reduced with more planning and preparation? Yes.

Before the transition from a Socialist system to a market economy in 1990, Mongolia’s government and herder collectives were diligent about setting aside reserve pastures and adequate supplies of hay and fodder during milder years. Together, the collectives prepared for the next dzud. Unfortunately, such measures were discontinued after 1990. Livestock experts are not surprised that livestock mortality during dzuds is now more severe than before 1990.

Interesting parallels can be drawn between the lack of planning and preparedness of the herders’ situation and the lack of planning and preparedness within the management of Mongolia’s economy. Summer months and financial boom periods are not times to relax, but times to prepare.

For a long time, resource-rich Chile suffered endless busts and booms at the hands of rising and falling commodity prices. But following the introduction of a structural balance rule, Chile’s susceptibility to boom and bust cycles decreased.

Chile’s fiscal regime, which was implemented in 2001, was simple, clearly defined and transparent. The country’s expenditure is now based on long-term conservative commodity projections and not on actual revenue. This enforces savings during boom periods and cushions the fall through the availability of saved capital during busts.

Because of this, Chile and the many other countries who have implemented a Fiscal Stability Law, were relatively unscathed during the recent Global Financial Crisis. Unlike Mongolia, these countries were well-prepared.

Pasture and fodder management is as important to the survival of livestock, as fiscal management is to the health of the Mongolian economy. Excess hay and fodder and winter reserve pastures will greatly increase the chance of livestock survival during a dzud, and financial reserves as a result of a Fiscal Stability Law, will ensure the health of Mongolia’s economy, the stability of its currency and the continuity of government-funded social services provided for the people of Mongolia, especially the poor.

It’s now up to the Parliament to recognize the worth, value and importance of financial planning and preparedness. Soon, a Fiscal Stability Law will be discussed here in Mongolia. This law proposes to adopt a structural balance rule. It would be a great pity if the Parliament passes up this opportunity to implement a law that will benefit future generations of Mongolians.

Mongolians say the choice is clear:
“Сайн малчны өмнө зуд сөхөрнө, Саар малчны өмнө зуд асна”.
A dzud will kneel in front of a hard-working herder; a lazy herder will kneel in front of a dzud.

Source:World Bank Mongolia Office

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Former Chinese spy seeks asylum in Toronto church

Aaron Lynett/National Post
Gankhuyag Bumuutseren sits in his room in the basement of St. James Anglican Church in Etobicoke, where he is seeking sanctuary, Feb. 2, 2010.

TORONTO -- A man who spied on Chinese dissidents in the United States has been living in a Toronto church since this past August to avoid deportation, the National Post has learned.

Hours before the Canada Border Services Agency was scheduled to deport Gankhuyag Bumuutseren for espionage, he sought sanctuary in St. James Anglican church in Etobicoke.

The 41-year-old Mongolian citizen has inhabited a room in the church basement since then, and while he admitted on Tuesday he had spied for China, he said he is afraid to return to his homeland.

"I feel so sorry and so stupid and I want to apologize and say sorry," he said in an interview translated by his wife. "I was young and I didn't know what I was doing."

The case offers a rare glimpse into how China's vast foreign espionage apparatus monitors exiled dissidents and activists that the communist government views as threats to its rule. It also highlights a related problem facing the Canadian government: what should it do when former members of hostile intelligence agencies turn up in Canada seeking refuge?

Mr. Bumuutseren said he spent eight years spying on exiled Chinese political activists in Mongolia and the United States. Although he was first recruited by the Chinese government, he later became a double agent and spied for the Mongolian government as well. He said that as a result of the information he collected, several Chinese dissidents were forced to flee to Western countries.

"We acknowledge that this man, as a young man, made some dangerous and foolish mistakes," said Rev. Murray Henderson, the church pastor. But he said Mr. Bumuutseren would be in danger in Mongolia and he is now a peaceful family man, regardless of his past.

That past is rife with treachery and deceit in the service of China's intelligence apparatus, which used Mr. Bumuutseren to help suppress a political uprising in the Inner Mongolia region of northern China.

In the 1990s, following a state crackdown on their activities, many Inner Mongolian political activists were living in neighboring Mongolia, a country of three million between China and Russia. Some also fled to the West. It was these exiled activists that Mr. Bumuutseren was paid to monitor.

