Canada’s Turquoise Hill Resources (TSX: TQR) has set December 9 as the date its shareholders will finally vote on the proposed $3.3 billion takeover of the company by Rio Tinto (ASX, LON: RIO).

The meeting has been repeatedly delayed because of the opposition of key minority shareholders in Turquoise Hill, mainly US-based fund managers.

The situation took a turn for the worst earlier this month, after a Canadian top securities regulator decided to review the transaction, following a side deal between Rio Tinto and dissident shareholders.

Turquoise Hill said Quebec’s Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF) has cleared the transaction and that its board has repeated its unanimous recommendation to minority shareholders to vote for the sweetened offer.

Rio Tinto initially offered C$34 a share in March this year, but increased it to C$43 per share in cash in August. That was a more than 19% premium to the stock’s end-of-August closing price and a 67% premium from the day before the initial offer was made.

The Australian mining giant has had a rocky relationship with Turquoise Hill, particularly over how to fund Oyu Tolgoi’s expansion. The mining giant has also drawn criticism from some of Turquoise Hill’s minority shareholders about the control it exerts over the company.

The Melbourne and London-based firm, which has mined copper from Oyu Tolgoi’s open pit for a decade, and the Mongolian government ended earlier this year a long-running dispute over the $7 billion expansion of the mine.

Biggest new copper mine

Once completed, the underground section of Oyu Tolgoi will lift production from 125,000–150,000 tonnes in 2019 to 560,000 tonnes at peak output, which is now expected by 2025 at the earliest. This would make it the biggest new copper mine to come on stream in several years.

“Rio Tinto’s strategy over its stake in Turquoise Hill has been subject to discussion for many years, but we didn’t think it would end up offering to buy out the minorities based on previous form,” BMO Metals and Mining analysts said in a note to investors.

“Given the dearth of copper opportunities elsewhere, combined with its recently lowered risk profile, perhaps increasing its Oyu Tolgoi exposure now makes sense,” BMO Alexander Pearce and David Gagliano wrote in September.

Rio Tinto chief executive Jakob Stausholm has said the proposed takeover would simplify governance, improve efficiency and create greater certainty of funding for the long-term success of the Oyu Tolgoi project.

Experts forecast a vast deficit in the copper market due to a ramp up in the clean energy and electric vehicles (EV) sectors.

It is estimated the copper industry needs to spend more than $100 billion to build mines able to close what could be an annual supply deficit of eight million tonnes by 2032.

Achelous Pure Metal, a start-up based in Hong Kong Science Park, is in talks to form the city’s first facility to recover wastes from rare-earth processing plants into high-value metals to meet growing demand in the new-energy vehicle (NEV) industry.

The firm is discussing seeking up to HK$40 million (US$5.1 million) to establish a pilot research and refining facility in a new industrial complex within the Tseung Kwan O Industrial Estate, according to co-founder and technical director Alan Wong Yuk-chun. A similar facility could be built in the Greater Bay Area in future, he added.

Increasing constraints on rare-earth mining in mainland China and rising global demand for expensive metals – raw materials crucial to the functioning of electronic parts and low-carbon energy equipment in NEVs – have made recycling of certain metals worthwhile, he added.

“For the best part of the past two decades, the rare-earth industry has primarily used the chemicals-heavy solvent extraction technique to do large-scale processing,” said Wong. “In recent years, the emphasis has shifted to quality rather than quantity.”

Achelous’ proposed facility will be at the Advanced Manufacturing Centre in Tseung Kwan O, part of a HK$4.75 billion nine-storey centre promoted by the government as a base for technology-driven re-industrialisation of Hong Kong.

China’s global market share in rare-earth metals output slipped to about 60 per cent last year from 81 per cent in 2017, according to the US Geological Survey. Stricter environmental curbs at home contributed to the decline, while higher prices spurred new projects in the US and Myanmar.

China forms rare earths giant to protect global market dominance

23 Dec 2021

One tonne of rare-earth ore yields less than one kilogram of terbium oxide, which is used in low-energy lamps, laser devices, fuel cells and semiconductor electronic devices. The metal currently fetches about 13,000 yuan (US$1,815) per kilogram, versus an average of 8,730 yuan in 2021 and 4,695 yuan in 2020, according to Bloomberg data.

Prices are expected to average US$770 per kg this year and between US$610 and US$850 over the next three years, according to forecasts published by Statista.

Before setting up Achelous in 2020, Wong served as a senior technical manager at an environmental consultancy, managing cobalt and rare-earth elements extraction, recovery and purification projects in China.

Achelous is a participant in a start-up mentorship and partnership program of the Federation of Hong Kong Industries.

