Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/. The first meeting of the chairs of the joint working group to advance the implementation of the Mongolia-Russia-China Economic Corridor Program was successfully held virtually yesterday, November 5.

Participants took part in the meeting were headed by Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Mongolia B.Munkhjin, Deputy Minister of the Economic Development of Russia Petr Zaselsky, Vice Chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission of China Ning Jizhe.

At the meeting, the joint statement on the commencement of the feasibility study for Renovation of Central Railway Corridor of Mongolia-Russia-China Economic Corridor, as well as its draft working plan has been finalized and sides agreed to sign during the next meeting of the heads of the three countries.

Furthermore, the sides held discussion on the road transport project that was agreed to be realized as a priority within the trilateral economic corridor and progress of the project to build gas pipeline connecting Russia and China through Mongolian territory, while exchanging views on other areas of cooperation.

Within the framework of the Mongolia-Russia-China Economic Corridor Program which was approved during the summit of the heads of the three countries in 2016, 32 projects and activities in 9 sectors, including transportation, energy, industry, border customs, science and technology, and agriculture will be jointly implemented.

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/. A brand for lamb meat is being introduced for the first time in Mongolia. The launch for the ‘Mongolian Lamb’ project took place at Saruul Market in Ulaanbaatar city on November 1. The project is being launched within the framework of the ‘Wealthy Herder’ programme by ‘Chineeleg Malchin Boijuulakh Tuv’ NGO in partnership with ‘Mon Ecolamb’ LLC. We asked a few questions about the project from Head of Chineeleg Malchin Boijuulakh Tuv NGO L.Odser.

-The main goal of the project was initially thought to be a meat processing of small livestock in compliance with foreign market requirements and its export. However, it seems that the project means much more than that. Could you tell us more about the project?

-Yes, the project’s main focus is to have herders put their livestock into domestic economic circulation alongside export. Organic lamb meat is commonly consumed for its tenderness throughout the world. So why can’t we prepare them domestically and create a brand alongside consuming our own healthy, organic food?

Organic refers to lamb meat being prepared by having the livestock solely graze on pastures, without the use of synthetic fertilizers, drugs, and additives. Herders spend 3-4 years on their livestock to have them grow bigger, losing their time and worsening the current state of over-pasturing. However, we have the opportunity to process the meat of smaller livestock and put them on the market during this timeframe.

In this sense, our project aims to show that lamb meat is possible to provide for both domestic and foreign markets. As I have mentioned before, this will also serve as a solution to effectively solving the pressing issue of growth in livestock population by putting them into economic circulation. We are working with our end goal to protect our pasture, and improve the livelihood of herders.

-How many herders are participating in the project?

-There are many herders that are voluntarily being involved after being informed in the framework of our programme. Herders are participating from all 21 aimags of the country. Our goal is to introduce the mindset in herders that they have the option to put the meat of smaller livestock on the market, without being limited to full grown livestock, and introduce a preparatory model in Mongolia. We are currently implementing our activities as an incubator project.

-Could you elaborate on the partnership with ‘Mon Ecolamb’ LLC?

-The private-owned company accepted our partnership offer as a newly established business. In general, companies seem to be rather hesitant to make big steps in the area. I believe this is due to the Mongolian tradition to not consume the meat of smaller livestock, staying true to the traditional mindset. However, it is only by changing the way we think that we will be able to solve various issues and get behind the challenge. I am grateful for the brave decision of ‘Mon Ecolamb’ company to be involved in the activities.

-How will the activities of the ‘Wealthy Herder’ programme expand in the future?

-We plan to open a leather and hide processing center. Training sessions will also be organized for herders in preparing lamb meat. As for the aimags in the Gobi region, we plan to cooperate with herders in creating additional pastureland, and improving the pasture through plants.

