Mongolia has reported one new case of coronavirus after testing 803 samples in four laboratories nationwide. So far, Mongolia has had 315 confirmed cases of coronavirus; 307 of them have recovered.

Currently, eight people with coronavirus are under treatment at the National Centre for Communicative Diseases.

Centerra Gold (TSX: CG) on Tuesday confirmed that operations at its Kumtor mine will continue uninterrupted following the recent political unrest in the Kyrgyz Republic.

The Kumtor mine is located in a remote mountainous location about 430 km by road to the southeast of the national capital Bishkek, which appears to be the centre of the unrest.

However, the company says it is still monitoring the situation to ensure that conditions remain safe to continue to transport people and supplies to the mine site.

The political situation is continuing to evolve, Centerra says, and it is taking all the necessary precautions to ensure the safety of its personnel and operations.

Earlier this week, protestors gathered to denounce the results of Sunday’s parliamentary elections and later took over government buildings in what President Sooronbay Jeenbekov, whose parties dominated the election, described as an attempt to seize power.

As the violence between demonstrators and security forces escalated, the election results were eventually annulled by the authorities.

On the same day, London-based Kaz Minerals suspended production at its Bozymchak copper-gold mine after a reported attack on another gold deposit.

Kumtor is one of the largest gold mines in Central Asia operated by a Western company, having produced more than 12.6 million ounces of gold between 1997 and the end of 2019.

Shares of Centerra Gold plunged 12.2% on the TSX by noon EDT, sending the miner’s market value down to C$4 billion.

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/. On October 2, Millennium Challenge Account Mongolia (MCA-Mongolia) in cooperation with Mongolian National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MNCCI) organized an event to inform local firms and entities about the projects being implemented under the Mongolia Water Compact and planned international construction tenders and procurement opportunities under these projects. Representatives from over 100 private entities took part in the event.

President of MNCCI and Member of MCA-Mongolia Board of Directors Mr. O.Amartuvshin, MCA-Mongolia CEO Ms. E.Sodontogos and MCC Deputy Resident Country Director to Mongolia Mr. Eric Guetschoff opened the event addressing the audience.

“The participation and cooperation of private sector entities is crucial for the implementation of this major project funded by the U.S Millennium Challenge Corporation. For this reason, today we are organizing this event in cooperation with MCA-Mongolia to inform you of projects being implemented under the Compact and possibilities for the private sector entities to be involved in. For local companies, it is unlikely to be individually involved in large international projects like this, usually local companies will participate in partnerships or in a joint-venture”, Mr. O.Amartuvshin highlighted in his opening remarks.

Ms. E.Sodontogos noted, “We are working hard to ensure that this major investment can generate the highest possible benefits for Mongolia and for our economy, including the private sector. Therefore, we hope that you, too, will be actively involved in the Program implementation and construction works and closely cooperate with us while strictly following the rules and regulations related to the procurement procedure”.

The event continued with presentations on three closely-related main activities of the Program by Downstream Wells Activity Director B.Batsukh, Wastewater Recycling Activity Director T.Khishigt and Water Sector Sustainability Activity Director L.Unurjargal. In addition, presentations on planned international construction tenders, procurement opportunities under these projects and MCC Program Procurement Guidelines and relevant policies were provided by Procurement Director T.Enkhtungalag and MCC Anti- Fraud and Corruption as well tax policies by General Counsel P.Bayar. Finally, managers of the independent Fiscal Agent firm – “Cardno Emerging Markets” and the Procurement Agent firm – “Charles Kendall and Partners”, who are charge of MCA-Mongolia procurement and financial operations, took part in the event to provide relevant information.

Background

The Government of Mongolia and the U.S Millennium Challenge Corporation signed the $350 million Mongolia Water Compact, a grant to help to reduce poverty through economic growth in Mongolia on July 27, 2018, and the Compact is funding the Bulk Water Supply Program which aims to meet ever-increasing demand of in Ulaanbaatar, the capital city of Mongolia.

Mongolia Water Compact aims to provide a sustainable supply of water to Ulaanbaatar through funding the development of two new groundwater wellfields and the construction of an Advanced Water Purification Plant to treat up to 50 million cubic meters/year of water extracted from the new wellfields to the highest drinking water quality standards and supply to the central network of the city, as well as the construction of Wastewater Recycling Plant that will treat 50,000 cubic meters/day of the effluent from new CWWTP and convey the recycled water to Combined Heating and Power plants number three and four (CHP-3 and CHP-4) for technical use. The Compact also includes a Water Sector Sustainability Activity which will enhance the long-term sustainability of UB city water and wastewater system while ensuring that the Compact activities have lasting benefits.

Millennium Challenge Account - Mongolia is a state-owned enterprise established by the decision of the Government of Mongolia on October 3, 2018, pursuant to Government Resolution No 297 in accordance with Section 3.2 of the Compact to implement the Program under the 350 million USD Mongolia Water Compact signed with the Millennium Challenge Corporation, a U.S. government foreign aid agency.

The Millennium Challenge Corporation is an independent U.S. government agency working to reduce global poverty through economic growth. Created in 2004, MCC provides time-limited grants and assistance to poor countries that meet rigorous standards for good governance, from fighting corruption to respecting democratic rights. Learn more about MCC at www.mcc.gov.

MCA-Mongolia

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/ The construction of Science and Innovation Center commenced on October 2. The commencement ceremony was attended by Prime Minister U.Khurelsukh, Minister of Education and Science L.Tsedevsuren, President of the Mongolian Academy of Sciences (MAS) D.Regdel, and other officials and scholars.

