Mining — more than most industries — relies heavily on infrastructure and institutions at locations where operations are based.

The ongoing political chaos in Kyrgyzstan, which saw thousands take to the streets in protest of the nation’s parliamentary elections that kept President Sooronbai Jeenbekov in power, underscores the type of risks posed to those invested in the regions and highlights the importance of mining jurisdictions.

This is Kyrgyzstan’s third political revolt since 2005, so the political risk in such jurisdiction would likely remain when or if the current situation is resolved.

Attack on Kyrgyz mining

Antagonism against mining operations is often a reflection of weakness in a country’s institutions, says Camilla Ogunbiyi, principal analyst, Financial Sector Risk and Forecasting at Verisk Maplecroft.

As seen in the aftermath of the Kyrgyz election, the government’s status was quickly undermined with the annulment of election results and state of emergency declared. The fragility in governance also endangers the safety of foreign investors’ assets, as it aggravates public concerns surrounding pollution, corruption and resource nationalism, Ogunbiyi asserts.

In Kyrgyzstan, the political upheaval also became an opportunity for the ill-disposed to direct their anger towards local mining operators, attacking several sites over the past few days. This included an attack on the office of Centerra Gold (TSX: CG), owner of the Kumtor mine, the nation’s largest gold operation.

The Kumtor gold mine, meanwhile, exemplifies the risk of resource nationalism. The country’s largest gold mine, largest employer and taxpayer, accounting for up to 7% of GDP, has been the subject to both renegotiations and protracted legal battles, Ogunbiyi says.

As Kyrgyzstan’s largest employer and taxpayer, accounting for up to 10% of its GDP in 2019, the Kumtor mine has been the subject of protracted legal battles and exemplifies the risk of resource nationalism concerns faced by mine operators.

In the same week, Kaz Minerals also suspended operations at the Bozymchak copper and gold mine due to the Kyrgyz political turmoil.

According to Verisk Maplecroft, the Central Asian nation currently ranks as the 54th riskiest of 198 countries scored in its Corruption Index.

Without a clear break with political practices and leaders of the past, corruption is likely to remain a driver of anti-government sentiment and weak governance, the firm says.

Violence in Africa

When it comes to notoriously high-risk jurisdictions for miners, the Democratic Republic of Congo often comes to mind.

In June, a violent attack on Société Minière de Bisunzu’s (SMB) coltan mine claimed three amid an increase of attacks on mining operations in the country’s mineral-rich eastern region.

This was just one of many violent occurrences this year in what is one of the world’s top sources for cobalt, tin and tantalum.

The political meltdown provides Kyrgyzstan an opportunity to start anew and establish stronger, less corrupt political and governance institutions, which would enable foreign investment and economic development, Ogunbiyi asserts.

The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) said that 3.13 million transactions have been processed using the nation’s sovereign digital currency as part of a series of ongoing pilot programs in major cities such as Shenzhen and Xiongan.

According to the bank’s deputy governor, Fan Yifei, the currency has been used for more than 1.1 billion yuan ($162 million) worth of transactions. Pilots will also be conducted at the Beijing Winter Olympics in 2022, he said.

The pilot programs have made “positive progress,” with more than 6,700 use cases implemented as of late August for transactions ranging from bill payments and transport to government services.

“PBOC regards digital renminbi as an important financial infrastructure for the future,” Fan said, as quoted by the South China Morning Post.

The e-yuan is being used for multiple payment methods, including barcodes, facial recognition, and tap-and-go transactions, he explained. More than 113,300 personal digital wallets and about 8,800 corporate digital wallets have been opened as part of the pilot program.

In May, PBOC revealed plans to have its sovereign digital currency ready in time for the next Winter Olympics. It said that the new currency, which doesn’t have an official name but is known by its internal shorthand DCEP – or Digital Currency Electronic Payment – will share some features with cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Facebook’s Libra. The currency is projected to replace cash in circulation.

DCEP has been introduced across four major cities: Shenzhen, Suzhou, Chengdu, and the Xiongan New Area in the northern province of Hebei. The government has already started paying civil servants in the district of Xiangcheng in Suzhou half of their transport subsidy in the digital currency as part of that city’s test run.