The Wealthy Herder programme aims to solve various pressing issues in the animal husbandry sector, such as over-pasturing, livelihood of herders, domestic migration from rural areas to urban settlements, and provision of healthy food,” he said. “All of the 230 thousand herder households in Mongolia are producers. By improving the quality of livestock and commercializing, our goal is to boost their income to the upper-middle class.”

In his remarks at the project launch ceremony, MP, Head of the Mongolian Meat Association B.Purevdorj said, “I perceive the introduction of lamb meat in Mongolia through the joint work of herders and animal husbandry experts at the initiative of a private entity is a way of protecting the pasture, improving livestock breeds, and increasing livestock quality. The project activities are expected to bring various improvements, such as improved livelihood of herders, and domestic consumption of organic, high quality food.”

During the ceremony, a herder of Gobisumber aimag M.Munkhzaya said, “Us herders have been waiting for a moment like this. We are very happy to put our lamb meat on sale, and learn that Mongolian meat will also soon be available on the global market. During this time of over-pasturing, I believe that this is an opportunity to improve the quality of our livestock and reduce their numbers.”

“The Wealthy Herder programme first launched in Gobi-Sumber aimag. Now, they are implementing the activities in western and central aimags, including Khovd, Khuvsgul, Bayan-Ulgii, Arkhangai, and Dundgobi. Someone from Dornod aimag has also recently contacted me to learn from my experience. The programme is beneficial for herders as we will be able to reduce our load on pasture, improve the quality of our livestock, and put them into circulation.

When the programme initially launched in our aimag in 2019, there were about 5-6 families involved. Now, we are currently using pelleted feeds that were specially made by scholars and specialists in the animal husbandry sector. We have also begun to take care of our lambs from early on.

We were aware of the programme’s goal from the very start. While we had to herd our livestock for 2-3 years until they were fully grown, now we receive benefits from well-herded lambs just the same as we do from full grown livestock. Last year, one of my lambs was sold for MNT 100 thousand,” he continued.

The project launch ceremony was attended by representatives of restaurants and cafes, and herders of Gobisumber and Dundgobi aimags.

B.Bold

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/ Erdene Resource Development Corporation has executed a mandate letter with Export Development Canada (EDC) for an up to USD55 million senior secured debt facility to develop the Bayan Khundii Gold Project in southwest Mongolia.

EDC’s financing for the project is conditional upon the satisfactory completion of due diligence, which is currently underway and expected to conclude in the second quarter of 2021.

"Executing the debt financing mandate letter with EDC is an important milestone in the development of our high-grade Bayan Khundii Gold Project,” said Peter Akerley, Erdene’s President and CEO.

“EDC has assisted many companies in developing mining projects internationally, including in Mongolia. The involvement of EDC, as well as our major shareholder the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development will help to ensure that the project will be developed to the highest environmental and social standards, delivering benefits for Mongolian and international stakeholders.”

“Construction readiness work is underway as we seek to move rapidly through construction to production, with detailed design, scheduling and procurement workstreams well progressed,” continued Mr. Akerley.

Concurrently, the company is focused on expanding the resources throughout our Khundii Gold District as it targets first gold in 2022.

source: Erdene Resource Development

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/ On November 2, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Mongolia N.Enkhtaivan held the first-ever press conference since assuming office in July 2020. At the beginning of the conference, he briefed on the measures and resolutions he has made in foreign relations since he assumed office.

Minister N.Enkhtaivan introduced that following key activities have been implemented over the past four months in foreign relations;

One: Certain activities towards protecting citizens abroad and repatriating them to the home country,

Two: supporting the economy and attracting investment during the pandemic,

Three: raising the reputation of Mongolia, activating and intensifying external relations,

Four: events such as the UN, international, regional and bilateral meetings, conferences and workshops,

Five: developing sustainable and unified foreign policy and improving the legal environment and discipline,

Six: expanding foreign publicity and cultural cooperation

Seven: upskilling the personnel and improving internal works and disciplines of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs were conducted.

In addition, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will work within the framework of 13 main activities.

