Rio Said to Consider Halt at Biggest Mongolia Copper Mine - Bloomberg

Rio Said to Consider Halt at Biggest Mongolia Copper Mine - Bloomberg: "Rio Tinto Group (RIO), the second-biggest mining company, is considering a temporary halt to construction work at its $6.2 billion Oyu Tolgoi copper and gold project in Mongolia as the government demands a greater share of profit from the mine, according to two people familiar with the plans.
The London-based company is discussing the suspension to protest the central Asian nation’s demands for a bigger stake in the project and new mining royalty rates, said the people, who asked not to be identified because they aren’t authorized to comment publicly. A suspension of work, which may halt mining and processing, isn’t certain and is among options that managers are discussing in London, one of the people said."

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Mongolia’s Biggest Coal Miner Loses Executives in Cost Cutting - Bloomberg

Mongolia’s Biggest Coal Miner Loses Executives in Cost Cutting - Bloomberg: "Chief Financial Officer Angus Caithness and Chief Operating Officer Graeme Hancock have left, Erdenes TT spokeswoman Gurjav Enkhmanduul said today in an e-mailed statement. Caithness and Hancock are two of four deputy directors at the company, she said."

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Mongolia’s Erdenes COO Hancock Said to Resign on Cash Crunch - Bloomberg

Mongolia’s Erdenes COO Hancock Said to Resign on Cash Crunch - Bloomberg: "The board of the state-run company accepted Hancock’s resignation this week, the person said, declining to be named before the matter is announced publicly. Hancock was the second- highest executive at Erdenes TT, as the miner is also known, and his role included preparing the company to list in Hong Kong, London and on a domestic bourse, the person said.
Enlarge image
Graeme Hancock, chief operating officer of Erdenes Tavan Tolgoi LLC, is seen in this Oct. 30, 2012 photo. Hancock was the second-highest executive at Erdenes TT and his role included preparing the company to list in Hong Kong, London and on a domestic bourse. Photographer: Jerome Favre/Bloomberg
The departure throws into question the timing of what was slated three years ago as a $3 billion initial public offering. At that size, the money raised would be equivalent to about 30 percent of Mongolia’s gross domestic product."

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Mongolia Cuts Rates for First Time Since 2009 to Support Growth - Bloomberg

Mongolia Cuts Rates for First Time Since 2009 to Support Growth - Bloomberg: "The Bank of Mongolia reduced its policy rate to 12.5 percent from the previous 13.25 percent effective yesterday, according to a table on the monetary authority’s website and confirmed by chief economist Sandagdorj Bold. The central bank is confident it will be able to achieve its 8 percent inflation target for this year, Bold said in a telephone interview."

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Mongolia Loan May Help Tavan Tolgoi Exit Chalco Deal, CEO Says - Bloomberg

Mongolia Loan May Help Tavan Tolgoi Exit Chalco Deal, CEO Says - Bloomberg: "Erdenes Tavan Tolgoi may use the funds to pay the $180 million it owes Aluminum Corp. of China Ltd. as part of a supply contract signed in 2011 for steelmaking coal, Batsuuri said today in an interview in Ulan Bator. The $250 million that Chalco, as the Chinese company is known, gave the Mongolian miner as a prepayment can be repaid with coal or cash, he said.
Erdenes TT, as the state-owned company is known, halted deliveries to Chalco on Jan. 11 after it failed to pay a company that provides logistical support amid a cash crunch. The coal supplier is also seeking revisions to the contract signed with Chalco (2600), it’s biggest customer, because prices were set at a level that’s now below the cost of extracting and delivering the coal, Batsuuri said."

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Bloomberg Media Group Announces Formation of Bloomberg TV Mongolia - MarketWatch

Bloomberg Media Group Announces Formation of Bloomberg TV Mongolia - MarketWatch: "HONG KONG, Oct 31, 2011 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Bloomberg Media Group today announced the formation of Bloomberg TV Mongolia, a new Bloomberg Television channel in partnership with The Trade & Development Bank of Mongolia (TDB), the oldest and one of the largest banks in Mongolia. Bloomberg TV Mongolia, scheduled to launch in March 2012, targets a fast-developing region in Asia, with one of the best-performing stock markets in the region and an economy driven by growth in commodities and exports to China."

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Bloomberg Announces Formation of Bloomberg TV Mongolia - Bloomberg

Bloomberg Announces Formation of Bloomberg TV Mongolia - Bloomberg: "Hong Kong -- Bloomberg Media Group today announced the formation of Bloomberg TV Mongolia, a new Bloomberg Television channel in partnership with The Trade & Development Bank of Mongolia (TDB), the oldest and one of the largest banks in Mongolia. Bloomberg TV Mongolia, scheduled to launch in March 2012, targets a fast- developing region in Asia, with one of the best-performing stock markets in the region and an economy driven by growth in commodities and exports to China."

