The United Nations Resident Coordinator Office, the United Nations Development Programme, and the Ministry of Economy and Development of Mongolia jointly organized the “Socio-Economic Impact of Global Crises in Mongolia” seminar at Novotel Hotel on November 21, 2022.

It was raised during the seminar that the global shocks to commodity prices, food, energy, and financial markets are making Mongolians more vulnerable, especially at a time when the country is all set to mobilize its New Revival Policy.

The geopolitical issue involving Russia and Ukraine, according to the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Mongolia, Tapan Mishra, has a severe impact on Mongolia's economy by driving up the cost of food and consumer products. The availability of goods such as bread, vegetable oil, and gas has an impact on vulnerable populations, particularly single women and families with three or more children, in addition to price increases

The proposed analysis complements this analysis by providing comprehensive information on Small and medium-sized enterprises, households, and livelihoods of vulnerable populations. The findings and recommendations aim to feed into the policy interventions by the Government of Mongolia for developing an integrated strategic response.

Sodontogos Erdenetsogt was appointed as the Director-General of MONTSAME News Agency according to the order of the Chief of the Office of the President.

E. Sodontogos holds Bachelor’s degrees from the Foreign Language University (University of Humanities) in English/Russian translation and Banking and Loan Economics from the Institute of Finance and Economics respectively. She completed her Master’s Degree at the School of Pan-Pacific International Studies of Kyung Hee University in the Republic of Korea, specializing in International Political Economy.

She started her career as a translator at the United Nations Populations Fund and the United States Agency for International Development. She served as an attaché at the Department of Multilateral Cooperation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and an Expert at the National Security Council of Mongolia. At the Office of the President of Mongolia, she led the Office of the Advisors to the President of Mongolia with the key function of organizing and managing the day-to-day work of presidential policy advisors from 2009. Prior to her selection and appointment as the CEO of MCA-Mongolia, she led the National Secretariat for the Development of the Second Compact Agreement from 2015-2019. She has 30 years of experience in the international development and cooperation field.

E. Sodontogos is one of the founding members of the “Discover Mongolia” International Mining Investors Forum. She co-founded the “Mongolian Mining Journal” magazine, the first Mongolian bilingual trade journal. Upon invitation by the Mongolian National Broadcaster, she hosted a talk show in English, “Face to Face.”

QatarEnergy has signed a 27-year deal to supply China’s Sinopec with liquefied natural gas (LNG) in the longest such agreement to date, as volatility drives buyers to seek long-term supplies.

Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February, competition for LNG has become intense, with Europe, in particular, needing vast amounts to help replace Russian pipeline gas that used to make up almost 40 percent of the continent’s imports.

European companies looking to buy LNG needed to look at how Asian buyers were approaching their own negotiations and were willing to lock into long-term deals, QatarEnergy chief Saad al-Kaabi told the Reuters news agency shortly before signing the Sinopec deal.

“Today is an important milestone for the first sales and purchase agreement (SPA) for North Field East project, it is 4 million tonnes for 27 years to Sinopec of China,” al-Kaabi said.

“It signifies long-term deals are here and important for both seller and buyer,” he said in an interview in Doha, adding that the deal was the LNG sector’s largest single sales and purchase agreement on record.

The North Field is part of the world’s biggest gas field that Qatar shares with Iran, which calls its share South Pars.

QatarEnergy earlier this year signed five deals for North Field East (NFE), the first and larger of the two-phase North Field expansion plan, which includes six LNG trains that will ramp up Qatar’s liquefaction capacity to 126 million tonnes per year by 2027 from 77 million.

It later signed contracts with three partners for North Field South (NFS), the second phase of the expansion.

Monday’s deal, confirmed by Sinopec, is the first supply deal to be announced for NFE.

“This takes our relationship to new heights as we have an SPA that will last into the 2050s,” al-Kaabi said.

“It sends a message that a lot of Asian buyers are actually approaching us to have a long-term deal because they see the volumes of gas that are coming in the future are less and less.”

Qatar is already the world’s top LNG exporter, and its North Field expansion project will boost that position and help guarantee long-term supplies of gas to Europe as the continent seeks alternatives to Russian flows.