"At the time, I did not realize what I was getting involved in. If I could only go back in time, I would have never accepted that offer," he wrote in his refugee claim.

Mr. Bumuutseren was a psychologist in the Mongolian capital, Ulan Bator, when he began supplementing his income by buying fruits and vegetables in China and reselling them in Mongolia. During his trips to China, he said, he met locals who offered him money for information on Chinese nationals in Mongolia.

The Chinese "were interested in the Inner Mongolians who lived in Ulan Bator ... especially in those people who conducted political activities and groups of people who conducted political activities outside China," he said.

His code name was Davaa. He took photos and collected intelligence on the leaders of the Inner Mongolian secessionist movement. He passed his findings to his handlers during his business trips to China.

He was paid well for his services, one time collecting a US$1,000 "gift." But he said the Chinese also told him if he stopped spying, they would report him to the Mongolian authorities.

He had been spying for China for just over a year when he was arrested by Mongolian agents at Ulan Bator airport as he was returning from China. He says they starved, beat and tortured him. After three days, he told them about his work for Chinese intelligence. He said he was freed under one condition: he would spy on China for the Mongolian secret service. "Thus I became a double agent," he said.

The Mongolians gave him a watch that contained a recording device. They wanted information on Chinese intelligence officers, the army and Tibetan, Kazakh and Inner Mongolian activists, he said. Each time he returned from a trip to China, he would brief a Mongolian agent and hand over the watch.

The Chinese, meanwhile, began sending Mr. Bumuutseren to the United States to spy on exiled dissidents. In 1997, he was assigned to attend the founding conference of the Inner Mongolian People's Party in Princeton, N.J.

He joined the party and fed information about its members and their activities to the Chinese. Beijing was particularly interested in any links between the party and the Falun Gong religious group, he said.

China paid his travel expenses and gave him money for the information, he said. He returned repeatedly to the U.S. to spy on the Inner Mongolian People's Party, even appearing in a portrait of the party leadership.

Temtsiltu Shobtsood, the party president, said in an interview he had been suspicious of Mr. Bumuutseren because he took so many photographs and advocated using aggressive tactics against the Chinese. A party member had also seen him in the Chinese city of Hohhot, he said.

He said he never knew Mr. Bumuutseren was spying for China but was not surprised. He said China views the Inner Mongolian opposition as a threat. "They think these people are enemies," Mr. Shobtsood said through an interpreter.

He was unaware of any party members being arrested or persecuted as a result of Mr. Bumuutseren's spying but said most now live abroad. "If we go back, certainly there will be a greater risk because of these agents," he said. Mr. Shobtsood, who lives in exile in Germany, said even if Mr. Bumuutseren would be at risk in Mongolia, he should be deported for what he did.

Mr. Bumuutseren's last spy mission to the U.S. was in 2000. Two years later, he was at Beijing airport when Chinese agents ushered him to a car.

He said he was shocked with electrical cables, suspended by his ankles, beaten with sticks and burned with a hot iron. He went eleven days without food or water. A Toronto physician who examined him, Dr. Les Richmond, wrote that the scars on his arms, legs and back were consistent with his account of torture.

Convicted of spying in 2004, he was sentenced to 18 years but was released after just nine months. He said the Chinese gave him fake documents and sent him back to Mongolia, telling him they might reactivate him in the future. He said upon his return home, the Mongolian authorities detained and tortured him. They let him go after seven days.

"I decided to flee to Canada," he said. Following one of his spy trips to the U.S., he had spent a three-day stopover in Vancouver. He said he liked the climate and the nature, which he said reminded him of Mongolia.

The family pretended they were flying to Mexico for a vacation but during a stopover at Toronto's Pearson airport, they asked for asylum.

In movies, spies retire to a quiet life. The ending of Mr. Bumuutseren's story is still uncertain. The Immigration and Refugee Board has ordered his deportation for engaging "in espionage against a democratic institution or process," and the Federal Court has dismissed all of his appeals.

The CBSA says it is unconvinced he faces any genuine risk if he is sent back to his homeland, and says while he was tortured in China, there was no proof he suffered the same treatment in Mongolia.