In his remarks at the ceremony, PM U.Khurelsukh said, “The Government deems that the country’s development will advance through science-based government policy. A historic development project kicks off on the threshold of the 100th anniversaries of the People’s Revolution and the establishment of modern scientific organization in Mongolia which fall next year”

The Science and Innovation Center development project is being implemented in accordance with the decisions made at the First State Congress of Scientific Workers in 2019 and the goals of the Government’s 2020-2024 Action Program such as those aimed at elevating scientific research, improving research outcomes, increasing the role of science in the country’s development, supporting research institutes and centers and research and innovation projects and encouraging startups.

The center worth MNT 94 billion will be built on a 4.8 ha area in the Botanical Garden located in 12th subdistrict of Bayanzurkh district until 2022. It will have laboratories, model workshop, office, library, conference hall, sports hall, repository, and museums of paleontology, archaeology, and astronomy where 3,300 scholars and workers of MAS institutes, universities, and other scientific organizations will carry out their researches.

The center will also open up an opportunity for joint research activities in biotechnology, nanotechnology, and information technology among research organizations and universities.

The UK government has temporarily blocked the development of what would be the nation’s first new deep coal mine in 30 years, while it decides whether to call in the application or hand the decision back to local authorities in Cumbria, in the northwest of England.

Cumbria County councillors voted 12-3 to grant planning permission to West Cumbria Mining’s Woodhouse Colliery project on Friday.

Environment groups condemned the approval, urging the government to intervene and block it. They claim the new coal mine would emit 8 million tonnes of carbon annually, which threatens to undermine the UK’s commitment to reach net zero emissions by 2050.

Development of the Woodhouse Colliery was approved last year but it was later delayed by the High Court, which granted permission to a local campaign group to pursue a judicial review of the project.

The planned mine is expected to produce as much as 3.1 million tonnes of metallurgical coal a year, mainly from under the seabed. Processed coal would then be transferred by underground conveyor to trains using a new loading facility and sidings.

Woodhouse Colliery is scheduled to begin production in the second half of 2021, creating 500 jobs. It had originally been slated to run for 70 years, but West Cumbria Mining had to resubmit plans following the judicial review. The mine is now expected to close in 2049, one year before the country must have net zero emissions.

Growing skepticism

Most in the UK are skeptical about achieving the net zero target, according to a survey by the centre-right think tank Bright Blue published Friday.

The report found that 58% of the public believe that it is unlikely that the target will be achieved even by 2050.

The UK is set to host the COP26 round of UN global climate talks in Glasgow, Scotland, in November 2021. The event is considered the most important climate negotiations since the Paris agreement in 2015.

England’s last operating deep coal mine, Kellingley, closed in 2015 and the country’s last coal mine stopped operating this year.

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/ Honored Artists of Mongolia E.Amartuvshin will perform at La Scala opera house in Milan, Italy. The baritone is to sing the part of Amonasro. King of Ethiopia, in the opera Aida.

The opera to feature Cultural Ambassador of Mongolia E.Amartuvshin will take place from October 6 to 19 at the Milan theater that was built in 1776 on the former location of the church of Santa Maria alla Scala, from which the theatre got its name.

They are called ninja miners – some 100’000 people at peak times digging for gold or other natural resources in Mongolia. “Ninja” as they often cover their faces from dust and carry green pans that resemble the shells of the “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles”. Many former pastoralists have engaged in this artisanal mining, working aside industrial miners, as one of few income generating activities. The mining boom started in the 1990s when Mongolia transitioned to a free marked democracy allowing foreign investments. Since then, the sector has had an oversized influence on Mongolia’s GDP, leaving behind agriculture as the economy’s former center piece.

What are the main stages that have shaped the mining sector since the 1990s? How has the boom in mining transformed society? What answers do regulators and actors have to the toll mining has taken on the land, air, and the environment as a whole? And what role do Chinese investment and the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) play?

In this webcast, the University of Zurich’s Byambabaatar Ichinkhorloo starts off by giving us an in-depth understanding of the evolution and ongoing issues around mining in Mongolia. He will then be joined by Beibei Gu of the Zoï Environment Network, who focuses on environmental issues, the Chinese perspective as importer and investor as well as the challenges and opportunities of the BRI for Mongolia’s mining sector. This webcast is moderated by the anthropologist Emilia Sulek.

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Byamba

Dr. Byambabaatar Ichinkhorloo is a senior lecturer at the Department of Social Anthropology and Cultural Studies, the University of Zurich and a co-investigator of "Gobi Framework" research project, the University of Oxford. As a social anthropologist, Byamba is studying how people make a living in Mongolia since 1990. His research mainly focuses on pastoralism, political ecology, and mining. Apart from his academic career, he worked as a research consultant in development agencies and interacted with different actors whose perceptions and opinions contrast sharply.

Beibei Gu

Beibei Gu is a sustainability and environmental policy specialist working for the Geneva based NGO Zoï Environment Network. Beibei contributed to the recently launched synthesis report Greening the China-Mongolia-Russia economic corridor. She has more than ten years of professional experience across international organizations (UNEP), multinational corporations and environmental NGOs, and is experienced in the global environment agenda including the United Nations (UN) Inclusive Green Economy, sustainable infrastructure and investment, China’s clean air policy, environmental transparency and green supply chain.

Emilia Sulek

Dr. Emilia Sulek is a scholar of China, Tibet and Central Asia. She writes about contemporary Asian societies, shadow economies, development, state power, political conflict and environment, and gender politics. She is a member of ROADWORK: an anthropological research project about the Chinese Belt and Road Initiative. Photo by Daniela Kienzler.