Mongolia’s government is said to be actively seeking to cancel a deal with Rio Tinto (ASX, LON, NYSE: RIO) governing a $6.75 billion expansion of the Oyu Tolgoi copper mine in the Gobi Desert, as it looks to replace it with a new agreement.

Rather than acting unilaterally, which would risk future foreign investment projects, local authorities have suggested Rio Tinto to mutually terminate the plan. The end goal, Financial Times reports, is to reach a new agreement more beneficial to Mongolia.

Ulaanbaatar threatened in early January to halt construction at the mine, arguing that delays and higher-than-expected costs had eroded the economic benefits the country had hoped for.

Rio had in 2019 flagged stability risks associated with the original project design, which translated into as much as an additional $1.9 billion cost and a 30-month delay.

The miner confirmed in December the new estimate for the long-awaited underground expansion, adding that production would begin in October 2022.

Erdenes Oyu Tolgoi LLC, the Mongolian state-owned company that owns a third of the mine, reacted to the new timeline and budget by saying that Rio had not delivered on its 2015 promises.

Erdenes’ interest in Oyu Tolgoi is technically held through a 34% in a Mongolian company called Oyu Tolgoi LLC. The remaining stake belongs to Canada’s Turquoise Hill Resources (TSX, NYSE: TRQ), which is 50.79% owned by Rio Tinto.

The best scenario for everyone involved in the mine development, which will make Oyu Tolgoi the world’s fourth-largest copper operation once completed, is uncertain.

The Mongolian Parliamentary Working Group, formed in 2019, recommended exploring possibilities for a production sharing agreement and/or replacement of the equity interest with a special royalty.

Multiple issues

Rio and Turquoise Hill are focused on bringing the underground expansion into production, but they have locked horns on the financing aspects. The Canadian miner scored a temporary, but key victory last week, after an arbitration tribunal handling the spat granted the Canadian miner interim relief.

The ruling prevents the mining giant from restricting Turquoise Hill’s talks on funding and other matters with its fellow stakeholders in Oyu Tolgoi.

The miners also have other issues to resolve, including extending an existing power agreement beyond March. The operation is powered by coal-fired electricity imported from neighbouring China via overhead cables.

Then there is a potential restructuring of Oyu Tolgoi’s management team, as well as the need to ratify a 2019 statement of resources and reserves and a feasibility study prepared in 2020.

All these topics need to be addressed before Rio Tinto makes a major mining decision — an undercut — in May.

The technique is part of an extraction method known as block caving. It involves creating an artificial cavern below the ore body, allowing it to progressively collapse under its own weight.

Oyu Tolgoi’s expansion cost blowout to hit up to $1.8 billion

The copper-gold mine is located in the South Gobi region of Mongolia, about 550 km south of the capital Ulaanbaatar. (Source: Rio Tinto.)

Rio Tinto’s decision will also be affected by the view of its brand-new boss, Jakob Stausholm, who only two weeks ago overhauled the senior leadership team and created two new roles.

The mining giant has repeatedly said the underground expansion is its most important growth project. Once completed, Oyu Tolgoi will churn out 480,000 tonnes of copper a year from 2028 to 2036.

Following the resignation of Prime Minister (PM) Ukhnaa Khurelsukh, Mongolia partially redefined its political landscape with the forming of the cabinet of its new, young Prime Minister. On 27 January 2021, the State Great Khural — the Mongolian Parliament — appointed the new Prime Minister. A scandal concerning a COVID-19 patient (involving a mother and her new-born baby’s relocation to a specialist quarantaine facility) had led to major protests and ultimately to the dismissal of PM Ukhnaa Khurelsukh, appointed after the June 2020 parliamentary election. The incident sparked popular protests, topping public dissatisfaction caused by the lack of job opportunities and the vulnerable economic condition of Mongolia. The choice of the new PM fell on Mr Luvsannamsrai Oyun-Erdene, who became Mongolia’s 32nd Prime Minister and one of the youngest Prime Ministers currently in office. Notably, he was backed by an 87.9 percent approval rate in the State Great Khural new PM vote.

Who is Luvsannamsrai Oyun-Erdene?

Born in 1980 in Ulaanbaatar, L. Oyun -Erdene holds majors in journalism, law and political sciences and started his political career in 2008 as the Head of the Social Development Department of Bayanzurkh District Governor’s Secretariat. From 2011 to 2012 he served as the Secretary for the Mongolian People’s Party, to become its Acting General Secretary in 2012. In 2015, he completed his MA degree in Public Administration at Harvard University, returning to Mongolia to become a member of Parliament in 2016, serving as Cabinet Secretary from 2017.