1. To fulfill 10 goals reflected in the Government Action Program for 20202024 2. To raise Mongolia’s reputation abroad

3. To upgrade legal environment for foreign relations and foreign trade

4. To diversify export by encouraging production of non­mining products within the framework of “Mongol Export” Program

5. To increase the volume of foreign trade sustainably and reduce trade deficiency

6. To intensify export to the Russian Federation

7. To increase foreign investment

8. To repatriate Mongolian nationals stranded abroad due to the pandemic in cooperation with the State Emergency Commission

9. To complete study on establishment of Free Trade Agreement with the Eurasian Economic Union

10. To move forward issue on construction of gas pipeline that connects Russia with China through the territory of Mongolia

11. To commission Biocombinat state­owned factory to be built with USD 57 million loan from the Government of Hungary

12. To implement USD 350 million MCC Water Compact aimed at improving water supply of Ulaanbaatar city

13. To establish agreements on mutual free travel with Slovenia, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Maldives, Georgia and the United Arab Emirates in 2020-2024 and to increase the number of countries that grant visa-free entry for Mongolian nationals to more than 70 countries.

After outlining the actions he has taken, Foreign Minister N.Enkhtaivan answered questions from journalists and the answers are as follows.

What plan do you have to reduce political influence in the embassies representing Mongolia abroad? How do you supervise appointments of ambassadors and the actions of diplomats?

-There is no political influence in the appointments of ambassadors and other diplomatic posts. I state here that no appointments will be made in this manner. Professional, fluent, and moral specialists will be selected for diplomatic missions, particularly embassies. In general, it is our principle that people working in the foreign service should be appointed to embassies. As stated in the article 33 of the Constitution of Mongolia, the President of Mongolia shall appoint and recall heads of plenipotentiary missions to foreign countries in consultation with the National Parliament. Therefore, the final decision regarding the appointment is made after consultation with the President and parliamentary approval.

Could you elaborate on how you supervise appointments of ambassadors and the actions of diplomats?

-We provide a special course for recently appointed employees of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and diplomatic missions. We solved some issues regarding diplomatic and official passports last month. A total of around 6,000 diplomat and official passports were revoked. Moreover, diplomatic vehicles were newly registered and illegitimately obtained registration plates were revoked. Trackers were also installed in the vehicles, allowing to keep track of them, and diplomats on trips abroad are now making monthly reports

The President withdrew 10 nominations for ambassadors submitted to the previous parliament. Will there be new nominations?

-By law, new nominations shall be made and submitted to the Cabinet, President and the Parliament. 7 ambassadors who had overstayed their posts have been recalled and there are more than 10 others whose terms expired this year. The parliament will approve the appointments of 20 ambassadors within this year. Over 10 ambassadors’ terms will expire next year. A total of 30 new ambassadors will be appointed with 20 appointed around the end of this year and 10 more the year after. We plan to first have the 10 ambassadors who have overstayed their term limits recalled by the parliament.

You have met with both your Russian and Chinese counterparts. There was some rumours highlighting that the countries insisted Mongolia to join Shanghai Cooperation Organization. What is your stance, as a Foreign Minister, on this rumour?

-During his visit to Mongolia, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi made a proposal asking Mongolia to join the organization as a “full member”. In addition, Foreign Minister S.V.Lavrov also brought up this matter during my visit to Russia. Mongolia has been in the organization with “observer” status since 2004. The status remains the same. At the summit held in China in June, 2018, President Kh.Battulga stated that Mongolia is possible to advance its status in the organization and said that the country will continue to thoroughly study the possibility. This is Mongolia’s current position in this regard.

During the period of previous cabinet, the Third Neighbor Trade Act has been submitted to the U.S. Congress. At what stage is this process on?

-First of all, Mongolia-U.S. bilateral relations are expanding in a strategic level. The bilateral trade volume has been relatively increasing compared to 2019. To specify, Mongolia has exported USD 26 million in goods to the U.S. and imported USD 290 million in goods from the U.S. Moreover, the U.S. has provided USD 240 million in assistance in total since 1991. For now, we are working in cooperation with the U.S. to implement USD 350 million MCC Water Compact to improve water supply of Ulaanbaatar city. We are expecting the Third Neighbor Trade Act to be passed by the Congress in the near future.

