Corsa Coal’s (TSX-V: CSO) Acosta Deep mine in western Pennsylvania, expected create 70 to 100 direct full-time jobs and another 500 indirect positions, is for many the latest — though rare — recent signs of a slight reversal of fortune for the beleaguered US coal industry, WSJ.com reports.

Once a full tilt, the mine will produce 400,000 tonnes per year of low volatile metallurgical coal destined to meet demand from mainly US and Chinese steel companies.

“The opening of the Acosta Deep Mine marks a return to coal industry job creation in Somerset County, Pennsylvania,” Corsa Coal officials said in April. “Metallurgical prices have risen to record levels on the strength of strong steel demand and supply scarcity.”

The Canonsburg, Pennsylvania-based company will join Ramaco Resources Inc., which began producing at its first mine in West Virginia in December and plans to open two more this year in Central Appalachia.

President Donald Trump railed against the Obama administration policies on coal and greenhouse emissions as he campaigned in economically depressed areas of states like West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Ohio. He won all three states and swept eight of the top nine coal-producing states.

Trump has promised to bring jobs back to the coal sector and has already reverse a few of his predecessor’s restrictions on fossil fuels, breaking with leaders across the globe who have embraced cleaner energy sources.

But analysts and even Trump's advisor Gary Cohn believe such promise runs counter to market forces, including US utilities that have converted coal-fired power plants to cheaper, cleaner-burning natural gas.

Recently released federal data shows US coal miners have been cutting jobs for decades amid increasing automation, falling demand and steep competition from natural gas as well as renewables.

The Energy Department report released in January, revealed that coal mining now accounts for fewer than 75,000 US jobs. By contrast, renewable energy — including wind, solar and biofuels — accounts for more than 650,000 jobs.

Nuclear plants have closed before their licences expired in California, Florida, Nebraska, Vermont and Wisconsin, with more set to be decommissioned in the next several years.
The low cost of electricity is being attributed to natural gas extraction from shale formations such as in Pennsylvania's Marcellus region.

The Three Mile Island meltdown occurred on 28 March, 1979, alarming more than two million people who lived nearby and the city of New York 180 miles (300km) away.
A federal inquiry found no deaths or injuries were caused by the accident, though it dented public confidence in nuclear energy for years.
In 1994 a protester drove through the gates of Three Mile Island, causing the company to spend more than $1m (£777,000) on security upgrades.
Further upgrades were ordered after the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks.
Three Mile Island employees 675 people, supplies power to 800,000 homes, and pays more than $1m in state income taxes, according to the company.

No one died, there were no direct health impacts, but the Three Mile Island nuclear accident burned so deeply into the US psyche that it has helped limit the future use of the power source across America.
While citizens were frightened by TMI, so too were investors. The accident happened after just three months of commercial operation causing the plant owner to go bankrupt. The whole clean up effort took 14 years and cost almost $1bn.
In the wake of TMI, demand for nukes fell through the floor. The Watts Bar plant in Tennessee, the first new nuclear installation in the US, became operational in 2016, two decades after the previous one.
Many US scientists, greatly concerned by the threat of climate change, have come out in support of nuclear. They argue that the need for large-scale low-carbon energy outweighs concerns over safety.

The conservation of forest genetic resources project will support the government in implementing national laws on forest conservation and management. The project is funded by the Japan Fund for Poverty Reduction (JFPR) financed by the Government of Japan.

Increasing the forest cover to preserve the natural landscape and biodiversity is a key objective of the government. Sustainable forest regeneration depends on appropriate selection of and use of high-quality seeds for different vegetation regions. The project will identify official seed stock to supply high-quality forest seeds for more climate resilient forest regeneration. Capacity building in forest management by forestry personnel and local communities will be supported in three aimags: Khentii, Khuvsgul and Selenge.

“The project is aligned with ADB’s broader strategy to make economic growth more environmentally sustainable and preventing degradation of key natural resources, while supporting livelihoods of local communities.” said Mrs. Yolanda Fernandez Lommen, ADB Country Director in Mongolia.

Established in May 2000, JFPR provides direct grant assistance to the poorest and most vulnerable groups in developing member countries of ADB while fostering long-term social and economic development. Over the past 17 years. JFPR has supported over 48 projects in Mongolia dealing with poverty alleviation, livelihoods, and the environment.

ADB, based in Manila, is dedicated to reducing poverty in Asia and the Pacific through inclusive economic growth, environmentally sustainable growth, and regional integration. Established in 1966, ADB worked for more than 50 years in development partnership in the region. It is owned by 67 members—48 from the region. In 2016, ADB assistance totaled $31.7 billion, including $14 billion in cofinancing.

Ms Amgaabazar was presented to the PM. Jeenbekov has thanked the Jean-Michel Happi, who is completing his mission as the World Bank's Country Manager for the country, for contribution to strengthening cooperation between Kyrgyzstan and WB, and expressed hope for further fruitful cooperation with the new leadership of the office.