Oyun-Erdene belongs to a new generation of Mongolians who are too young to have taken part in the 1990 democratic revolution. Showing a break from those politicians trained under the Soviet Union rule, this new era is opening the door for a new generation of politicians. Deeply policy-focused as he is, L. Oyun-Erdene devoted his time under U. Khurelsukh’s administration to the designing of Mongolia’s Vision 2050. As one of the architects and main promoters of this long-term strategy, he aims to boost Mongolia’s development, establishing a path for the country in fighting climate change, while creating opportunities for sustainable development. Furthermore, with his appointment he introduced a number of new Ministers, blowing somewhat of a new wind through the Mongolian political landscape. On 29 January 29, 2021, L. Oyun-Erdene issued the ordinance for his new cabinet, presenting eight new names to join his administration.

How real is this Generational Turn?

Among the newly appointed members of the cabinet we find Deputy Prime Minister (DPM) S. Amarsaikhan ( a Member of Parliament since 2020). Before taking up his position as DPM, he served as mayor of Ulaanbaatar between 2019 and 2020. Before that he was the CEO of Oyunii-Undraa Group (one of the first private sector companies active in Mongolia’s core economic sectors including Mining, Banking and Finance, ICT and Real Estate). He was also a consular officer at the Mongolian Embassy in China. Besides him, the new Head of Cabinet Secretariat is Tsendiin Nyamdorj, lawmaker since 1981 and an important figure in the Mongolian Political landscape.

The Ministry of Environment and Tourism is now led by N. Urtnasan (Class of 1975). She graduated in journalism from the National University of Mongolia and later on specialised in environmental journalism in Japan and Germany. She worked as an editor and reporter for the Mongolian National Broadcaster, where she was in charge of environment and responsible mining. Furthermore, she has also been CEO for Uni Solar LLC and New World Television.

The new Minister of Finance is lawmaker Boldyn Javkhlan (Class of 1975) who worked as Deputy Vice President of the Bank of Mongolia, resigning to enter Parliament in 2016. In addition, Minister Batmönkhiin Battsetseg is the New Minister of Foreign Affairs, while the new Minister of Culture is Chinbatyn Nomin (Class of 1983) who studied Economics and Accounting at the Universities of Cambridge, East Anglia and Harvard and has been CEO of Mongol HD TV since 2011. The appointed Minister of Health is S. Enkhbold and the Minister of Education and Science is MP L. Enkh-Amgalan, elected lawmaker in 2012 who served as secretary of the Montsame Agency. Meanwhile, the reappointed members include the Minister of Justice and Internal Affairs Khishgeegiin Nyambaatar, Minister of Labour and Social Protection Ayuushiin Ariunzaya, Minister of Construction and Urban Development Begjavyn Munkhbaatar, Minister of Defence Gürsediin Saikhanbayar, Minister of Road and Transport Development Luvsangiin Khaltar, Minister Mining and Heavy Industry Gelengiin Yondon, Minister of Food, Agriculture and Light Industry Zagdjavyn Mendsaikhan and Minister of Energy Nansalyn Tavinbekh.

By re-appointing most of the previous administration’s Cabinet members, bearing on their expertise, the new Prime Minister made a clear statement by prioritising stability over new faces, especially in times of crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic. Noteworthy, many of the ministers pursued their studies overseas. There are also three newly appointed women among the members of Cabinet — Minister B. Battsetseg, Minister Ch. Nomin and Minister Urtnasan — totalling four female ministers with A. Ariunzaya, who was re-appointed from the previous administration.

The inclusion of such a share of women at the highest decision-making level marks a first for the Mongolian Government. Also, the new Minister of Health S. Enkhbold counts as an interesting choice, having served as the Director of the State Central Hospital since 2009. Other noteworthy appointments are the Foreign Affairs Minister and the new head of Cabinet. The New Minister in charge of the Foreign Office, Minister B. Battsetseg (Class of 1973) holds a Bachelor’s degree in International Relations from the Mongolian National University and a second one in Business Administration from the University of Finance and Economics in Ulaanbaatar. In addition, she holds a Master’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Maastricht in the Netherlands. Her appointment as Minister of Foreign Affairs springs from her notable experience in the diplomatic field, having served as the Head of Foreign Relations and Cooperation Department of the MPP from 2010 to 2012, and more recently as Mongolia’s Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs between 2016 and 2020.

