November 16, 2017 trading report www.mse.mn

On November 16, 2017, 226,230 shares of 25 firms listed as Tier I, II, and III were traded. 9 firms’ shares increased in price, 12 decreased and 4 remained unchanged. ITools JSC /ITLS/ and Erchim Bayan Ulgii JSC /BOE/ was the top performer, increasing 15.00 percent, whereas Noyot Khairkhan JSC /NIE/ was the worst performer, decreasing 12.00 percent.

Canada says coal not coming back, US and Germany differ www.mining.com

Nearly 20 countries and regions pledged Thursday to never use coal again as fuel for power generation from 2030 onwards, adhering to a British-Canadian initiative presented at the 2017 United Nations climate change talks in Bonn, Germany.

Two nations, however, did not sign the accord — the United States and the host country.

US President Donald Trump has made no secret of his intention, at least in paper, of “bringing back coal.” So far, he has by rolled back environmental regulations and moved to repeal Obama-era curbs on carbon emissions from power plants among other measures.

However, dozens of coal-fired plants have closed in recent years, and cheap natural gas continues to dent domestic demand. According to the Appalachian Regional Commission, the region has lost about 33,500 mining jobs since 2011. And that’s only in one section of the US.

Overall, coal’s share of the power mix is declining, and wind and solar remain the fastest-growing US sources of electricity.

One problem is that most of the installed coal-fired generation capacity in the US is quite old, and with gas prices being low, companies don’t seem willing to invest in repairing those outdated facilities.

Another issue is that not one single new commercial plant of this kind is planned in the whole country for the near future, compared to 2.6GW of new solar capacity, 10GW of new wind and 38GW of new gas-fired plants scheduled to start up in 2017-18.

Even AEP, the US top generator from coal in 2015, has been embracing renewables. In July, in fact, it announced it would invest $4.5 billion to build the largest wind farm in the US.

Despite these facts, coal jobs have increased and Bloomberg explains partly why:

US coal production began rising in mid-2016, boosted by higher global prices that were mainly due to production cutbacks in China. Cyclone Debbie buffeted Australia’s coast earlier this year, sending prices rallying again. And in the US., coal became more competitive in the utility mix after natural gas — a rival power-plant fuel — rebounded from last year’s historically low prices (…) Coal production has since fallen below 2016 levels.
Germany, in turn, which for years has been seen as a world leader in the fight against carbon emissions and pollution, still gets 40% of its energy from coal, a larger share than most other European countries, data from Eurostat show.

The reality is so despite the Angela Merkel’s administration has invested billions in renewable energy and it means that Germany will miss its goal of cutting 40% of its greenhouse gas emissions by 2020. Currently, official figures show that number is likely to fall to little more than 30%.

Canadian and British authorities declined to criticize the US and Germany’s decisions. Instead, the Financial Times reports, they emphasized the economic opportunities arising from the shift towards less polluting technologies:

“My message to President Trump is: Have a look at what other countries are doing,” Claire Perry, the UK minister for climate change and industry said. “Clearly you have to make choices based on your manifesto agreements. But there are really big opportunities out there in the transition to clean energy for jobs and for growth.”

“Coal is not coming back,” noted Catherine McKenna, Canada’s minister for environment and climate change. “The economic case is clear. The price of solar and wind has plummeted. Clean power is also increasingly the cheapest power.”
Some of the countries that have joined the so-called Powering Past Coal Alliance to phase out coal from power generation before 2030 include Britain, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Italy, France, the Netherlands, Portugal, Belgium, Switzerland, New Zealand, Ethiopia, Mexico, Chile and the Marshall Islands.

The coalition expects to include at least 50 countries by next year.

Billionaire investor George Soros dumps Apple & Facebook www.rt.com

US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filings show the George Soros' investment fund has disposed of its holdings in Apple and Snap in the last quarter, reducing stakes in other tech giants such as Facebook and Twitter.

According to the filings, the fund sold 1,700 shares of Apple and 1.55 million of Snap stock. It also reduced its stake in Twitter by 5,700 shares while still holding 18,400 shares of the social media site. The investor got rid of 367,262 shares in Facebook; he has now 109,451 of the network’s shares.