Are there any other visits planned for this year?

-There are no other visits planned for this year. However, the plan for next year’s visits is now done. As the plan includes high­level visits, it is not possible to disclose information regarding the visits. Mongolia will continue to keep relations with its two neighbors as well as third neighbor countries, organizing regular mutual visits.

Now that the Local Council Elections are over, will the Ministry of Foreign Affairs organize any training for local councils?

-Those who are greatly involved in foreign policy activities work at public organizations in rural areas. Thus, a training session is planned for aimag governors, deputy governors, and foreign relations specialists this December. The training will include special classes on how one should conduct oneself in a professional manner and how to interact with foreign delegates. At my initiative over a month ago, a comprehensive training session was organized for deputy ministers, state secretaries, and foreign relations officers from all ministries on Mongolia's foreign policy. The cabinet led by Prime Minister U.Khurelsukh currently implements one­window policy for foreign affairs. I also support the implementation of the country’s foreign affairs' activities through the one-window system.

It should also be noted that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has 13 departments and 5 divisions, with a total of 147 staff members. 80 percent of the staff acquired education abroad, and 62 percent is specialized in foreign relations, while 38 staffs are specialized in international law or economy. 81 percent of the total staff members are also proficient in 2 or more foreign languages.

Mongolia has established diplomatic relations with 192 countries, and maintains cooperation with 78 international organizations. 1,318 agreements are signed with 192 countries, while there are 294 agreements signed with international organizations.

The copper price on Friday attempted a fresh two-and-half year high, as Chinese smelters scramble to pick up concentrate on the spot market amid a political row between Beijing and Canberra.

On the Comex market, copper for delivery in December made gains for the fifth straight session, jumping more than 2% to $3.1740 a pound ($6,997 a tonne) in brisk trade. More than $5.5 billion worth of metal had traded by early afternoon in New York.

Friday’s trading brings the bellwether metal’s recovery since the height of the covid-19 induced sell-off, which sent the copper price crashing to below $2.00 a pound, to more than 63%.

Reports that China has unofficially banned Australian copper concentrate imports have forced refiners in the country, responsible for more than half the world’s copper consumption, to drastically lower treatment and refining charges (TC/RCs).

Australia only accounts for 5% of Chinese concentrate imports, but comes at the same time as covid-related disruptions and labour action in top producer South America.

In an indication of just how scarce copper for prompt delivery has become in China, spot treatment charges plunged to an eight-year low of just over $50 a tonne this week, a 30% decline from the 2020 high hit in March.

That is also well below the annual benchmark of $62 a tonne, and Reuters quotes a Singapore-based trader as saying spot rates could go lower still:

“If you had a ship full of copper concentrate floating offshore, you’re rapidly trying to find a home,” an Australia-based trader said.

Traders said Australian shipments meant for China could divert to Japan, Korea, India, or to blending facilities in Taiwan or Malaysia.

Australian producers of lead and zinc concentrates and precious metals are also making back-up plans in case the ban broadens, two traders said.

After several long, long days, Joe Biden has finally won the US election and is set to become the next president of the United States.

Major networks, including the Associated Press and the BBC, forecast that Biden has won Pennsylvania, taking him over the 270 electoral college votes needed to win.

So what will that mean for Mongolia?

The short answer is, not much.

US relations with Mongolia will likely continue on their current trajectory. The US will continue to be a part of Mongolia’s Third Neighbour policy, and the Third Neighbour Trade Act, which would allow tax-free imports of Mongolian cashmere and textiles, is still in play. It’s impossible to forecast whether a Biden administration will make the act more likely to jump the remaining hurdles, although Biden appears more open to expanding trade relations than Trump. He’s also visited Mongolia, unlike Trump.