The Cabinet assumes a generational mix, with seven members belonging to the generation born between 1975 and 1985, with Minister Ch. Nomin being the youngest in office. Notably, this generation was too young to have taken part in the democratic revolution of thirty years ago. The other appointed Cabinet members being slightly older, the new head of Cabinet can be considered the most senior one and a scholar of an older class of Politicians. Head of Cabinet Ts. Nyamdorj, (Class of 1956) is one of the most eminent Mongolian political personalities. After graduating from Leningrad State University in 1981 he became a lawyer, serving as prosecutor and later becoming the unit and department head of the State General Prosecution Office between 1981 and 1988. Between 1992 and 2020 he was elected seven times as a Member of Parliament, and from 1998 to 1999 he acted as the Head of Mongolian People’s Revolutionary Party (the previous name of the MPP) group in Parliament. Additionally, he served as Minister of Justice during three terms (2000-2004, 2008-2012, and 2017-2020). In recent years he was featured in the news for his role in the Parliamentary standing committees for the investigation on the privatisation of Erdenet.

One can observe a certain sense of continuity between the L. Oyun-Erdene cabinet and the previous one under U. Khurelsukh. While a new cabinet does not necessarily represent a drastic generational turn, it embodies how Mongolia’s political landscape is changing. A younger, highly educated abroad political class is ready to take over, starting to cover leading roles in further developing the country. For the current cabinet the sense of continuity is the most desired outcome for an MPP that wishes to maintain the priorities set by the Khurelsukh’s administration, especially with regard to mining and oil refinery projects. With the ongoing pandemic and the recent approval of Mongolia’s Vision2050, it seems that the new cabinet’s priorities will be accompanied by a significant integration of new policies.

Political Priorities

With the new PM as the main designer and promoter of Vision 2050, the strategy will form the core of the next Mongolian administration. The plan marks a turn in Mongolia’s policy-making and development strategy alike. Prior to 1990, the country’s development model was directly inherited from the Soviet Union, while after 1992 it followed a Western model without an adequate adaptation to the characteristics and specific needs of the country. The 2050 strategy will accompany Mongolia for the next 30 years, but the first medium-term action plan has already been set in motion. From the Action Plan strategy for 2021-2030 the main areas of interest lie in Education, Human, Digital, Scientific and Green development, with Health playing an important role.

One of the effects of the Pandemic was the creation of the E-Mongolia platform, offering a range of online government services for citizens during the pandemic. The platform serves as a basis for the development of a strong and efficient e-governance strategy and will continue to be developed by diversifying the services it offers. It is possible that the development of an efficient e-government strategy could prove useful for another priority of the administration: the fight against political corruption. For Mongolia’s human development the protagonist will be the middle class, a group that the government wishes to enlarge, thereby reducing economic, social and geographical gaps between its citizens. It is important to note the emphasis on Green development depicted in the Vision. Mongolia, like many other countries in the region, displayed a strategy aimed at reducing emissions, pollution and the country’s climate impact, as well as fostering sustainable development. While this aspect will certainly have effects on the urban and rural development of the country. It also touches upon another important aspect of the recent events that occurred. Reading the document for Approval of the Action Plan of the Government of Mongolia for 2020-2024 for instance, it is the interest related to mining infrastructures that captures the eye. One of the main goals inherited from the previous administration is to create a sustainable and multi-pillar economic structure and implement the principle of fair distribution of wealth by developing transparent and responsible mining and value-added industry and ensuring the growth of mineral revenues. This aim will bring back attention to both the Oyu Tolgoi mining project involving Rio-Tinto, and the Erdenet mining corporation ownership that until now saw in the newly appointed Cabinet Secretariat Ts. Nyamdorj one of the main protagonists in the investigation occurred for its privatisation. While the Cabinet was approved only recently, it will be worthwhile to see which direction the country will take in the next couple of years.

PM L. Oyun-Erdene summarised the action plan that his cabinet will follow in 4 main key objectives: to overcome the Pandemic within a short time, to recover the economy of the country, strengthening and supporting the middle class and improving justice and online governance. The key challenges awaiting the new cabinet are connected to the need to improve infrastructures and transportation throughout the country to ease the exporting sector of Mongolia. Two related important projects in act right now are the two railways that will connect Tavan Tolgoi with Gashuunsukhait and with Zuunbayan.

