Chief Justice Allen H. Loughry II and Supreme Court Administrative Director Gary Johnson met with the judges July 27.

“Even though these judges came to West Virginia to learn about our judicial system, we also learn from them,” Loughry told The West Virginia Record.

Loughry said that, “while it is clear that each country has a unique history and develops its own system,” there are also similarities in the countries’ justice systems.

“The judges I spoke with expressed their desire to have a system of justice that is fair and to have well-trained judges,” Loughry said. “This is obviously a viewpoint shared by me and by all of the judges in our judicial system.”

According to the release, the Mongolian judges’ experience with the West Virginia court system was planned by the Center for International Understanding, a non-partisan organization based in Princeton.

The court said the center, along with the Open World Rule of Law Program and the U.S. Department of State, brings professionals from emerging democracies to Appalachia to learn about American government. Since the center opened in 1988, representatives from more than 70 countries have visited West Virginia.

While in West Virginia, the Mongolian judges watched a circuit court sentencing hearing, a family court hearing and a video arraignment in magistrate court.

Loughry said programs like those run by the center are important because “it is in the best interest of the United States to discuss our judicial system with leaders from other countries.”

“The judicial branch is the cornerstone of democracy, and this program allows West Virginia judicial officials to help educate others about our system of government,” Loughry said. “It allows us to share with them the importance of an independent judiciary that makes rulings based upon the law and not based upon external influences.”

Loughry said the West Virginia court system has been involved in this program for years and has had visitors from many countries.

“I am hopeful that visiting judges learn the value of our democracy and value of the rule of law,” he said. “They are able to see how legal disputes are decided in open court for the entire world to see. I am hopeful they learn that the level of transparency in our judicial system also leads to trust in the judiciary by our citizens.”

Financial account totaled to a surplus of USD 313.0 million. In the first 7 months of last year, Mongolia had a net borrowing of USD 645.3 million from other countries, while this year the amount totaled to USD 313.0 million. Thus, the net external financing is decreased by USD 332.4 million.

As of July 2017, balance of payments aggregated a deficit of USD 48.8 million.

The deal, announced in March, places the Vancouver-based company among the world’s top ten zinc producers and helps it extend its footprint to Africa.

The acquisition of an 80% interest in Rosh Pinah and a 90% stake in Perkoa, will allow Trevali double its annual output to approximately 410 million pounds of zinc. It also makes it the first pure zinc company with operations in North and South America as well as Africa.

Rosh Pinah opened in 1969 and is expected to have a further 14 years of operating life, while Perkoa is set to produce for another six years.

The two African mines complement Trevali’s existing operations at the Caribou zinc-lead mine in Canada’s New Brunswick and Santander copper-zinc mine in Peru.

“We are very pleased to finalize our acquisition of the Rosh Pinah and Perkoa zinc mines, which marks a truly transformational event for Trevali shareholders,” President and CEO Mark Cruise said in the statement. “Additionally, we welcome Glencore as a key strategic shareholder in Trevali, expanding on the strong, proven business relationship we’ve enjoyed since 2010 at our Santander operation.”

Glencore now owns about 25.6% of Trevali’s issued and outstanding shares, representing about a 21% increase in ownership previous to the transaction.

Zinc was one of the best performing commodities last year, climbing up 60% as a few top mines, such as Lisheen in Ireland and Century in Australia, closed down. At the same time, top miners of the metal, including Glencore and Nyrstar, suspended some production.

Trading of Trevali shares was halted previous to the announcement and they were trading slightly up (0.70%) at 12:39PM ET.

The project, located at Sainshand Soum in the Dornogobi Province, is set be Mongolia’s third and largest wind park, as well as the second featuring Vestas turbines. Specifically, Sainshand will feature 25 V110-2.0 MW turbines in 2.2 MW power-optimized mode. Long-term financing is being provided by the European Investment Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.

“Mongolia has begun the journey away from an energy mix dominated by thermal power, and with its strong wind resources, the market is growing fast and becoming very competitive,” states Clive Turton, president of Vestas Asia Pacific.

The order also includes supply and supervision of turbine installation, a 15-year Active Output Management 4000 service contract and VestasOnline Business SCADA. Turbine delivery, as well as commissioning, is expected for the first half of 2018.

”Mongolia is facing an energy challenge due to increasing demand from industrialization and urbanization,” adds Benoit Ribesse, CEO of ENGIE Mongolia. “As our first renewable energy project in Mongolia, ENGIE’s investment in the Sainshand wind farm is consistent with our vision of leading the global energy transition, and the drive for decarbonization will significantly contribute to powering the country’s energy needs. We look forward to partnering with Vestas to support the Mongolian community – environmentally, socially and economically.”

The first train carrying 82 TEU was dispatched from province Fujian to station Kupavna of the Moscow Railway on August 25th. Time in transit shall be 14 days. The route of this service runs via border stations Erlian/Zamyn-Uud/Naushki. With increase of the rhythm of traffic it is expected to use FESCO Mongolian Shuttle to make two regular dispatches per month, in the future – on a weekly basis.

The cargo base for the service is formed by export goods from province Fujian and by products that are produced in and are arriving from other regions to Shanghai, Ningbo, Guangzhou. These are primarily consumer goods, products of the textile industry, shoes.

FESCO launched its first continental service from China to Russia in late 2016 on route Tianjin-Moscow, a transit service from China to Germany passing through the territory of Mongolia as well started to operate in early August 2017.

According to the governor, there are more than 60 energy companies working in Yamal, including Gazprom, Rosneft, Lukoil, NOVATEK, Gazprom Neft, Transneft, France’s Total, China’s CNPC and others.

There are 236 oil and gas fields in Yamal, and the region boasts proven hydrocarbon reserves of 44.5 trillion cubic meters of gas and almost 5 billion tons of oil.

Russia expects to open the first phase of the Yamal liquified natural gas (LNG) project in December. The plant will produce 16.5 million tons of LNG per year. The project is a joint-venture between Russia’s NOVATEK (50.1 percent), Total (20 percent), CNPC (20 percent) and the Silk Road Fund (9.9 percent). 96 percent of the plant’s future capacity has already been contracted, Kobylkin noted.

When Yamal LNG and Arctic LNG 2 on the Gydan Peninsula are fully operational, LNG production in the region will be 80 million tons per year, the governor said.

The region also has natural gas pipelines, crucial for Nord Stream, the pipeline that delivers Russian gas to Germany and Europe.

Yamal will also become a major hub for the Russian Northern Sea Route, which allows passage from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean via the shortest route along the Russian part of the Arctic Circle. It reduces the transport time from China to Europe by at least 12 days compared to the traditional Suez Canal route.