Together with researchers at the University of Hong Kong, Achelous has co-developed ion exchange methods for extracting and purifying terbium, as well as battery metals like cobalt and nickel, from rare-earth processing waste. They are seeking to patent their innovation, Wong said.

Ion exchange refers to processes of purification and separation, which involve the movement of electrically-charged molecules in water-based solutions. They require much less chemicals, with a resin typically deployed to act as a medium for ion exchange.

If the pilot project at the Tseung Kwan O site is successful, Achelous plans to set up a larger refining facility in the Songshanhu technology park in Dongguan, a mainland Chinese city about 120 kilometres northwest of Hong Kong. Achelous already has a research and development (R&D) facility there, co-founder and R&D director Shawn Cheng said.

Achelous aims to process semi-finished products from the mainland or abroad at its two facilities in Hong Kong and Dongguan into finished products with 99.99 per cent purity, he added.

In Inner Mongolia, Achelous has a facility to deploy its technology at a plant making cobalt concentrates with 50 to 60 per cent purity from waste. The facility, a joint venture with Beijing-based electronic waste recycling firm Huaxin Environmental, can process 15,000 tonnes of waste annually when completed early next year.

The first phase, built at a cost of about 20 million yuan, could potentially generate 100 million yuan of annual revenue, Cheng said.

Recycling of materials including rare earth metals, cobalt and nickel will help China meet rising demand from applications in defence, carbon emission reduction and manufacturing digitalisation, the Chinese government said in December.

By Eric Ng

Eric joined the Post in 1998 after brief stints in a trading company, and translation and editing roles at Dow Jones and Edinburgh Financial Publishing. He has over 20 years of experience covering China's energy, mining and industrial materials sectors, and has reported on China's healthcare and biotechnology sectors for three years. Currently, he leads the Post's coverage on climate change, energy transition and sustainability topics. Eric has a Masters of Business Administration

Mongolian President Ukhnaa Khurelsukh conferred Thursday the Order of Genghis Khan, the country's highest state award, to American author Jack Weatherford for his contribution to the studies of Genghis Khan.

Weatherford, who is well known for his book released in 2004, Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World, became the first foreigner who received this order. He once served as a professor of anthropology at Macalester College in Minnesota.

In addition, the president conferred the Order of Genghis Khan to Dechingungaa Dorjgotov, academician and leading researcher at the Institute of Geography and Geoecology of the Mongolian Academy of Sciences, who has laid the foundation of the field of soil science in Mongolia on a scientific basis and made a great contribution to the development of the field.

In previous years, the order was presented to only one person, but this year it was given to two people for the first time.

On the National Pride Day every year, the Order of Genghis Khan is presented to people who have made great contributions to strengthening national unity, deeply studying the history and culture of Mongolia, and familiarizing other countries with Mongolian culture.

China's minister of transport and his Mongolian counterpart held a video meeting on Wednesday, during which the two sides exchanged in-depth views on relevant issues in the field of transport between China and Mongolia, including cooperation in highways, railways and civil aviation, read a post on the official WeChat account of the Chinese Ministry of Transport (MOT).

The dialogue came just ahead of a state visit to China by Mongolian President Ukhnaagiin Khurelsukh from November 27 to 28, according to the diplomatic agenda released by the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday.

During the Wednesday meeting, Li Xiaopeng, Chinese minister of transport, said that in recent years, the economic and trade relations between China and Mongolia have been developing rapidly, and the demand for cooperation in transport, including infrastructure construction and connectivity, has been expanding.

"It is hoped that the transport authorities will further enhance the transport connectivity between China and Mongolia, ensure the security, stability and smooth flow of the logistics supply chain, and promote the bilateral transport cooperation to a new level, so as to better serve the economic and social development of the two countries and benefit people," said Li.

In the first half of 2022, China and Mongolia's bilateral trade accounted for more than 60 percent of Mongolia's total foreign trade volume, according to customs data.

Sandag Byambatsogt, Mongolia's minister of road and transport development, said that Mongolian transport authorities attach great importance to deepening friendly and cooperative relations with Chinese transport authorities.

"It is hoped that the two sides will work together to further strengthen bilateral exchanges and cooperation in railway, road and civil aviation, and jointly carry out the revision of relevant cooperation agreements so as to continuously enhance bilateral transport connectivity and push for more achievements in bilateral transport cooperation," said Byambatsogt.

Li also said the two sides aim to jointly revise the agreement on international road transport between China and Mongolia and actively promote China-Mongolia-Russia international road transport cooperation along the Asian Highway 4 (AH4) of the Asian Highway Network.