Another sector in which Mongolia hopes to become more competitive is the touristic one. The Tourism sector will be among the sectors required to recover after the pandemic, once the people will be allowed to travel again and airways will be reopened. Mongolia is one of the most scenographic countries in the world holding a great potential as a tourist destination. Current problems the tourism industry faces in the country are connected to logistical strategies, which the new cabinet aims at solving with an efficient digitalisation of the tourism sector, including e-embassy services, e-visas and better infrastructure. Income inequality is also a challenge the Cabinet will have to face, especially with regard to the goal of boosting the country’s middle class. Education, Sustainability and Digitalisation are the core of the Cabinet’s goal and are emphasised in Vision 2050. The first challenge remains a complete and successful recovery from the Pandemic that, despite the contagion itself being successfully contained, has had a long-lasting effect on the population’s psychological health, economic and social well-being.

Fighting the Pandemic together: New Opportunities for EU-Mongolia Cooperation

With hopes of the end of the Pandemic approaching, it is important for the EU to recognise the opportunities of the turn Mongolia is taking. In 2021, the EU and Mongolia started launching a number of new projects prioritising the protection of vulnerable population categories. The first one (Recovering Together) is an 18-months project launched in cooperation with World Vision, implemented in Ulaanbaatar and the provinces of Uvurkhangai and Bayan-Ulgii. It is targeted at protecting vulnerable households from the effect of Covid-19, thereby limiting the effects on health, nutrition, and livelihood. The second one, with a duration of 15 months will target children and their right to access to justice during the pandemic.

Lockdown measures have had several effects on households, including an increase of domestic and gender-based violence and violence on children. Mitigating the Impact of COVID-19 by “Increasing Children’s Access to Justice in Mongolia” was launched in partnership with the International Development Law Organisation (IDLO). The project aims at helping their social recovery related to crimes against children. Visibly, the new year and the instalment of the new Cabinet has brought new cooperation opportunities between the EU and Mongolia, especially in view of Vision 2050, as well as a chance to develop a common response to the many effects of the pandemic and a lasting cooperation to face its aftermath. The question is how this opportunity will be seized.

Author: Alessandra Tamponi, Junior Researcher

Feb. 9 (Xinhua) -- The number of COVID-19 cases has risen to 2,120 in Mongolia on Tuesday after 47 new infections were reported in the last 24 hours, according to a release from the country's National Center for Communicable Diseases.

Meanwhile, 53 more patients have recovered from the disease, bringing the nationwide recoveries to 1,546, according to the center.

The Asian country has recorded four COVID-19-related deaths since it confirmed its first COVID-19 case in March 2020. Enditem

TORONTO, Feb 8 (Reuters) - Mongolia wants more tax revenueunder a revised deal to expand Rio Tinto's OyuTolgoi copper-gold mine rather than a larger ownership stake inthe project, a person with direct knowledge of the government'sthinking told Reuters on Monday, as the two sides bid to resolvea long-running standoff over the development.

On Sunday, the Financial Times reported Ulaanbaatar isseeking agreement with Rio to terminate a deal to expand themine and replace it with a new pact that offers better terms.

“We obviously would like to have more tax revenues," theperson said, declining to be identified owing to the sensitivityof the issue.

The mine is one of the world's largest-known copper and golddeposits. The government holds a 34% stake in the $6.75 billionproject, while Rio Tinto-controlled Turquoise Hill ownsthe rest.

Ulaanbaatar has previously told Rio it was concerned thatthe economic benefits of developing the mine have been erodeddue to the significant increase in costs.

Under current plans, Ulaanbaatar won't receive dividendsuntil 2051 while Oyu Tolgoi won't pay "meaningful" corporateincome tax, the person said. "That's really concerning."

Rio did not immediately return a request for comment.

The miner on its website says Oyu Tolgoi has paid thegovernment more than $2.7 billion in taxes, fees and otherpayments since 2010.

The source said government representatives met last weekwith Bold Baatar, a Mongolian national whose recent appointmentas head of Rio's copper operations is widely seen as an attemptto improve government relations and make progress in talks onthe project.

Baatar has vowed to discuss the plans with the newgovernment and work towards a resolution.

The underground expansion will push annual production tonearly 500,000 tonnes per year, making it among the world’sbiggest copper mines.(Reporting by Jeff Lewis; Editing by Mark Potter and ChizuNomiyama)

Mongolia's government is seeking an agreement from miner Rio Tinto to terminate a deal to expand the Oyu Tolgoi copper mine in the Gobi Desert, the Financial Times says, citing people with knowledge of the situation.