Mr. Bumuutseren is preparing to challenge that finding.

His predicament is not unique. Mikhail Lennikov, a former member of the Soviet KGB, is living in a Vancouver church trying to avoid deportation. Mansour Ahani, an Iranian intelligence agent, fought fighting his case all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada until he was finally deported in 2002.

Rev. Henderson has been helping Mr. Bumuutseren's family with their refugee cases, and raising money for their legal fees. He said the CBSA has assured him it will not arrest Mr. Bumuutseren as long as he is at the church.

"The federal government does not condone individuals hiding in places of worship to avoid removal from Canada and has other safeguards in place to ensure people in need of protection are not removed," said Anna Pape, a CBSA spokeswoman.

"Each situation is dealt with on a case-by-case basis. However, the fact that a person is hiding in a place of worship to avoid removal does not influence the federal government's decision concerning the case. It is imperative for the integrity of this system that once individuals have exhausted all avenues, they respect our immigration laws and leave Canada."

The church has given Mr. Bumuutseren its basement meeting room. It has a bed, TV, couch, exercise bike and dumbbells. The walls are decorated with his own paintings, all of them depicting butterflies, a symbol of his desire for freedom.

He spends his days painting and minding his three-year-old Canadian-born daughter, while his wife Monica works at Costco. He does not work and collects a disability pension from the Ontario government.

He has flashbacks triggered by sirens, police, shouting and telephones. His body is burned and scarred, and his eyesight is failing, a result of his two years in a dark Chinese prison.

"I am terrified to return to Mongolia. I believe I will be harmed there," he wrote in his court affidavit. "If I were removed alone from Canada to Mongolia, I would not be able to survive."

By Stewart Bell

Source:National Post Newspaper of Canada (http://www.nationalpost.com/news/canada/story.html?id=2514411)

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Russian Railways (RZD) train with humanitarian aid arrives in Mongolia

MOSCOW, February 2 (Itar-Tass) -- A special train of Russian Railways (RZD) with humanitarian aid for Mongolia’s residents who suffered as a result of frosts arrived in Ulan Bator.

As the company reported on Tuesday, a special train consisting of 34 cars brought fuel and lubricants, medicines, warm clothes and other top priorities to the country. Besides, the train delivered hay and straw for agricultural animals.

The company decided to render aid worth about 15 million rubles to Mongolia in connection with the extreme situation which emerged as a result of unusual for this country bitter frosts.

Source:Itar-Tass, Russian News Agency

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Famine Looms After Mongolia's Brutal Winter

Peter Sharp, China correspondent

Across the frozen wastes of Mongolia, the worst winter in 30 years has killed more than one and a half million livestock and driven tens of thousands of nomadic herders into the cities as they struggle to survive.

More than four million livestock could die by spring as temperatures continue to plummet to lower than -58C, according to warnings from the UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation.

Some 21,0000 herder families have lost more than half their livestock.

In a nation where more than a third of the population relies on herding for a living, tens of thousands are being exposed to "the spectre of famine", says the Mongolian Red Cross.

In the worst affected areas animal carcasses were found piled upon each other, frozen to death in their windswept pens.

Aid agencies reported that Mongolian herders and their families are physically and mentally exhausted.

Some 400,000 nomads, or 40% the herding population, in this landlocked country of 2.3 million people are severely affected.

"Short, medium and long-term solutions are needed if any sustainable lifestyle for any of those affected is going to be restored," a Red Cross report warned.

"Without our animals we have no life," said Nerqui Dorj. He wept as he skimmed his last dead sheep in one of the worst hit area of Dundgobi.

"I just don't know how we can imagine the future without our animals. Or how we can live."

The fierce weather is called "Dzud" which means "winter disaster" and this is one of the worst in living memory.

The temperatures have dropped so low that grazing livestock have been unable to break through the surface ice to reach the grass below.

They continue to die in their hundreds of thousands, starved and then frozen to death.

Source:www.sky.com

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Sam Arnold / AICG, Inc. to Open Branch Office in Mongolia

AICG and three partners will open an AICG branch in Ulaanbaatar Mongolia that will focus on providing capital for investment.