"We will complete the revision of the China-Mongolia border railway agreement at an early date and improve the capacity of railway ports to transport goods. The two sides will strengthen cooperation in the field of civil aviation and further facilitate personnel and economic and trade exchanges," said Li.

In September, the first China-Mongolia cargo train since the launch of a new "railway express" service featuring rapid customs clearance departed from Ulanqab in North China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region to Mongolia.

The railway express service uses digital and paperless administration, allowing customs to conduct inspections of the cargo goods online while simplifying the application procedures, according to a statement sent to the Global Times from the Customs of Jining in Ulanqab.

"China looks forward to working with Mongolia to take the visit of the Mongolian president as an opportunity to deepen our strategic mutual trust and practical cooperation and set an example in neighborly relations to elevate China-Mongolia relations to a new height," said Zhao Lijian, spokesperson for the Foreign Ministry of China, on Tuesday during a regular press conference.

Global Times

Address by the President of Mongolia at the awards ceremony of the Order of Chinggis Khaan:

"Fellow Mongolians, descendants of the homeland of the Great Mongol Empire,

Fellow Mongol brothers and sisters in every corner of the world,

Distinguished guests,

Allow me to extend my sincere felicitations on this joyous occasion of “National Pride Day” celebrating the 860th birth anniversary of the Man of the Millennium, the great military general, the king of kings, the Great Chinggis Khaan, whose deeds have laid the foundation of the modern-day world.

Great Chinggis Khaan is a symbol of unity and an assurance of Mongolia’s sovereignty: the spiritual golden thread of the past, the present, and the future of Mongols.

Chinggis Khaan united all Mongol tribes, established the Great Mongol Empire, bound and transcended the historical and traditional way of golden Mongol rule, and left a lasting imprint in our history whose extraordinary deeds will be forever remembered for generations to come.

The history of Chinggis Khaan is not only the history of Mongols, but it is also the history of the world.

Great Khaan and his successors stopped raging wars and conflicts among many states of Europe and Asia that plunged the vast terrains of Eurasia. “Pax Mongolica” allowed to strengthen of relations and unity among countries and people and enabled favorable conditions not only for societies to prosper and develop but also to advance their philosophies, religion, culture and arts, sciences, and trade in peaceful coexistence.

The wisdom and deeds of the Great Khaan made a lasting impact on the advancement and development of the world, who made a significant contribution to the foundation of the modern-day world and is remembered for centuries in the history of mankind.

The Great Khaan’s teachings through his great deeds and his life story on the values of Mongol unity have left a legacy for generations to be remembered for eternity.

Thus, it is imperative for us to continue to follow our Great Khaan’s teachings and wisdom, for it is our sacred duty to continue to study and promote the great history and inherent legacy to maintain the homeland of the Great Mongol Empire ever vigilant.

It is, therefore, a great tradition for the President of Mongolia to award the Supreme Decoration of the Mongolian State, the Order of Chinggis Khaan to citizens, bands, legal entities, foreign citizens, public and social servants, whose extraordinary deeds made a huge contribution in fulfilling this legacy.

This year, it is my honor and privilege to award Dr. Jack Weatherford, an American researcher, and Dr. Dorjgotov Dechingungaa with the Order of Chinggis Khaan, who have made a tremendous contribution, one for promoting the history of Mongols in a scientific and evidence-based way to the world and another for making a significant contribution to the environmental and climate studies of the soil and lands bequeathed by the Great Khaan to Mongolian people.

Professor Jack Weatherford is an internationally distinguished scholar and a researcher from the United States of America, who has published dozens of books and publications on the political history of the United States, the history and culture of Mongolia along with the history of Chinggis Khaan and Great Mongol Empire.

In 2004, Dr. Weatherford published “Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World”, becoming the New York Times bestselling author, whose book has been sold over 300,000 copies and printed into over twenty languages.

His work corrects many of the distorted misconceptions about Chinggis Khaan in the world history and proclaimed Chinggis Khaan as the great Khaan who laid the foundations for the modern-day free and open trade, exchange of knowledge and know-how, international law, diplomatic immunity, religious freedom, political system free of church and religion.

Dr. Weatherford’s book “The Secret History of Mongol Queens: How the Daughters of Genghis Khan Rescued His Empire” published in 2010, had made a valuable contribution to popularize the fact that Mongol queens and women have played a significant role and left a clear mark with their actions and wisdom in the history for centuries. While his book “Genghis Khan and the Quest for God” published in 2016, also narrates Chinggis Khaan’s value of freedom of religion, which had been introduced for the first time in the history of mankind, and how other world leaders have learned and followed Great Khaan’s example of progressive and democratic values.