One of the main questions is what Biden will do about China. Experts seem to agree that he can’t (and won’t) return to the gentler relations of the Obama years: the US is now firmly locked into a competition with China across all the different arms of state power. But no matter what he chooses to do, there are open questions about whether America has the energy or willpower to contain China’s rise. So regardless of who sits in the White House, Mongolia will need to strengthen relations with other countries like Japan and India to ensure its own security.

One of the biggest differences between Biden and Trump is their approach to climate change. Biden is more likely to put more pressure on coal-exporting countries to lower their emissions. He’s pledged to re-join the Paris agreement ‘on day one’ of his presidency and has previously referred to Mongolia’s coal as the ‘dirtiest in the world’ in a reference to Chinese trade practices that he said he would confront.

If his administration does pressure Mongolia over its coal exports to China, it should quickly pass the Third Neighbour act and invest money into alternative projects in Mongolia, particularly renewable energy, to help diversify the Mongolian economy. This would also present a massive opportunity for companies with experience in this market - Mongolia is estimated to have enough renewable energy potential to power all of northeast Asia.

We also have to keep an eye on the bigger picture here. Mongolia’s average temperature has already climbed more than 2 degrees since 1940. This is killing off grasslands, causing Mongolian livestock to get thinner and thinner, and making dzuds worse and more frequent. A Biden presidency will work towards limiting the planet’s rising temperatures, which is the most significant issue facing Mongolia over the coming decades.

There's something else happening too. Trump is still refusing to accept the results of the election and hand over power. If he continues on this path, he could end up being physically removed from the White House.

This could set a dangerous example for Mongolia. Surveys have shown that Mongolians strongly support Trump, favour strongman rule and believe that the country is at the crossroads of democracy and dictatorship.

So if Trump tries to take the US towards dictatorship, we’re left with an even bigger question: will Mongolian politicians follow his lead?

by: Ewen Levick | Editor

China plans to further increase oil and gas exploration and accelerate the construction of more oil and gas storage infrastructure, state news agency Xinhua reported.

Last week, China’s Communist Party adopted the principles of the five-year development plan 2021-2025.

China will also aim to build more oil and gas pipelines, according to its authorities.

China has been looking to increase its energy security in recent years, including by increasing domestic oil and gas production and expanding its storage facilities.

Over the past decade, China’s oil production has been falling while its oil demand has been soaring, increasing Beijing’s dependence on sourcing oil from abroad.

China’s dependence on crude oil imports has been growing in recent years as its domestic production has faltered, and the world’s top oil importer covered 73.4 percent of its oil demand with imported oil in the first half of 2020.

In the first half of 2020, China’s crude oil production did increase, by 1.7 percent year on year, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics of China. The growth in production between January and June, however, was 0.7 percentage point slower than that of the first quarter, the bureau said.

Higher domestic production, however, will not be able to cover the rise in China’s oil and gas demand, so China will continue to be a key player on the global oil and gas markets and a critical gauge of oil and gas demand growth.

Meanwhile, China is set to increase its natural gas imports from Russia as Russian gas giant Gazprom has started constructing the extension of its gas pipeline to China, Upstream reported on Tuesday. The project is expected to be completed by the end of 2022 and is estimated to cost $3.5 billion (280 billion Russian rubles), according to the Russian gas giant.

New York (CNN Business)Bitcoin soared more than 7% Thursday and was trading above $15,000 — its highest level in nearly three years — as mainstream interest in the cryptocurrency builds and the US dollar weakens.

The value of one bitcoin has more than doubled in 2020. The gains have been particularly dramatic in the past few weeks, with bitcoin rising 40% since early October.

If bitcoin continues to surge, it may not be long before the cryptocurrency finally tops the all-time high of just under $20,000, reached in December 2017.

In addition to the dollar weakening, bitcoin has benefited from more mainstream companies like PayPal (PYPL)and Square (SQ) embracing cryptocurrencies as a viable payments options and investments.