Beijing, China, February 02, 2010 --(PR.com)-- The American Independent Capital Group, Inc (AICG) and a group of three other individuals reached agreement on January 14, 2010 to open a branch office of AICG in Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia. AICG expects the new location to be operational in March of 2010. AICG is an international company that provides assistance to enterprises seeking capital funding for business projects.

AICG will own 51% of the new enterprise. The remaining 49% is owned by Ms. Si Qin, a Mongolian citizen, Mr. David Borjiking, a Mongolian residing in the United States, Mr. HaSi Bateer, a Chinese citizen and ethnic Mongolian, and Mr. Chen, a Chinese citizen. AICG and its partners believe that now is the right time to enter into a market that is expected to be a hotbed of international investment in the near future.

Mongolia offers an abundance of natural resources, a stable and democratically elected government, and proximity to huge markets in Northeast Asia. The current president of Mongolia, Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj, received his advanced education in the United States and is actively promoting foreign investment in Mongolia. According to the Mongolian Ministry of Foreign Affairs the country offers the following competitive advantages to foreign investors:

• A stable political environment and an open economy;
• Strategic and easy access to the giant markets of Russia and China;
• Extensive natural resources;
• Favourable legal environment;
• Relatively young and educated population;
• Vast territory, clean and undisturbed nature

Currently the main areas for foreign investment in Mongolia are mining, tourism, infrastructure, and agricultural processing.

AICG plans to utilize the cultural understanding, local knowledge, and language skills of its Mongolian partners to provide access to funds for companies doing business in Mongolia.

Source:www.pr.com/press-release/209371

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China National Nuclear bids for Khan Resources, offers more than Russian rival

TORONTO - China National Nuclear Corp. has emerged as a white-knight suitor for Khan Resources Inc. (TSX:KRI), a junior Canadian company that is focused on exploring and developing uranium properties in Mongolia.


The Toronto-based company announced Monday that it has agreed to support a takeover bid of 96 cents per share from CNNC Overseas Uranium Holding Ltd. That values Khan at $51.8 million, based on the number of shares outstanding


Khan had been the target of a hostile takeover bid by Russian uranium producer Atomredmetzoloto JSC, also known as ARMZ, which offered 65 cents, or $35 million based on the number of shares outstanding.


The Russian was announced in November and expires at 5 p.m. Toronto time on Monday.


CNNC's offer has the support of directors and officers of Khan who collectively hold about six per cent of the company's shares on a fully diluted basis.


The Khan board has agreed to pay CNNC a termination fee of $1.6 million if the friendly deal is not completed in certain circumstances. The Chinese company will also have the right to match any superior offer from another bidder.

CNNC's offer is conditional on getting at least two-thirds of Khan's shares.


"The CNNC offer is far superior to the unsolicited ARMZ bid," Khan president and chief executive Martin Quick said Monday.


"We look forward to working with CNNC to build upon the progress we have made in Mongolia towards establishing a stable platform for developing the Dornod uranium project and bringing it into operation. CNNC brings a lot to the table, with its deep expertise in nuclear energy, financial strength and strong political ties with Mongolia."


Khan shares gained 11 cents at the Toronto Stock Exchange to trade at 97 cents following the announcement.

Source:The Canadian Press

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Dire winter triggers livestock disaster in Mongolia

Mongolia, 2 Feb 2010 -- 21 000 families risk food insecurity and poverty

Beijing/Ulaanbaatar, 2 February 2010 – Temperatures plunging to -50C have killed 1.7 million heads of livestock in Mongolia, threatening the livelihoods of 21 000 most seriously affected herder families and putting them at risk of food insecurity, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) warned today.

An FAO rapid needs assessment on the impact of the disaster has found that urgent external assistance of some US$6 million is needed over the next two to three months to help the herders make it through to the spring.

A spell of intense cold, with temperatures plummeting to minus 40-50C followed on a very dry and long summer and autumn which produced insufficient fodder to feed livestock during the winter months. Such extreme weather is known locally as a Dzud.

More deaths feared

The ongoing Dzud has resulted in huge livestock losses, with 1.7 million deaths counted as at 31 January. If current conditions persist, the Government estimates that losses could reach 3-4 million heads of livestock by the spring.