“The recent volatility has driven buyers to understand the importance of having long-term supply that is fixed and that’s reasonably priced for the long term,” al-Kaabi said.

“There aren’t many projects that are taking final investment decision and the next two big chunks of LNG capacity that are coming into the market is Golden Pass LNG that we partnered with ExxonMobil in Texas and the next big chunk if you will is North Field East and North Field South.”

al-Kaabi also said there was more realisation globally that gas should be an essential part of any energy transition.

“The wind doesn’t blow all the time and the sun doesn’t shine all the time,” he said, adding that Qatari LNG is “a solution that has the least carbon intensity”.

The pricing of the Sinopec deal will be similar to others in the past that were linked to crude oil.

“The way we’re pricing our deals with Asia is crude linked. We’ve done it this way in the past and that’s the mechanism we’re using going forward.”

The deal was signed on an ex-ship basis, meaning QatarEnergy will provide the shipping and delivery of the LNG.

al-Kaabi added negotiations for an equity stake in the Gulf country’s expansion project were ongoing with several entities.

The supply contract is a key component for an integrated partnership in the NFE, Sinopec said in a statement, indicating it could be involved in stake negotiations.

QatarEnergy has maintained a 75 percent stake overall in the expansion and could give up to a 5 percent stake from its holding to some buyers, al-Kaabi said.

“Important buyers that want to commit for the long term on a substantial volume want to see part of the benefits of the upstream business … so I think it’s an important win if you will and it makes the partnership even more solid.”

SOURCE: REUTERS

Mongolia registered 176 new COVID-19 cases for the past day.

82 of them were contacts in Ulaanbaatar, and 94 were recorded in the regions. No imported cases were found.

The total number of coronavirus related deaths is 2,134.

Famous Mongolian actress O.Dulguun is appointed as the ambassador of the Busan Medi Tour.

On Monday (22 November) Busan Metropolitan City announced that O.Dulguun ws appointed as the ambassador of the Busan Medi Tour at the Busan City Hall.

She has been active in Mongolian films, plays, and television shows, and this year, she starred in the play “Dynasty Without the Royal Seal” (literal translation) and the movie “Mr. Lady.”

She plans to introduce five medical institutions in Busan and representative tourist attractions in Busan through her social media (SNS).

She has 640,000 and 650,000 followers, respectively, on Facebook and Instagram.

A climate fund founded by Bill Gates is investing in technology that uses surges of electricity to shatter rocks and mineral ores in a bid to reduce energy usage and carbon emissions at mines.

A European fund tied to Gates’ Breakthrough Energy Ventures invested €12 million ($12.3 million) in the I-ROX pulsed-power venture with Robert Friedland’s I-Pulse Inc.

The technology is based on short, high-intensity bursts of power to streamline crushing and grinding processes that today make up the most energy-intensive and expensive part of mining.

That would help producers of metals like copper and nickel achieve carbon-reduction targets, thereby boosting industry efforts to gain acceptance for expansions to meet growing demand in the transition away from fossil fuels.

(By James Attwood)

President of Mongolia U. Khurelsukh will pay a state visit to the People’s Republic of China on November 27-28 at the invitation of his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping.

The Mongolian president will meet with his Chinese counterpart for official talks over the course of his two-day visit, during which they will also exchange views on matters pertaining to bilateral ties and cooperation.

Moreover, the heads of state of the two nations will issue a joint statement regarding the development of the Mongolia-China Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and sign cooperation agreements.

TMK Energy has completed the acquisition of 2D seismic across discovered coal deposits in the northern and southern regions of its Gurvantes XXXV coal seam gas project in Mongolia.

The two 10km 2D seismic lines will help with the mapping of coal seams exposed at shallow depth within highly prospective areas outside the 1.2Tcf best estimate Contingent Resource defined by the successful 2022 exploration drill program.

Design, engineering work and tendering for TMK Energy’s (ASX:TMK) key pilot well program is also nearing completion.

“Following the outstanding results achieved to date and the delivery of an initial 1.2TCF in contingent resources from the 2022 exploration drilling program, we are already planning for the 2023 exploration program with the completion of this small but targeted seismic acquisition,” chief executive officer Brendan Stat said.