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/. In aims of reducing the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the socio-economic situation and providing support for government organizations, NGOs, and entities, the decision has been made to issue short-term official and business visas for foreign nationals that have urgent business in Mongolia.

The visas will begin to be issued from today on October 8, and foreign nationals will be required to follow the regulations of heightened state of readiness according to the decision made by the Government of Mongolia and the State Emergency Commission, reported the Consular Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

More specifically:

- The foreign nationals will be put into 21-day mandatory isolation at isolation facilities, with the corresponding expenses covered by the organization, entity, or citizen,

- Business /B/ visas may once be extended by 30 days at the Mongolia Immigration Agency, while Diplomat /D/, and Official /A/ visas may once be extended by 30 days at the Consular Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, allowing the foreign national to stay in Mongolia for up to 60 days,

- The foreign national must be tested for COVID-19 (PCR test), and have a negative test result.

To have the aforementioned visas issued, the inviting entity must make a request to the Consular Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as according to the Visa Regulation of Mongolia.

According to the decision made by the Government of Mongolia and the State Emergency Commission, the diplomatic missions of Mongolia had temporarily stopped issuing all types of short-term visas to foreign nationals from January 27 as a precautionary measure against the COVID-19 pandemic.

MINSK, 8 October (BelTA) –Belarus has handed over the first batch of firefighting, emergency response, and rescue vehicles based on MAZ chassis to Mongolia. The ceremony took place in Ulaanbaatar. Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Belarus to Mongolia Stanislav Chepurnoi took part in it, the Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affairs press service told BelTA.

The Belarusian vehicles were handed over to the National Emergency Management Agency of Mongolia. They represent the first batch of vehicles that have been delivered to the country as part of a bilateral intergovernmental agreement.

At the ceremony the Belarusian ambassador spoke highly of Belarus-Mongolia cooperation and mentioned that more joint projects relying on export loans might be implemented in the future. He underlined the particular importance of successfully implementing the first project for supplying Mongolia with Belarusian firefighting vehicles.

Deputy Prime Minister of Mongolia Yangugiin Sodbaatar also took part in the ceremony. He and the ambassador discussed the practical implementation of the project meant to renew the vehicle fleet of the National Emergency Management Agency of Mongolia.

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/. A new 126.7 km-long auto road connecting Altai city of Gobi-Altai aimag with Bayankhongor city of Bayankhongor aimag has been commissioned with an opening ceremony held today, October 8. Prime Minister of Mongolia U.Khurelsukh took part in the ceremony and delivered an address.

He said “Over the past four years between 2016 and 2020, 95 soums of 17 aimags and 5 checkpoints have been connected to the capital city of Ulaanbaatar with paved roads within the framework of the government’s action plan. All 21 aimags of Mongolia now have been connected Ulaanbaatar city with paved roads as a result of today’s launch of this 126.7 km long road from Bayankhongor to Altai, completing the construction of horizontal segment of the Millennium Road highway road network project, which began two decades ago.”

The new road with number A0303, which will definitely bring various social and economic benefits and provide safety and comfort for road users, was built under Build-Transfer concession contract with domestic company Max Road LLC under supervision and counseling of Avarga Road LLC in less than a year, underlined the Prime Minister expressing gratitude for all companies and their engineering employees who participated in the road construction on behalf of the Government of Mongolia.

The construction of the Bayankhongor-Altai road was launched by ‘Energy Construction Trust’ company in line with the government resolution of 2015 in the scope of the public-private partnership. However, the construction was suspended due to certain reasons, to fully resume in 2019 by the Max Road company. A total of 800 workers, 400 machineries and equipment and 11 factories were engaged in the construction that lasted for 11 months.

The new paved road now allows the western aimags of the country, Gobi-Altai, Khovd and Bayan-Ulgii to easy reach to Ulaanbaatar city, contributing hugely to the social and economic growth of Mongolia. For instance, fuel consumption of vehicles travelling to the western region will be saved by up to 30-40 percent while the time spending will be reduced twice.

The Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC) is exploring a possibility to establish a free trade zones with Mongolia and Indonesia, Iya Malkina, Aide to the Chairman of the Board of the Eurasian Economic Commission, said at a briefing.