Since 1998, he visited Mongolia on multiple occasions, organized more than 40 field research projects and expeditions, traveled to the historical places of the Secret History of the Mongols, cooperated with Mongolian academics, and made an important contribution to Genghis Khan studies and Mongolian studies.

Moreover, in 2010, the "Jack Weatherford Foundation" was established to support young Mongolian researchers, to correct distorted historical notions, and to spread the knowledge about Mongolian history. The foundation has done many important works in the field of Mongolian studies and grants the "Jack Weatherford Award".

Your works reviewing and evaluating the role of Chinggis Khaan, his successors, and Mongolian queens in the history of the world have re-introduced the concept about Mongolians to the modern world, increased the international value of Chinggis Khaan and the Mongolian nation, promoted Mongolian history and culture to the world and play a special role in the development of Chinggis Khaan studies and Mongolian studies. I express our gratitude to you and wish you the best of luck in your future academic endeavors.

Academician D. Dorjgotov is our famous soil scientist-agrochemical scientist, and he developed basic theoretical research on the origin, geography, classification, characteristics, fertility, and quality assessment of soil in Mongolia, and laid the foundation of soil science in Mongolia.

He worked exclusively on soil mapping, which is important for applying the results of basic soil research, and in 1975 he created and published the first soil map of Mongolia, and also created the first soil map based on satellite photography, depicting the soil typology, spatial structure, and distribution.

His research is rightfully appraised as a rare and valuable work of cartography as it made it possible to estimate all types of soil resources in our country.

Furthermore, academician D. Dorjgotov since 1984 participated and organized the work of the team of scientists and researchers who have created the first "National Atlas of Mongolia”. In 1990, he printed the first national atlas in Russian and Mongolian languages called "National Atlas of the Mongolian People's Republic", including about 300 maps and diagrams divided into 16 thematic groups. In 2009 and 2022, he led the republishing of the "National Atlas of Mongolia".

This "National Atlas of Mongolia" contains comprehensive information on the territory, administrative structure, natural-geographical conditions, natural resources, population, history, culture, agriculture, and social and economic aspects of our country. It is highly valued by professional scientists at the international level as it has become a comprehensive cartographic work of invaluable importance for research, knowledge, theory, and practice.

Moreover, he published his major works such as "Map and Atlas of the Mongolian Ecosystem" in 1995 and 2005, "Ecological Atlas of the Baikal Lake Basin" in 2015, and "Atlas of the Ecosystem of Mongolia" in 2019. It was a significant innovative step in the development of ecology, eco-geochemistry, ecosystem and environmental science, and the introduction of the results of research and development work.

Also, the research team led by academician D.Dorjgotov exclusively studied the modern issues of environmental pollution, climate, ecosystem change, and ecological-geochemical state. His team performed many important tasks and developed recommendations for technological solutions such as "Ulaanbaatar City Environment and Pollution Overview" in 1999, "Survey of soil pollution around drinking water sources in Ulaanbaatar" in 2004, "Geoecological study of Darkhan area" in 2009, "Survey of soil pollution around Ulaanbaatar city" in 2010, "Environmental and ecogeochemical research of major mining and industrial centers in the Seleng Basin" in 2015, and, the "State Standard for Maximum Permissible Amount of Soil Pollutants" in 2008.

Academician D. Dorjgotov worked diligently to prepare the succession of advanced specialized research scientists and to educate young students. During his 20 years of working as a professor and head of the department at the Mongolian State University and the Mongolian State University of Education he supervised the academic work of 20 doctors and 4 doctors of science.

Dear academician D. Dorjgotov, I would like to express my deep gratitude to you for devoting sixty years of your life to soil science, geography, cartography, and environmental studies and for your valuable contribution to the development of science in Mongolia. I wish you the best of luck in your academic endeavors.

Dear Honorable scientists and sages receiving the Supreme Decoration of the Mongolian State, the Order of Chinggis Khaan, the Mongolian government pays you great respect and perpetuates your great academic works and deeds.

Under the power of the eternal sky may the power and glory of the Great Khaan bless us Mongolians forever!"

The Supreme Decoration of the Mongolian State, the Order of Chinggis Khaan, acceptance speech by Jack Weatherford,

“Thank you, Mr. President and Distinguished Officials of Mongolia.

The greatest heroes of history have always been the lawmakers. Shakyamuni the Buddha, gave us the Dharma of Enlightenment, the Wheel of Law. Confucius devised the civil law of the family and state. Moses gave God’s laws of behavior to the Jews. Jesus spread the law to the Christians, and the final prophet Muhammad ended the era of great religious law givers.