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Mongolia's Renewables Belittle World's Nuclear Supply - Bloomberg

Mongolia's Renewables Belittle World's Nuclear Supply - Bloomberg: "Untapped mineral riches are fueling Mongolia’s ambition to compete with Australia and Brazil in Asia. The nation's resource-based economy grew 21 percent last quarter alone.
This largesse obscures a potential aboveground treasure also awaiting investors.
The world’s most sparsely populated nation has the potential to generate 2.6 million megawatts of wind, solar, geothermal and hydropower, based on data collected by the U.S. National Renewable Energy Laboratory and the Mongolian National Renewable Energy Center.
That's a fantastic figure. It's seven times the capacity of all the world's operable nuclear reactors combined, according to world nuclear association data. In contrast, Mongolia’s current power capacity is less than that of one large coal plant, just 878 megawatts"

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Mongolia defends draft mining law branded as bad for investment

Mongolia defends draft mining law branded as bad for investment: "Bloomberg reported that Mongolian officials held a briefing today to defend proposed changes to a mining law that the country’s biggest business association says would deter investment.

According to James Liotta, a partner at Mahoney Liotta LLC, who attended the meeting in the capital Ulan Bator, Puntsag Tsagaan, the mineral policy adviser to President Tsakhia Elbegdorj who led the legislation’s drafting, said that the proposed law would strengthen the economy, better protect the environment and ensure Mongolians benefit from the country’s mining boom. Representatives of Peabody Energy Corp, Aspire Mining Ltd and Centerra Gold Inc were among the attendees."

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Mongolia Defends Draft Mining Law Branded as Bad for Investment - Bloomberg

Mongolia Defends Draft Mining Law Branded as Bad for Investment - Bloomberg: "Mongolian officials held a briefing yesterday to defend proposed changes to a mining law that the country’s biggest business association says would deter investment."

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Mongolia’s Erdenes TT Halts Coal Exports to Biggest Buyer China - Bloomberg

Mongolia’s Erdenes TT Halts Coal Exports to Biggest Buyer China - Bloomberg: "The halt comes as Erdenes TT seeks a government loan for as much as $500 million to repay debts and fund infrastructure construction, Batsuuri said last week. The mining company wants to raise prices and cut shipments, changing the terms of the $250 million contract it signed in July 2011 to supply companies including Chalco, as Aluminum Corp. is known."

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Mongolia’s Tavan Tolgoi Seeking State Loan, CEO Says - Bloomberg

Mongolia’s Tavan Tolgoi Seeking State Loan, CEO Says - Bloomberg: "Erdenes Tavan Tolgoi, which signed a $250 million contract in July 2011 to supply coal to companies including Aluminum Corp. of China Ltd., gave about 300 billion tugrik ($214 million) to the government’s Human Development Fund in 2011 and 2012, the UB Post newspaper reported in September, citing the company’s then chief executive Baasangombo Enebish. The fund hands out cash to Mongolian citizens as part of a government effort to redistribute the nation’s mining wealth."

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Mongolia Minerals Law Threatens Coal Project, Group Says

Mongolia Minerals Law Threatens Coal Project, Group Says: "Proposed changes to Mongolia’s mining laws threaten the viability of the nation’s biggest coal project at Tavan Tolgoi and will further deter foreign investment, the Business Council of Mongolia said.
The legislation, which will give the state the right to a free stake in many mineral projects, will take the country away from the free-market principles practiced there since the early 1990s, Mongolia’s largest business group said in a four-page letter sent to President Tsakhia Elbegdorj’s office on Jan. 7.
The letter, made public by e-mail yesterday, came after the draft laws were published last month. Enlarge image  A worker stands by the arm of a digger in a coal mine in Mongolia. Mineral product exports account for more than 90 percent of the country’s exports. Photographer: Doug Kanter/Bloomberg Overseas investment in Mongolia, which relies on minerals for more than 90 percent of its exports, has cooled since a law last year restricted state owned companies from controlling strategic assets. "

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Noble to Lift Aspire Stake to Increase Mongolia Coal Shipments - Bloomberg

Noble to Lift Aspire Stake to Increase Mongolia Coal Shipments - Bloomberg: "The Hong Kong-based trader will pay A$2.8 million ($2.9 million), or 8 cents a share, to increase its holding to 15 percent from 10 percent, Perth-based Aspire said today in a statement. Noble will also pay 10 percent of pre-development costs for a railway that will link Aspire’s coal mine to the existing Trans-Mongolian rail line, Aspire said."