"Nothing is stopping it from going to the 2017 high," said Bill Noble, chief technical analyst with research firm Token Metrics, in an email to CNN Business. "Everybody is afraid to miss out, and that drives the price."

Lingering uncertainty about the outcome of the presidential election may also be fueling the recent bitcoin spike, Noble added. Investors may be fleeing the dollar and buying bitcoin.

The US Dollar Index, which tracks the greenback versus the euro, yen and several other major currencies, is down about 1.5% so far this week.

Inflation hedge and beneficiary of weaker dollar

Bitcoin, along with gold, may remain momentum bets for investors looking to take advantage of continued dollar weakness. Gold prices, which hit a record high above $2,000 an ounce earlier this year, are up about 30% in 2020.

"The bitcoin and gold rally has been happening all year along with dollar weakness. It's a longer-term trend," said Jeff Mortimer, director of investment strategy for BNY Mellon Wealth Management, in an interview.

With all this in mind, Alex Mashinsky, CEO of cryptocurrency lending firm Celsius Network, is even more bullish on bitcoin.

"Not only is $15,000 going to happen, but I stand by my predictions from the beginning of the year that [bitcoin] will see all new highs before 2021," Mashinsky said in an e-mail.

Here's why platinum may now be a better bet than gold

Here's why platinum may now be a better bet than gold

The rise in bitcoin this year is all the more remarkable when you consider that prices plunged below $5,000 in mid-March during the height of Covid-19 pandemic worries in mid-March.

"Bitcoin comes out stronger after each challenge," said Michael Sonnenshein, managing director of Grayscale Investments, a digital currency asset management firm. "People are looking at bitcoin as a store of value and inflation hedge."

Coronavirus is only making bitcoin even more popular as an investment option.

According to a survey of 1,000 US consumers during the summer by a market research firm on behalf of Grayscale, nearly 40% said that the Covid-19 crisis made bitcoin more appealing as an investment.

Sonnenshein said the realization that bitcoin is probably better as an investment than as an actual form of payment is key to its continued success.

"There used to be a prevalent narrative that because bitcoin is not something you'd go to the store to buy a latte with, it's failed. That's no longer the case," Sonnenshein said.

Mongolia on Thursday confirmed one more imported COVID-19 case, bringing the nationwide count to 353, according to the country's Health Ministry.

The latest confirmed case is a Mongolian citizen who has recently returned home from India on a chartered flight, the ministry said in a statement.

All the confirmed cases in the landlocked country are imported ones, and among them, 314 people have recovered.

Three of the remaining 39 COVID-19 patients being treated at the country's National Center for Communicable Diseases are now in serious condition, the ministry said.

No COVID-19-related deaths have been reported in the country so far. Enditem

Until now, the only accounts of the Xiongnu came from their enemies. Chinese records from 2200 years ago describe how these fierce mounted archers from the wide-open steppes of today’s Mongolia clashed with armies in what is now northwestern China. Their onslaughts spurred the Chinese to build what would become known as the Great Wall of China on their northern border, as protection against the mounted nomads. They also started to raise cavalry armies of their own.

The equestrian empire of the Xiongnu left no written records. But biology is now filling out their story, and those of other Central Asian cultures in antiquity. Two studies—a sweeping survey of ancient DNA from more than 200 individuals across 6000 years and an analysis of horse skeletons from just before the rise of the Xiongnu—trace population movements across Central Asia and the key role played by horsemanship. The results “show the horse was probably the driver of some of the ancestry shifts we see in the human population,” says Ludovic Orlando of Paul Sabatier University, who was not involved in the paper. “The horse provided new range in patterns of human mobility and allowed people to travel long distance faster.”

Horses were probably domesticated by the Botai culture around 3500 B.C.E. near what is modern Kazakhstan. Horses may have been mainly used for meat and milk at first, and later began to pull wheeled chariots.