“This new seismic data will help us refine our future drilling locations targeting the already significant prospective resources already independently assessed by NSAI.

“Our immediate focus is the finalisation of the engineering, design and tendering for the pilot well program which we expect to commence in early 2023 and is designed to demonstrate our proof of concept by flowing gas to surface at commercial rates.

“The 2023 exploration drilling program, to be completed in parallel with the initial pilot well program, aims to continue to demonstrate the vast potential and scale of the Gurvantes XXV Project.”

Seismic acquisition

The seismic lines are aimed at defining future exploration locations to further de-risk the broader undiscovered 2U Prospective Resource of 5.96Tcf.

The first 10km 2D seismic line was acquired across the Noyon Syncline field in the north of the Gurvantes XXXV Project area, where coal units have been mapped on both the north and south limbs of a broad syncline striking east-west for over 80km.

The second 10km 2D seismic line was acquired in the Khukhuzokh field targeting coal units exposed at surface, which is interpreted to be an extension of coal units from the Nariin Sukhiat field that was the focus of this year’s successful drilling program.

Pilot well program

TMK’s planned pilot well program will consist of three production wells drilled in close proximity to the Snow Leopard-02 (SL-02) well, which returned spectacular results.

Subject to partner Talon Energy exercising its option to proceed to Stage 2 of its farm-in agreement, the pilot program will be primarily funded by Talon.

Drilling is expected to begin in the first quarter of 2023.

Copper is one of the most commonly used and important metals in the world. According to Data Bridge Market Research, the global copper market size was around $304.79 billion in 2021 and is expected to reach $453.756 billion in 2029 at a CAGR of 5.1%. China is the world’s largest consumer of refined copper in the world. It consumed 52% of the global copper volume in 2021.

Covid-19 Impact

Like most industries, copper was also significantly affected by the pandemic. Compared to 2019, copper mining experienced a 2.9% decline in 2020, due to labor shortages, supply constraints, and mine closures. However, due to high demand paired with supply constraints, the copper market boomed in 2021 and crossed $10,000 per metric tonne in May 2021. The metal reached its peak at the end of March 2022, to $10230.89, and dropped substantially to $7651 at the end of October. The decline in prices came due to weaker demand from China since April 2022.

In 2021, $88.6 billion worth of copper was exported from 25 countries across the globe, representing a 52.1% increase on a YoY basis. Chile was the leader with $26.7 billion worth of exports, representing approximately 30% of all the exported copper ore.

Growth Catalyst

Copper has always had a high demand for electronics due to its malleability and high conductivity. Moreover, the demand for copper is expected to increase as the world moves towards renewable energy sources and the electrification of vehicles. According to International Energy Agency, the global copper demand could double by 2040.

Top Copper-Producing Companies

The Chilean government-owned company Codelco was the world’s largest copper-producing company with 1.78 million metric tonnes of copper produced in 2021. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) came in second to the Chilean company after producing 1.21 million metric tonnes. BHP Group Limited (NYSE:BHP), Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE), Teck Resources Limited (NYSE:TECK), and Newmont Corporation (NYSE:NEM) are some of the other notable names in the copper mining industry.

Top 15 Copper Producing Countries in The World

In this article, we selected the 15 countries that produced the most amount of copper in 2021. We arranged them in ascending order of their production in 2021. Furthermore, we also mentioned the copper reserves and the future outlook of copper production in these countries.

15. Mongolia

Production in 2021: 263,990 metric tonnes

Mongolia is home to Oyu Tolgoi, one of the largest gold and copper deposits in the world. Furthermore, according to Rio Tinto Group (NYSE:RIO), it is one of the safest and most sustainable projects in the world. It produced around 163,000 metric tonnes of copper in 2021 and is expected to operate till 2052. In addition, the project has still not reached its full capacity yet, which is due in 2028. After that, the Oyu Tolgoi mine is set to become one of the world’s largest copper and gold-producing mines.