Bolormaa Amgaabazar, a Mongolian national, joined the World Bank in 2004 and has worked in the East Asia and Pacific and Africa regions. Amgaabazar was a task team member of the National Program for Community Empowerment (PNPM) in Indonesia and was responsible for the implementation of the program in eastern parts of the country with a special focus on Papua and West Papua provinces. When working in the Jakarta office, she held a position of a Trust Fund Coordinator. In 2008 she relocated to Washington DC while continuing to work on Indonesia as the Country Officer. In 2011 she moved to the Africa Region, as Senior Operations Officer for Sudan and South Sudan, based in Nairobi.

In 2014, she was appointed Country Representative for Timor-Leste. As the Country Representative, Amgaabazar’s responsibilities include overseeing the Bank’s program in Timor Leste; managing and supporting the Country Office Staff; and leading the Bank’s dialogue with the Government of Timor-Leste towards the twin goals of reducing poverty and increasing shared prosperity.

Amgaabazar holds a Masters in Business Administration from the Maastricht School of Management in the Netherlands.

Leading huge ships with a total crew of over 20,000, Zheng's ships visited ports across the Indian Ocean, the Middle East and Africa, "not as conquerors with warships, guns or swords" but as "friendly emissaries" sailing treasure-loaded ships, Chinese President Xi Jinping said in the keynote speech of the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation held in Beijing on May 14.

One theory has it that several parts of Zheng's fleet passed through the Arctic Ocean in their wooden vessels and discovered Greenland and Iceland -- see former British submarine commander Gavin Menzies' book, "1421: The Year China Discovered the World."

The authenticity of that theory aside, Xi's Belt and Road voyage seems to be taking a similarly ambitious turn north to those icy waters.

Chinese diplomacy with countries and regions bordering the Arctic has intensified greatly in the past two months. Xi visited Alaska and Finland, while a senior Communist Party delegation was just in Iceland and a Norwegian leader visited Beijing for the first time since relations soured in 2010 over the Nobel Peace Prize awarded to Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo.

This choice of destinations is no coincidence. "Looking at the visit to Finland, Alaska and Iceland, you can see the connection with the Arctic Council's chairmanship calendar," said Damien Degeorges, a Reykjavik, Iceland-based consultant specializing in Arctic affairs.

The Arctic Council serves as the leading intergovernmental forum among countries in the region: Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Russia, Sweden and the U.S. The council determines regulations on sustainable development and environmental protection.

"Earlier this month, Alaska hosted a ministerial meeting ending the U.S. chairmanship," Degeorges said. "Now Finland is holding the current chairmanship, and in two years it will be Iceland."

Xi visited Finland en route to his summit with U.S. President Donald Trump in April. After meeting with Finnish President Sauli Niinisto, Xi said Beijing and Helsinki would "seize the opportunity of Finland's rotating chairmanship of the Arctic Council to enhance cooperation in Arctic affairs."

Degeorges also sees the resumption of diplomacy with Norway in the same context. "It was essential for China to normalize relations with Norway, which is a major actor in the Arctic," he said.

According to PM J.Erdenebat, the economic growth has shown increases in the first quarter of 2017. The major products in the sector, namely cashmere, wool, leather, textiles, wood and carpentry products constitute 60 percent of the total output of the industry. As of 2016, around 2 thousand factories were operating in this field, providing workplace for 48.8 thousand people.

By an estimate, around 9.4 tons of cashmere, 29 thousand tons of wool and 14 million skins and hides are expected to be prepared in 2017. The main focus for the light industry is to process 30-60 percent of these materials into final products, increasing the production to MNT 4 trillion and total sales to MNT 3.5 trillion by the end of 2017.

As of today, a total of 34 factories is processing leather in Ulaanbaatar and around 200 SMEs are producing final products with hides and skins in rural areas, providing jobs for 5.6 thousand people. In 2015, the local tanneries have processed 2 million raw skins and hides and produced final products worth MNT 169.6 billion. And at the end of 2016, the total production of processed leather was at 1.6 million, while semi-processed leather production reached 4.3 million and the total sales increased by 12% to MNT 259.5 billion. Out of the latter number, MNT 182 billion is comprised of processed raw skins and hides, while the remaining MNT 77.7 billion is of final products.

Also, with an aim to support small and medium size enterprises in the non-mining sectors to strengthen their export capabilities and expand access to exports market, “Export Development Project” has started being implemented since March, 2017 with the cooperation of World Bank.

Mongolia imported MNT 204 billion worth of cosmetics and household chemical products in 2016, which is 90 percent of the total domestic consumption. Therefore, the Government is supporting SMEs by exempting them from customs and value added tax, providing equipment leasing opportunities through banks.

PM J.Erdenebat also mentioned to implement policies to further support SMEs and provide a favorable environment for investment. As stated on the Government’s Action Plan for 2016-2020, a hundred factories in the export-oriented sectors will be established in rural areas to substitute imports through “Industrialization 21:100” program. In consideration of the area’s resource output, human resource and development plan, these factories will improve living conditions in the areas through their profit.
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