At its regular session on September 6, 2023, the Cabinet made the following decisions:

An issue of Khalzan Buregtein Deposit will be resolved on the ground of the local authorities’ proposal

Issues related to reviewing complaints and suggestions submitted by the citizens of Khovd aimag following the visit of the Prime Minister of Mongolia and the special permits for the Khalzan Buregtein Deposit were presented and discussed at today's Cabinet session.

The Minister of Mining and Heavy Industry J. Ganbaatar and the Minister of Environment and Tourism B. Bat-Erdene were tasked to study and resolve the issue pertaining to the special permits for the Khalzan Buregtein Deposit located in the Myangad soum of Khovd aimag grounding on the suggestions of the local authorities in conformity with relevant legislation.

It was instructed to develop the State Policy on rare earth elements and rare metals in conformity with relevant legislation and submit to the Government session.

The Ministry of Mining and Heavy Industry conducted an inspection at the permit site of this deposit. The environmental management plan for 2023 exploration work was approved by the soum governor, but was not approved by the authorized environmental service specified in the legislation. Therefore, its activities have been temporarily suspended since April 29, 2023.

Foreign exchange reserves reach USD 3 billion 933 million

The Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister of Economy and Development of Mongolia Ch. Khurelbaatar presented the implementation of the Government Resolution No. 362 of 2022 "On some measures to undertake towards increasing the state's foreign exchange reserves" and the measures to undertake in the future. In connection with this presentation, related officials were instructed to connect the trading deals made at the Mining Products Exchange with the customs and tax automatic registration system, and register the deals and contracts on mining products made by state and local owned companies only through the exchange in the customs and tax automatic registration system.

As of the end of August 2023, foreign currency reserves reached USD 3 billion 933 million, increasing by 41 percent compared to the end of September 2022. "This ensures the stability of MNT exchange rate," said the Minister of Economy and Development.

Since the beginning of 2023, the total sales of "Erdenes Tavantolgoi" JSC, "Erdenet Industry" state-owned enterprise (SOE), "Mongolrostsvetmet" SOE, and "Darkhan Metallurgical Plant" JSC have amounted USD 2.5 billion.

As of September 4, 2023, a total of 4,966,000 tons of coal was openly traded as part of the open sales of minerals, of which 3,110,000 tons of coal were traded through on-line trading, and 1,856,000 tons of coal were traded through the Mining Products Exchange.

The court will have a document outlining its development policy

After discussing the draft resolution of the State Great Khural on the approval of the "Policy for the Development of Judicial Power," it was decided to support it in principle and forward some suggestions to the legislators.

The Strategic Plan of the Judicial Power was approved by the Resolution of the State Great Khural in 2000, which is still effective. Taking into account the recommendations made in connection with the assessment and conclusion of the implementation of this plan, a proposal on Mongolia's Judicial Power Development Policy goals, objectives, and measures has been developed in harmony with the objectives of the "Vision-2050”, Mongolia's Long-Term Development Policy, and other documents issued by authorized organizations and officials regarding the development and reform of the judicial power.

The Draft Resolution reflects the goals such as the guaranteed enjoyment of citizens’ rights to file in court, improvement of the openness and transparency of operations, ensuring the independence of judges and the independence of the courts, shaping responsible courts, ensuring compliance of the administrative management of the judiciary with modern requirements, continuous development of human resource capacity of the courts, increasing the quality and availability of court services, developing the infrastructure of court services, and creating a stable system suitable for handling cases.

Brief news

· Based on own request, J. Bold was released from his duties and Sukhbold Tumurbaatar was appointed as the Head of the National Police Agency. Colonel T. Sukhbold has been working as the Head of the Criminal Police Department since 2020.

· After discussing an issue of opening the Embassy of Mongolia in Tashkent, the capital of the Republic of Uzbekistan, it was decided to consult with the relevant Standing Committee of the Parliament.

Ministers and deputy ministers for communications and digital transition from over 70 countries took part in the Tallin Digital Summit on September 5, 2023. This year's summit was organized under the theme "Strengthening Democracy and Renewing Technological Agenda."

During his working visit to the Republic of Estonia, Minister of Digital Development and Communications N. Uchral met with the management of the Health and Welfare Information Systems Center and got acquainted with its activities.