According to Iya Malkina, the decision to embark on negotiations on the free trade zones with these two states has not been made yet. “The feasibility of free trade agreements with Mongolia and Indonesia will be carefully studied by joint research groups that have already been established and started working,” she said.

Mongolia failed to fulfill its goal to export 40 million tonnes of coal this year due to the COVID-19 restrictions. However, the Mongolian Cabinet is planning to increase coal exports to 42 million tonnes in 2021 based on optimistic forecast of the Chinese economy as it recovers from the pandemic shocks. In addition, Mongolia is implementing the ‘Green Gateway’ temporary custom regulation with the Chinese Government for increasing capacity of coal deliveries.

Mongolia is expecting to earn MNT 1.3 trillion revenue from exports of 42 million tonnes of coal in 2021.

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/ With an aim of discussing challenges and solutions of digital transition, “Digital Nation” Forum was organized on October 8 at Tuushin hotel. During the forum, corresponding officials underlined the importance of coherence and collaboration of public organizations in digital transition.

"There were some barriers even though we digitized state services. But now, more attention is being given on solutions to receive state services at all stages from mobile phone. We have introduced “E-Mongolia” digital system, which provides citizens with 181 types of state services from their mobile phone, at starters. Further development of the system will allow citizens to receive around 1500 types services at all levels of government organizations using their mobile phone. This renovation work will be carried out in seven years. If we become a digital nation through successful realization of digital transition, we can resolve issues related to corruption. Bureaucracy in government services causes corruption. At today's forum, public and private organizations are discussed together how to improve coherence between public organizations and ensure information security. The digital transition will also provide possibilities to transfer into performance-based salary system by eliminating duplication of functions of government agencies," Chief of the Cabinet Secretariat L.Oyun-Erdene said.

According to the statistics, a citizen spends 1.30 hours on an average to receive a state service. Introduction of E-Mongolia system has many advantages including saving of citizens’ time and money and balancing work loading of civil servants.

Director of the National Road Transport Center B.Gursoronzon said that government organizations should work coherently. Within the digital transition works, our organization needs to develop cooperation with Hur system, Dan system, Communications and Information Technology Authority, License Center of General Police Agency and registration system of the General Authority for State Registration. In general, it is necessary for government organizations to exchange information through Hur system. Currently, E-Mongolia system is offering nine types of road transport services to the citizens.

Head of Information Technology Department of Mobicom Corporation LLC B.Munkhzorig noted the importance of public-private partnership in digital transition. As having a smart city, we can resolve traffic jam with the help of artificial intelligence. In other words, it is possible to tackle traffic jam issues based on data by using technological achievements. Smart city is a data-based solution to solve problems.

Mongolia is not overly religious, conservative, or liberal. Mongolians have a reputable history of having an open-minded attitude towards all religions. Historical records reveal that there were 12 Buddhist temples, 2 Islamic mosques, and a Christian church in the ancient capital city of the Great Mongol Empire in the Karakorum.

If you plan to visit any temples or monasteries, there are some social etiquette tips to avoid offending the locals. Such as, if you walk around a stupa or prayer wheels always walk in a clockwise direction. long-sleeved clothing is appropriate. Remove any hats, sunglasses before entering any monasteries and temples. Photography is not allowed in most monasteries.

Be respectful and do your best to go with the flow in order to have a good time. Religion in Mongolia has been traditionally dominated by the schools of Mongolian Buddhism and by Mongolian shamanism. Historically, through the Mongol Empire, the Mongols were exposed to the influences of Christianity (Nestorianism and Catholicism) and Islam, although these religions never came to dominate. Gradually, during the socialist period of the Mongolian People's Republic (1924-1992) all religions were prohibited, but with the transition to the republic in the 1990s, there has been a general revival of faiths.

The latest survey was conducted that 53% of the Mongolians identify as Buddhists, 38.6% as not religious, 3% as Muslims (predominantly of Kazakh ethnicity), 2.9% as followers of the Mongol shamanic tradition, 2.2% as Christians, and 0.4% as followers of other religions. Other sources estimate that a significantly higher proportion of the population follows the Mongol ethnic religion (18.6%).