Chinggis Khaan did not start a new religion. Instead, he gave the law of the Eternal Blue Sky granting freedom to all religions. Each religion was like one finger of God, and the Eternal Blue Sky united all of them into one -- into one dream of a united and peaceful world. The world today is still struggling to achieve that goal. We are now in the ninth century of the struggle to fulfill Chinggis Khan’s law and dream of the Great Mongolian Peace.

Nine is the most auspicious of numbers. This is the century that Mongolia can help the world move closer to the dream of Chinggis Khaan. Mongolia is the center of world history, the homeland of Chinggis Khaan, and you are the guardians of his memory and legacy. I am deeply honored that you allow me to join you in your great work.

As I flew to Mongolia this week, I watched out the airplane window as we passed Khentii, I knew in my heart that this was how the land looked on the day that Mother Hoelun brought her child into the world. The Eternal Blue Sky itself welcomed her child with a pure white hadag of snow placed across this country from end to end.

I thank you, and I pray: May the Golden Light of the Eternal Blue Sky forever bless this Sacred Nation of Chinggis Khaan.

Энэ бол Чингисийн төрсөн нутаг

Монголын сайхан орон”

On the occasion of the "World Antimicrobial Awareness Week" on 18-24 November 2022, under the ONE HEALTH concept, the very first meeting of the multisectoral committee approved by the joint order of the Minister of Health and the Minister of Food, Agriculture and Light Industry was organized ensuring implementation of "National action plan on AMR in Mongolia for 2022-2025". The council aims to ensure implementation of the national action plan such as to detect and combat drug-resistant microbials that affect human and animal health, to prevent infection and possible outbreaks, to control the use of antimicrobial drugs, to raise awareness among the public, to improve the knowledge and capacity of the personnel in the human and animal health sector about antimicrobial resistance (AMR), and to promote appropriate use of antimicrobials.

The meeting was attended by over 20 representatives from the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Light Industry, the Medicine and Medical Devices Regulatory Agency, the

National Center for Communicable Diseases, the General Authority for Veterinary Services, the State Laboratory for Testing and Certification of Veterinary Drugs, the United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organization, the WHO Mongolia and other related organizations and laboratories. At the meeting, implementation of AMR actions taken by the relevant organizations according to the national action plan was reviewed, and then the committee members discussed and planned the activities to be implemented in 2023.

During the discussion, the Medicine and Medical Devices Regulatory Agency emphasized that the “Antibiotic consumption study” data for 2021 prepared by WHO methodology would be reported to the WPRO. Moreover, it was stated that the agency has started taking actions to ensure all domestic drug manufacturers to comply with GMP in 2023.

On November 22, 2022, Vice Foreign Minister Sun Weidong met with Mongolian Ambassador to China Tuvshin Badral.

Sun Weidong elaborated on the epoch-making significance and important outcomes of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC), and introduced President Xi Jinping’s recent attendance at the G20 Summit, the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting and meetings with leaders of multiple countries. Sun stressed that with the grand blueprint of comprehensively advancing national rejuvenation through the path of Chinese modernization, China will uphold world peace and promote common development, and stay commited to promoting a community with a shared future for human. This will bring new opportunities for the common development of all countries and China-Mongolia relations. During his attendance at the two important multilateral meetings and in-depth exchanges of views with leaders of multiple countries, President Xi Jinping made China’s voice heard on global governance and Asia-Pacific cooperation and reached important consensus on bilateral relations, injecting more stability and certainty to the region and the world and deepening and substantiating the progress in the building of a human community with a shared future in China’s neighborhood.

Sun said that at the invitation of President Xi Jinping, Mongolian President Ukhnaa Khurelsukh will soon pay a state visit to China, which is of great significance to the development of China-Mongolia relations. China warmly welcomes and attaches great importance to the visit, and stands ready to work with Mongolia to ensure the full success of the visit and work for the new development of the China-Mongolia comprehensive strategic partnership.

Badral extended on the successful conclusion of the 20th CPC National Congress, and said that Mongolia attaches great importance to China’s future domestic and foreign policies formalized by the 20th CPC National Congress and President Xi Jinping’s recent important visits. Mongolia is ready to actively support the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative and the vision of a community with a shared future for mankind proposed by President Xi Jinping, further deepen the bilateral relationship and make it a model of neighboring relations. President Khurelsukh’s upcoming visit to China shortly after the conclusion of the 20th CPC National Congress fully demonstrates the great importance both sides attach to Mongolia-China relations. Badral expects and believes that the visit will further enhance the friendship and mutual trust between the two countries, advance pragmatic cooperation in various fields on all fronts, and elevate bilateral relations to a new level.