The government has asked the Anglo-Australian mining giant whether it was prepared to mutually terminate the expansion plan, rather than acting unilaterally and risking future foreign investment, the FT reported.

Rio Tinto declined to comment on the matter when contacted by Reuters.

The mine is one of the world's largest-known copper and gold deposits. The government holds a 34 per cent stake in the $US6.75 billion project, while Rio Tinto-controlled Turquoise Hill owns the remainder.

The underground mine expansion has been severely delayed by a dispute over funding as the Mongolian government seeks a bigger portion of the profits, even as costs have ballooned due to difficult geology.

Ulaanbaatar has previously told the miner it was concerned that the economic benefits of developing the mine have been eroded due to the significant increase in costs.

The recent appointment of Mongolian national, Bold Baatar, as Rio's chief executive of copper operations, is widely seen as an attempt by the miner to improve its relationship with the government and progress talks on the project.

Baatar has vowed to discuss the plans with the new government and work towards a resolution.

Oyun-Erdene Luvsannamsrai took over as the Mongolian prime minister in late-January, after protests in the capital over the government's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic led to the resignation of his predecessor.

Feb. 8 (Xinhua) -- Mongolia registered 50 new locally transmitted COVID-19 cases over the past 24 hours, raising its national tally to 2,073, the country's National Center for Communicable Diseases (NCCD) said Monday.

"We conducted 12,252 tests during the past 24 hours, out of the total tests, 50 were positive in the capital city Ulan Bator," Amarjargal Ambaselmaa, head of the NCCD's surveillance department, said at a daily press conference.

Meanwhile, 30 more patients recovered from the disease, bringing the total recoveries to 1,493, Ambalsemaa said.

The Asian country has so far recorded four COVID-19-related deaths. Enditem

Oyun-Erdene Luvsannamsrai, a recent Kennedy School alum, ascended to the post of Prime Minister of Mongolia on Jan. 27 following his predecessor’s resignation in response to protests over the country’s Covid-19 response.

Luvsannamsrai, who was confirmed by Mongolia’s parliament with 87.9 percent approval is, at forty years old, the world's seventh-youngest head of state currently in office.

Luvsannamsrai was raised in the rural mining community of Berkh, Khentii, and served two terms in Parliament after graduating from the Kennedy School in 2015. During his time at Harvard, Luvsannamsrai developed a close circle of confidants among Mongolian international students, ultimately recruiting several to work in Mongolia’s government.

Among them was Business School alum Batnairamdal Otgonshar, a former Wall Street investment banker, who returned home to become Mongolia’s Vice Minister of Mining and Heavy Industry.

“There were five graduate students from Mongolia during that time, and then we used to hang out basically every Friday at [the John Harvard statue],” Otgonshar said. “He used to tell us about Mongolian politics, and what we could contribute to Mongolia and how we see the long term vision for the country.”

Otgonshar said that Luvsannamsrai would use these discussions to encourage his peers to think about how what they learned in class could be applied to improve life in Mongolia.

Erdenetulga Rentsen, an HBS student from Mongolia, said Luvsannamsrai’s appointment represents a generational shift as well as a shift in national priorities towards digitally transforming Mongolia.

“It’s really a testament of change that’s about to happen in Mongolia,” Rentsen said. “With the world, the way it’s changing, right now, coal is about to get replaced with renewable energies and all sorts of other things. We only have a limited amount of time to essentially structurally change Mongolia for a different type of path and different types of prosperity.”

According to Rentsen, Luvsannamsrai is inspiring Western-educated Mongolian students to return home to shape their country’s future.

“I think in the past, when we do go to Harvard, we always have this feeling that we’ve been able to get out of a developing country, and then now we’ve finally arrived in the dream, America,” Rentsen said. “I think with Oyun-Erdene going back to Mongolia, and really creating this hope, but also bringing a lot of us back to Mongolia, I think it’s creating a new different channel.”

Zorigoo Tugsbayar ’15, another Mongolian student, said Luvsannamsrai’s return to his home country sets an example for other Mongolian students.

“He always had grand ambitions for the future of Mongolia. Obviously, I was a cynic back then, and I’m still a cynic now, but I’m truly impressed at how much he has accomplished so far,” said Tugsbayar, a former Crimson Multimedia chair. “I always have been conflicted whether to go back to Mongolia or not, but seeing someone of our generation be in such a decision-making spot makes the decision so much easier, perhaps.”