Government to provide electricity to all households in UB www.news.mn

Earlier today, Prime Minister U.Khurelsukh, made a working visit to state-owned Thermal Power Plant-4, in the Mongolian capital, Ulaanbaatar. The company reported to the PM that it has bought 185 thousand tonnes of coal and 64 tonnes of fuel oil in preparation for the winter.

Volkswagen Group earmarking $11.8 billion to develop, build China electric cars www.reuters.com

GUANGZHOU/BEIJING (Reuters) - Volkswagen Group said on Thursday it plans to spend 10 billion euros ($11.8 billion) by 2025 to develop and manufacture all-electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles as it seeks to comply with upcoming stringent rules in China.

Shanxi likely to buy more Mongolian coking coal www.mongolianminingjournal.com

Shanxi province in Central China has 55 percent of the total coking coal reserves in the country and produces 40.74 percent of the country’s coking coal -- the raw material to produce coke – but even then it now looks set to become a major purchaser of Mongolian coking coal, as Shanxi’s coking industry is being expanded in a big way. The production capacity of the province’s coking coal mines has been increased by 104.45 million tonnes between 2014 and now, and is projected to go up another 97.15 million tonnes in the next three years, according to Zhang Gangfeng, General Secretary of the Shanxi Province Coking Industry Association. At the same time Shanxi’s coke producing capacity reached 127 million tonnes last year, giving it a 28.3 percent share of the total capacity in the country. The province actually produced 82 million tonnes of coke in 2016 and this is expected to reach 100 million tonnes this year. Capacity is to be increased by 80 million tonnes in the next five years to 200 million tones, giving the province 35.5 percent of the country’s total coke production capacity.

At the same time several other regions of China, such as the provinces of Hebei, Shandong, Anhui, Guizhou, Yunnan, and Heilonjiang have together slashed their coking coal production capacity by 7% or 84.77 million tonnes since 2014. The national coking coal extraction capacity is proposed to be reduced by 206.7 million tonnes or 16.7 percent of total capacity. This, too, was revealed by Zhang Gangfeng at Coal Mongolia 2017. 

This has to be seen together with the fact that 19 coking companies in Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, and Shandong – all in the Chinese eastern region -- with total production capacity of 27.65 million tonnes have closed in recent years. More such plants are likely to face closure as the government enforces its stringent environment protection policy.

All this together has led to the situation where Shanxi becomes a major buyer of Mongolian coal. The companies there prefer to mix Mongolian coking coal with their own to get the best results. For example, coking coal from Ceke port could be blended with the high-ash coal of Shanxi while the low-sulphur coking coal from Gantsmod could be mixed with the local high-sulphur coal.  
China imported 42 million tonnes of coking coal in the first seven months of the year, 32 percent more than in the same period last year, and most of it was from Mongolia. The full year’s total coking coal import is expected to reach 66 million tonnes, 10 percent higher YoY, according to Fenwei Energy Information Service, which is China’s major coal database. The second half of the year will, however, see imports slowing down, the database warned. 

Both coking coal extraction and steel production in China are expected to increase, even if slightly, in 2017. Steel production is projected to reach 825 million tonnes, a 2.1 percent increase YoY, while coking coal extraction will go up to 474 million tones, a rise of 6.7 percent YoY. As for coke production, it may reach 456 million tonnes, 1.6 percent up YoY. 
All this bodes well for Mongolia’s coal export.

Construction of new wasterwater treatment plant to begin next year www.montsame.mn

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/ During its regular meeting on November 15, the Cabinet resolved to start the construction of a new wastewater treatment plant in Ulaanbaatar by the second quater of next year.

Mongolia, Turkey discuss ties www.akipress.com

AKIPRESS.COM - Minister of Foreign Affairs of Mongolia D.Tsogtbaatar met Ahmet Yazal, Ambassador of Turkey to Mongolia, on November 14.

Cardiologists from Mongolia and Taiwan exchange experience www.news.mn

A medical conference entitled ‘Diagnosis and treatment of the coronary arteries’ was held in Ulaanbaatar on 10-11 November. The conference was co-organised by the Mongolian Science and Technological Fund with Taiwanese support.

Cabinet to improve coal transport management www.montsame.mn

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/ During the Cabinet’s regular meeting on November 15, Minister of Mining and Heavy Industry D.Sumiyabazar reported on the current state of Oyu Tolgoi and Tavan Tolgoi mines, coal transport and the Tsagaan Khad Customs Stockyard.