To learn more about human migration across Central Asia, a team led by Choongwon Jeong of Seoul National University and Harvard University’s Christina Warinner sampled and sequenced DNA from human remains found in Mongolia. The results, which they report today in Cell, span the period from 5000 B.C.E. all the way to the heyday of another horse-riding culture—that of Genghis Khan’s Mongol Empire, around 1000 C.E.

Genetic studies of Western European populations have shown that around 3000 B.C.E., the Yamnaya—mobile herders of cattle, sheep, and goats—pushed west from the steppes of what is today Russia and Ukraine and triggered a dramatic genetic turnover in Europe. Skeletons from Bronze Age Mongolia had shown the Yamnaya also moved east and introduced their dairy-oriented pastoralist lifestyle there. But they left no lasting genetic traces in Mongolia, the oldest samples in the new study show.

The ancient DNA does show that 1000 years later, another group from the steppes, called the Sintashta, left a lasting imprint. They also brought fateful cultural changes to Mongolia’s grasslands, as earlier archaeological studies had shown. Starting in about 1200 B.C.E., equestrian innovations including selective breeding for size and endurance, plus bridle bits, riding pants, and even early saddles, appeared in the record, says archaeologist William Taylor of the University of Colorado, Boulder, a co-author on both papers.

Mongolians of the time were obviously riding horses, as vividly confirmed by the second paper, in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The authors, Chinese and U.S. archaeologists, report that horse skeletons buried around 350 B.C.E. in the Tian Shan mountains, now part of China’s Xinjiang province, show bone abnormalities from riding, including spinal damage from the weight of a rider and changes to the bones of the mouth from bits and bridles. “Put the lower back pathologies together with evidence for a bridle, and it all suggests horses were being ridden,” says Sandra Olsen, an archaeologist at the University of Kansas, Lawrence, who was not part of either study.

Not long after, the Xiongnu emerged. They translated their skills on horseback into a sophisticated means of waging war and organizing an empire over vast distances. Starting in about 200 B.C.E., the Xiongnu marshaled nomadic tribes from across Eurasia into a formidable force, turning the steppes into a political center rivaling neighboring China. “The Xiongnu have been a source of constant worry and harm to China,” one contemporary Chinese historian wrote. “They move about in search of water and pasture and have no walled cities or fixed dwellings, nor do they engage in any kind of agriculture.”

Jeong’s study of DNA from 60 human skeletons from the Xiongnu’s 300-year-run shows how the region was transformed into a multiethnic empire. After more than 1000 years in which three distinct, stable human populations lived side by side on the Mongolian steppe, genetic diversity rose sharply around 200 B.C.E. Populations from western and eastern Mongolia mixed with each other and with people carrying genes from as far away as present-day Iran and Central Asia. Such wide-ranging mixing has “never been seen before at that scale,” Jeong says. “You can see the entire Eurasian genetic profile in the Xiongnu people.”

The results suggest mastery of the horse made possible stunning long-distance voyages on Central Asia’s sea of grass. Archaeological finds in the graves of Xiongnu elites, such as Roman glass, Persian textiles, and Greek silver, had suggested distant connections. But the genetic evidence suggests something more than trade. Eleven Xiongnu-period skeletons showed genetic signatures similar to those of the Sarmatians, nomad warriors who dominated the region north of the Black Sea, 2000 kilometers across the open steppe from Mongolia.

“There’s no written evidence of [Xiongnu] contact with Sarmatians, and it’s not well-attested archaeologically. It’s really surprising they’re mixing over these long distances,” says Tsagaan Turbat, an archaeologist at the Mongolian Academy of Sciences’s Institute of Archaeology. “This kind of information is really a game changer.”

In the future, researchers hope the genomes will help reveal how the mysterious nomad empire worked. The Xiongnu are “doing the things that empires do—forcing or enticing people to move,” says University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, archaeologist Bryan Miller. “Are people sent out to rule, or are local elites allowed to continue?” he asks. “Only genetics could answer that.”