One third of the population of Mongolia lead nomadic lives and depend entirely on livestock for a living. Their cattle, sheep, goats, horses and camels are the main household asset and are perishing from cold, exhaustion or starvation. Total economic losses so far are estimated at US$62 million. Also substantial numbers of wild life are dying.

Fourteen of Mongolia's 21 Aimags, or provinces, are considered seriously affected. According to the FAO assessment mission, in 8 Aimags 21 000 herder families owning between 100 and 300 heads of livestock each have lost more than 50 percent of their herds.

Food insecurity

The affected families face increased levels of food and livelihood insecurity as their cash income rapidly declines and prices of fodder climb sharply as compared to last year.

If assistance is not provided very soon, the mission warned, spreading poverty will lead to mass migration to the cities later this year.

The FAO mission stresses the urgent need to strengthen household food security for the most vulnerable families to prevent further loss of their livelihood assets, and proposes immediate livestock input support for the most vulnerable herders as a top priority.

In parallel, fodder, supplementary feed and veterinary care is urgently needed for weak and stressed animals until mid-April, amounting to funding requirements of US$6 million. Detailed project profiles are under preparation for submission to donors.

Medicinal supplement

FAO's Animal Production and Health Commission for Asia and the Pacific provided, as immediate assistance to protect and maintain the productivity of already severely stressed dairy cattle breeding nucleus, 5 000 boluses with a medicinal food supplement for dairy cows, pregnant heifers and young bulls.

Medium-term interventions should focus on disaster preparedness and risk reduction plans and strategies, and FAO is ready to provide assistance to the country as required.

The Mongolian government's special budget allocation of US$2.6 million for emergency aid to Dzud-affected areas, contributions from local Aimag citizen committees and pledges from neighboring countries need to be further supplemented by external support given the high logistical, operational and distribution costs involved. As a result, FAO also calls for coordination support to the Agricultural Cluster in Mongolia.

Mongolia cover an area of 1.6 million sq. km, which is roughly the size of Western Europe.

The FAO mission visited Mongolia from 27 January to 1 February and briefed stakeholders on its findings in Ulaanbaatar on 1 February and in Beijing earlier today.

For more information, contact Rajendra Aryal, FAO senior emergency coordination based in Bangkok, at email Rajendra.Aryal@fao.org or Oyundelger Nataa, FAO assistant representative in Mongolia, at email Oyundelger.Nataa@fao.org

More information at:

http://www.ifrc.org/docs/appeals/10/MDRMN00301.pdf

http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900sid/SNAA-8246MW?OpenDocument

Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)

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China sends disaster relief material to snow-hit Mongolia

BEIJING, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- China sent Monday morning disaster relief materials to Ulan Bator to help Mongolia combat extreme cold weather, said a statement from the Information Office of China's Ministry of National Defense.

The 500 tonnes of rice and 180 tonnes of other relief items, including generators, quilts and food, were carried by six IIyushin IL-76 air freighters and trains, said the statement.


Chinese workers load emergency aid materials onto a transport plane at Zhengding International Airport in Shijiazhuang, capital of north China's Hebei Province, Jan. 31, 2010. Three military transport planes carrying some emergency aid materials flew to Mongolia on Sunday. The emergency aid materials provided by the Chinese government include portable generators, quilts as well as rice. Mongolia is currently experiencing an extreme cold weather and heavy snow. (Xinhua/Jin Liangkuai)

Mongolia is experiencing extreme cold weather and heavy snow mainly in the southern province of Dundgobi, which has seriously disrupted the lives of herders and killed numerous livestock.

Due to a drastic drop in temperatures from late 2009 to early this year, 80 percent of Mongolia's territory was covered with snow 20 centimeters to 90 centimeters deep.

Editor: Li Xianzhi

Source:Xinhua News Agenc of China

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Mongolia awards Prince Andrew for publicizing country

Mongolian President Elbegdorj Tsakhiagiin on Sunday presented the Golden Gerege prize to British Duke of York Prince Andrew for his contribution toward publicizing the Asian country.

The award presentation was made on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum held in Davos, Switzerland, according to reports reaching here.


The prince told the Mongolian head of state that he is ready to assist Mongolia with its development and that he is planning a visit to the country in the near future.
"I am very confident that Mongolia would rapidly develop in a short

time," said the prince. He also expressed readiness to help Mongolia take effective measures to tackle air pollution that is affecting some areas in the country.