Rentsen said that only time will tell whether Luvsannamsrai’s vision will successfully translate into action.

“I think that he has been able to generate a lot of positive hope for the country, but that doesn’t mean that he has done his job,” Erdenetulga said. “He still has a lot to prove, for us and for the rest of the society.”

—Staff writer Brandon L. Kingdollar can be reached at brandon.kingdollar@thecrimson.com. Follow him on Twitter at @newskingdollar.

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/. In the first 12 months of 2020, the total foreign trade turnover decreased by 6 percent or USD 877 million compared to the same period of the previous year, reaching USD 12.870 million.

This was due to a decrease of 1 percent or USD 43 million in exports and 14 percent or USD 834 million in imports. In the reference period, the trade balance showed a surplus of USD 2.282 millionin, an increase by USD 790 million compared to the the previous year, according to the Bank of Mongolia.

Trade with China accounted for 57 percent or USD 7.383 million of the total trade turnover. Whereas, the trade with Russia accounted for 11 percent or USD 1.457 million. Trade with Russia decreased by 19 percent, while the trade with China decreased by 16 percent respectively compared with the same period of the previous year.

The terms of trade index increased by 32 percent in December compared to the same period of the previous year and by 3 percent compared to the previous month, reaching 2,106. The increase was due to rising export prices for copper concentrate, coal and gold. The increase from the previous month was mainly due to higher import prices for copper and consumer goods.

On February 6, 2021, President of Mongolia Battulga Khaltmaa worked in Dornogobi aimag and visited the Salkhit gold and silver mine.

In compliance with Constitution of Mongolia, which pronounces the principle of natural resources belonging to the people of Mongolia, special licenses for the Salkhit gold and silver deposit that had been effective until 2043 and 2047, were revoked in 2018 and the deposit was taken under state ownership.

In 2019, the special mining licenses were transferred to the state-owned Erdenes Solver Resources LLC, subsidiary of Erdenes Mongol LLC, and mining activities have been launched without any investment from the government budget.

The commercialization of the Salkhit deposit in such way, which allowed one-time pension-backed loan forgiveness to seniors is a true and good example of how Mongolia appropriately distributed benefits from natural wealth to its people for the first time in its history, reports the Office of the President of Mongolia.

During the President’s working trip, T.Munkhbayar, CEO of Erdenes Silver Resource LLC introduced that MNT 105 billion or USD 37 million will be funded to the Bank of Mongolia /on February 8, Monday/ to distribute MNT 1 million to each pensioner, who had not taken out pension-secured loans in 2019 and were not benefited from the law on one-time cancellation of pension-backed loan debts. About 194,000 seniors are expected to receive around MNT 210 billion in total within May 2021.

With a view to strengthen public-private partnership, the Erdenes Silver Resource LLC is contracting domestic business entities for the development of the Salkhit deposit. Moreover, an ore concentrate with capacity twice as high as the current concentrate with an annual capacity of producing 300,000 tons of ore is scheduled to be commissioned in May 2021.

While on the visit to the deposit, President Battulga reminded that the deposits’ production capacity, output and revenue must be enhanced so that the Mongolian people are able to reap the benefits from natural wealth and support their livelihoods. “Small and large scale mines in 21 aimags across the country, including the Kharmagtai gold deposit, should learn from the example of the Salkhit silver and gold deposit, and by bearing the responsibility of their own management, without obtaining loans or budget support and with the help of Mongolian workforce and engineers.

The Salkhit deposit covers a total area of 2,887.85 hectares in Gurvansaikhan soum of Dornogobi aimag and according to a feasibility study made in May 2020, the deposit has reserves of 808.3 tons of silver and 1117.1 tons of gold and the resources are likely to double or triple by intensifying exploration works.

In Mongolia, men’s average life expectancy is 66, however, the Government aims to increase the retirement ages to 65. Therefore, Mongolian tax payers cannot pass on their pension savings to their children. This means, Mongolians will die without benefitting enough to receiving pension after paying taxes their whole lives.

Furthermore, the Mongolian Government increased social insurance taxes by 2 percent from 1 January, 2021, bringing the total to 26 percent – the highest rate in the world!

The Mongolian Parliament approved an amendment to the Law on Social Insurance Taxes in 2017 to increase taxes from 7 percent per employee and employer to 9.5 percent, again a raise by 1 percent in 2018, by 0.5 percent in 2019 and 2.5 percent in 2020. However, the increase of 2.5 percent in 2020 was delayed until January, 2021.