In 2021, Mongolia exported approximately $3 billion worth of copper, accounting for 3.4% of global copper exports. Mongolia is the key copper exporter to China and exported 335,000 metric tonnes of copper to the country in the first quarter of 2022. With the current advancements in the Mongolian mining industry, the country is on its way to becoming the fifth-largest copper producer by 2030.

14. Poland

Production in 2021: 391300 metric tonnes

Poland is the world’s leading country in electrolyte copper production. The country exported $5.97 billion worth of copper in 2021, making it one of the leading copper exporters in the world. Moreover, the country has around 36 million tonnes of copper reserves. Rudna mine is the country's largest mine. It produces copper and silver ores and is owned by KGHM Polska Miedź S.A.

On November 11, KGHM Polska Miedź S.A reported that the Polish metallurgical production of copper was 442.5 kilotonnes, while the mined production was 334.4 kilotonnes in the three quarters of 2022.

13. Brazil

Production in 2021: 403,300 metric tonnes

Mining is one of the major contributors to the Brazilian economy and is substantially responsible for the country’s positive balance of trade. In 2021, the company exported $980.81 million worth of copper. The mining giant Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE) is a Brazil-based company that owns the largest and most significant mines in the country.

The Salobo Mine in Para was the largest copper-producing mine in the country in 2021, producing 191,700 metric tonnes of copper. The mine is owned by Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE), which is one of the biggest mining companies in the world. The Sossego Mine was able to produce around 86,000 metric tonnes of copper in 2021, making it the second-largest mine in the country. It is also owned by Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE).

12. Kazakhstan

Production in 2021: 520,000 metric tonnes

Kazakhstan produced 520,000 metric tonnes of copper in 2021. Aktogay Project in East Kazakhstan produced 136,400 tonnes of copper in the year making it the largest copper-producing mine in the country. It is owned by the British company KAZ Minerals plc. The mine is expected to exhaust by 2045. Furthermore, KAZ Minerals plc also owns Kazakhstan’s Orlovsky mine, Irtyshsky mine, and Artemyevsky mine.

According to Fitch Solutions, Kazakhstan is expected to produce 776,100 tonnes of copper in 2022, 803,270 tonnes in 2023, and 830,580 tonnes in 2024. The increasing copper production is owed to KAZ Minerals’ recent expansion plans and the new mining project, the Koksay copper mine, which the company recently started with China Nonferrous Metal Mining Group.

11. Canada

Production in 2021: 590,000 metric tonnes

The Highland Valley Copper Mine produces the most amount of copper in Canada, with 130,500 metric tonnes produced in 2021. The surface mine is located in British Columbia and will be able to continue its operations till 2040. Other than British Columbia, the provinces where copper is produced are Ontario, Newfoundland and Labrador, Manitoba, and Quebec.

In 2021, Canadian copper exports were $4.1 billion with US$10,314 per exported ton. Canadian miners are to potentially enter into agreements with the U.S. military to fund key mineral projects, especially in the Ring of Fire area which contains reserves of copper, among other minerals.

10. Zambia

Production in 2021: 726,379 metric tonnes

Copper is the backbone of the Zambian economy and accounts for 75% of Zambia’s total export earnings. Zambia produced a record high of 800,192.27 metric tonnes of copper in 2020, which declined by 4.5% to 726,379.19 metric tonnes in 2021. The Zambian Mopani Copper Mines produce the majority of the country’s copper and are the most significant copper deposit in Africa, producing approximately 88,000 metric tonnes of copper in 2021. Lumwana mine is another important mine in Zambia and is owned by Barrick Gold Corporation (NYSE:GOLD).

In 2021, Zambia exported $8.44 billion worth of copper in 2021. According to the UK investment firm SP Angel, the new Zambian president Hakainde Hichilema is focusing on increasing investments in the country and wants to triple the country’s copper output over the next decade.

9. Mexico

Production in 2021: 734100 metric tonnes

In 2021, Mexico produced 734.1 kilometric tonnes of copper. The nation has almost 53 million metric tonnes of reserves. Buenavista del Cobre Mine in Sonora is Mexico’s largest mine, producing 327.3 kilotonnes of copper in 2021. The mine is owned by Grupo México, S.A.B. de C.V. (OTC:GMBXF). Mexico exported $3.42 billion worth of copper ores and concentrates in 2021.