Source: Xinhua News Agency of China

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Mining Mongolia

Timothy Kwai

Monday, February 01, 2010

Now that UC Rusal has become the first Russian enterprise to be listed in Hong Kong, investors have begun looking into another interesting energy firm, this one based in Mongolia.
Toronto-listed SouthGobi (1878) has attracted global attention after claiming to be a strategically located premium coal producer.

This may not be reflected in the stock's 11 percent slide on its first trading day in Hong Kong on Friday. But the future holds much promise for this Canadian company, which raised US$439 million (HK$3.42 billion) from its latest initial public offering.

Big names like the mainland's sovereign wealth fund, China Investment Corp, has invested in the firm that holds coal reserves in the region bordering China and aims to sell thermal coal to mainland end users.

SouthGobi says after CIC became an investor, its treatment by state- owned enterprises and mainland officials have changed for the better.

The CIC connection has allowed the firm to cut through a lot of red tape, enabling direct negotiations with potential end users, namely several state-owned steel enterprises.
It also got access to power plants, national grids and various ministries in order to expand its customer list. CIC, as a cornerstone investor, has agreed to invest up to US$500 million in SouthGobi and so far has put up US$30 million.

SouthGobi's largest shareholder Ivanhoe Mines also has an interesting background.

Ivanhoe is a Canadian mining developer listed in Toronto and the New York Stock Exchange and its key asset is the world's largest copper-gold development project located in Mongolia.

Ovoot Tolgoi is SouthGobi's flagship coal mine while Tavan Tolgoi is the world's largest undeveloped coal field.

Both are to be connected with road and railway links to China's steel hubs such as Jiayuguan in Gansu and Baotou in Inner Mongolia.

Beijing has also approved huge coal-fired plants for Jiuquan near Jiayuguan.

SouthGobi's coal quality is higher than that of Chinese coal producers.

In terms of the heating value (kcal/ kg), its product is 6,054 on average, while China Coal's (1898) is 6,042 according to independent technical experts.

The forecast target volume in 2009 and 2010 is around 2 to 3 million tonnes as SouthGobi negotiates to boost sales.

But the firm is aiming for a production surge of 15 million tonnes in 2015.

Transport of the coal will be made easier after both the Chinese and Mongolian governments approved three coal corridors across their common border.

Transportation has not been a problem yet since clients have been sending their own trucks to the coal mines to collect supplies daily.

One of SouthGobi's strengths is its versatile management team.

Alex Molyneux, a former senior metals and mining executive at Citigroup is a reputed investment banker with wide experience in minerals.

The fact that SouthGobi is regarded as a star is because of its strong management line-up.

Turning to Mongolia Energy (0276), the management is banking on large scale exports from western Mongolia to the Xinjiang Autonomous Region whose transport infrastructure is to be upgraded. Mongolia Energy has built a 310-kilometer highway to access the Chinese market from its mines and also aims to develop copper mines connected to the coal reserve.

Mongolia Energy appears to be transforming itself from a single-project coal company to a multi-mineral resources developer.

Simon Lo Lin-shing, MEC's largest shareholder, is pushing the company to become a fully fledged resource developer. MEC's main asset is the 34,000 hectares of coal concessions it acquired in 2007.

It has also carried out eight drilling projects involving oil and gas, iron and other minerals.

Generating revenue is one issue, but turning a profit can be an entirely different matter.

Unless the company can identify more profit-generating projects within two years, it is unlikely that MEC's profit and loss statements will be stunning until at least 2014 or 2015.

But one advantage is that MEC faces weak competition from other firms seeking resources in western Mongolia.

Unlike, MEC South Gobi's management has confirmed it has no gold reserves or copper in its mining areas.

This makes it a single-resource developer, enabling it to concentrate on coal mining and trading.

From a mining perspective, Australia can be regarded as an elderly person and Indonesia an adult.

But Mongolia is just baby which has yet to grow up to reveal its real potential.

*Timothy Kwai is an investment strategist at Quam Securities.

E-mail: timothy.tkkwai@quamgroup.com

Source:The Standard newspaper of Hongkong (www.thestandard.com.hk)

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