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Mongolia Minerals Law Threatens Coal Project, Group Says - Bloomberg

Mongolia Minerals Law Threatens Coal Project, Group Says - Bloomberg: "The legislation, which will give the state the right to a free stake in many mineral projects, will take the country away from the free-market principles practiced there since the early 1990s, Mongolia’s largest business group said in a four-page letter sent to President Tsakhia Elbegdorj’s office on Jan. 7. The letter, made public by e-mail yesterday, came after the draft laws were published last month."

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Mongolia’s Tavan Tolgoi Coal Field Deadline Delayed to Mid-2013 - Bloomberg

Mongolia’s Tavan Tolgoi Coal Field Deadline Delayed to Mid-2013 - Bloomberg: "Mongolia may delay the selection of companies to develop part of the nation’s biggest coal field to the middle of 2013 from the end of this year, a government mining official said.
Bidders for the West Tsankhi area of the Tavan Tolgoi deposit “have proposed very attractive offers and the government will discuss with each of them in detail and decide which offer has higher value,” Nemekhbayar Enkhbayar, head of the economy, finance and investment division in the Ministry of Mines, said in an interview in Hong Kong today. “We have to take the geographical situation into account and Chinese companies have big advantages on this.”
Companies such as Peabody Energy Corp. (BTU), China’s Shenhua Group Corp. and Japan’s Mitsui & Co. (8031) have expressed an interest in developing the field. Mongolian President Tsakhia Elbegdorj set an end-of-year deadline for picking the successful bidders in July."

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Mongolia Meets Investors; Thanksgiving Slows Issuance in Asia - Businessweek

Mongolia Meets Investors; Thanksgiving Slows Issuance in Asia - Businessweek: "Mongolia is meeting investors from today to discuss a possible dollar-denominated bond sale, as closed markets in the U.S. for Thanksgiving prompted Asian issuers to pause. Bond risk fell.

The North Asian country, which was the world’s fastest- growing economy last year, hired five banks to arrange the meetings, a person familiar with the matter said yesterday. Asia-Pacific dollar note sales this week total $1.8 billion, compared with $3.9 billion last week, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Asia debt risk is poised to close at the lowest level in more than two weeks, according to prices from Westpac Banking Corp. (WBC) and data provider CMA.

Mongolia, an exporter of coking coal, is seeking to raise as much as $5 billion from bonds and loans for rail and "

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Mongolia Signs Turbine Order to Expand Its Biggest Power Plant - Bloomberg

Mongolia Signs Turbine Order to Expand Its Biggest Power Plant - Bloomberg: "The Ural Turbine Works agreed to supply and install a 120 megawatt steam turbine at the Ulan Bator power plant No. 4, which supplies 70 percent of Mongolia’s electricity and heat, Moscow-based Renova Group, which controls the Russian factory, said in a statement yesterday. The turbine will begin operating in 2014, Renova said."

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Mongolia to Increase Renewable Energy Development, Xinhua Says - Bloomberg

Mongolia to Increase Renewable Energy Development, Xinhua Says - Bloomberg: "Mongolia plans to increase the amount of energy produced from renewable sources, the country’s President Tsakhia Elbegdorj said Monday, according to China’s official Xinhua News Agency.
The country expects to produce 20 percent to 25 percent of its electricity from wind, solar and other renewable resources by 2020, Elbegdorj said at the Northeast Asia Renewable Energy Resources Cooperation Forum. He didn’t say how much renewable energy is produced now."

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SouthGobi Lawyer Met Anti-Corruption Agency, Stays in Mongolia - Bloomberg

SouthGobi Lawyer Met Anti-Corruption Agency, Stays in Mongolia - Bloomberg: "SouthGobi Resources Ltd. (SGQ), controlled by a unit of Rio Tinto (RIO) Group, said its legal counsel who was barred from leaving Mongolia last week had met with the country’s anti-corruption agency to assist an investigation.
Sarah Armstrong, a Hong Kong-based Australian, met the Independent Authority Against Corruption on Oct. 26 and remains in Mongolia, Vancouver-based SouthGobi said today in an e-mailed statement. SouthGobi continues to “fully cooperate” with the investigation, it said.
SouthGobi, controlled by Rio Tinto’s 51 percent owned unit Turquoise Hill Resources Ltd. (TRQ), said in an Oct. 23 statement that none of its employees have been charged with any crimes. The company said May 8 that Mongolia’s anti-corruption agency had asked one of its units for information for an investigation into a third party."

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