According to the National Institute of Statistics and Geography, Mexico’s copper production declined by 1.4% in July 2022, compared to the same period last year. The decline was faced by the country’s mining industry as a whole due to mine closures, operation delays, and lower ore grades. It is estimated that the total decline in copper production is expected to reach 4% by the end of the year.

8. Indonesia

Production in 2021: 810,000 metric tonnes

Indonesia is one of the world’s top copper-producing countries and it produced 810,000 MT of copper in 2021. The mine that produces the most copper is Grasberg Block Cave Mine, located in Papua, which produced 295.5 thousand tonnes of copper and an estimated 26.4 million metric tonnes per annum (mmtpa) of Run-of-Mine (ROM) in the year 2021. The mine, estimated to run out of the commodity by 2041, is owned by PT Indonesia Asahan Aluminium.

As per the remarks of the Indonesian President, Joko Widodo, the country may ban the export of copper in 2023 to improve the resource processing industry. Indonesia, being one of the top copper-producing countries, exported 2,235,454 tonnes of copper ore worth $5.4 billion in 2021.

7. Australia

Production in 2021: 817,700 metric tonnes

Australia has the second largest copper reserves in the world, second only to Chile at 93 million metric tonnes. In 2021, Australia produced 817,700 metric tonnes of copper, compared to 879,500 metric tonnes in 2020.

Copper exports account for about 10% of Australia’s revenue. In 2021, 50% of the exports by Australia were made to China, followed by Japan and South Korea. Furthermore, copper exports are expected to grow to 977 kilotonnes by 2023-2024, compared to 2021-2022’s forecast of 807 kilotonnes.

Olympic Dam copper-uranium-gold deposit has one of the largest copper deposits in Australia. It is owned by BHP Group Limited (NYSE:BHP). In FY2022, the mine produced 138.4 kilotonnes of copper, down from 205 kilotonnes in FY2021. Prominent Hill in South Australia and Girilambone in New South Wales are also some of Australia’s significant copper deposits.

6. Russia

Production in 2021: 820,000 metric tonnes

Russia produced 820 kilo metric tonnes of copper in 2021. Russian copper production reached a peak of 883 kilometric tonnes in 2012 and fell to 705 metric kilotonnes in 2017. The country has around 62 million metric tonnes of deposits.

Udokan deposits are Russia's largest and the world’s third-largest deposits with over 26 million metric tonnes of copper reserves. The industrial mining on the deposit started in August 2022. The deposit is owned by the Russian company, Udokan Copper. It expects to start exports from the project in 2023, with China as its biggest buyer.

Russian shipments of gas and oil to China grew significantly over January-October of this year compared to the same period in 2021, China’s General Administration of Customs reported on Sunday.

According to its data, liquefied natural gas (LNG) deliveries jumped by 32% in annual terms, to 4.98 million tons. In dollar terms, the increase was 157% and exceeded $5.3 billion. Russia is currently China’s fourth-largest LNG supplier after Australia, Qatar, and Malaysia. While data shows that China’s imports of the fuel from Qatar also grew over the first ten months of the year, shipments from both Australia and Malaysia have been dropping.

While the customs agency does not currently list the physical volume of China’s pipeline gas imports, its data shows that the value of pipeline gas flows from Russia in January-October 2022 soared by 182% compared to the same period in 2021, to $3.1 billion. This makes Russia the second largest supplier of pipeline gas to the Asian nation after Turkmenistan ($8.23 billion).

China’s oil imports from Russia also surged over this period, rising by about 9.5% to 71.97 million tons. Deliveries were up 53% to $49.19 billion in dollar terms. As follows from the published data, in both October and September Russia was China’s second largest oil supplier. Saudi Arabia remains the leader, having sold 73.76 million tons of the fuel to China for $55.5 billion over January-October.

China has been boosting energy imports from Russia, having taken advantage of discounts Moscow offered earlier this year in an attempt to secure buyers for Russian oil and gas. This came as many traditional importers began shunning supplies from the country amid Ukraine-related Western sanctions.