The Minister was interested in the experience of digitalization of health and social protection services in Estonia and made a proposal to cooperate in introducing them in Mongolia. In particular, he proposed to cooperate in the areas of data-based decision-making in the provision and establishment of social care and benefits, use of artificial intelligence, IT audit and conclusion of systems with overlapped investments in the health sector, and re-engineering of existing systems.

The Health and Welfare Information Systems Center expressed its readiness to cooperate in the above areas. This Center (TEHIK) works in partnership with such organizations as the Ministry of Health, Social Insurance Council, National Institute of Health Development, Department of Clinical Medicine to introduce new digital services, reports the Ministry of Digital Development and Communications.

Ivanhoe Electric (TSX: IE) has released the results of an initial assessment (IA) analyzing the potential for an underground copper mine at its Santa Cruz project located west of Casa Grande, Arizona, powered predominantly by renewable energy.

The IA, which is preliminary in nature, envisions a 5.9-million-tonne-per-year copper mining operation with an estimated 20-year life. Life of mine (LOM) copper production is calculated at 1.6 million tonnes with average grade of 1.58% total copper (1 million tonnes will be in the form of 99% pure copper cathode, the rest being copper contained in a 48% copper concentrate).

The study focuses exclusively on the high-grade exotic, oxide and enriched domains of the Santa Cruz and East Ridge deposits, with combined resources of 2.7 million tonnes indicated grading 1.42% total copper and 27.3 million tonnes inferred grading 1.39% total copper.

However, there is potential for resource upgrades from the oxide domains of the Texaco deposit (900,000 tonnes indicated grading 1.05% total copper and 35 million tonnes inferred grading 1.06% total copper), and from the large primary sulfide domains at Santa Cruz (76.2 million tonnes indicated grading 0.88% total copper and 8 million tonnes inferred grading 0.92% total copper).

Copper recoveries of 95.4% are expected to be achieved through a combination of solvent extraction and electrowinning (SX/EW) and conventional froth flotation, as outlined by the IA.

On the project economics side, the IA projects Santa Cruz to have an after-tax net present value of $1.3 billion with an after-tax internal rate of return of 23%, using an 8% discount rate and an LOM copper price of $3.80/lb.

The study also estimates initial project capital expenditures of $1.15 billion and LOM sustaining capital expenditures of $980 million. A three-year construction period is contemplated to develop the underground workings and build the surface processing facilities.

Ivanhoe noted that the IA is designed to minimize environmental impact and minimize surface land disruption. As a result of the small surface footprint required for mining activities, the area expected to be required for the project would cover approximately one-third of the total land package, it says.

As a primarily “green” copper mine operation, the IA base case assumes 70% of the total electric power requirements for the project will be generated by onsite renewable infrastructure, enabling copper production with low carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) emissions (0.49 tonnes per tonne of copper produced for Scope 1 and 2 emissions). In comparison, the global mining industry average is approximately 3.9 tonnes of CO2e, Ivanhoe said.

Robert Friedland, executive chairman of Ivanhoe, says completion of the IA for the Santa Cruz copper project is an “important achievement” for the company as it works to advance a new source of responsibly produced ‘green’ copper in the United States.

“Our goal is to develop a modern copper mine that produces copper with among the lowest levels of carbon dioxide output in the industry; a product we think has the potential to attract a premium price in the future,” Friedland said in Wednesday’s news release.

“We believe the Santa Cruz copper project will become an industry-leading example of responsibly produced copper in the United States, and a source of high-quality jobs in Arizona during development and throughout its anticipated long mine life,” CEO Taylor Melvin added.

Shares of Ivanhoe Electric gained 1.1% by 12:50 p.m. EDT, giving the company a market capitalization of C$2.2 billion ($1.6 billion).

On September 1, 2023, a signing ceremony of the cooperation protocol for the implementation of “President sport complex” was held.

E.Zolboo, the Deputy Minister of Construction and Urban Development, signed on behalf of Mongolian party, and Luo Zhaohui, the director of the China International Development Cooperation Agency, signed on behalf of the People's Republic of China.

In the protocol, all issues related to the research, design, construction, management and operation of the "President Sports Complex" project named after the Presidents of the two countries were resolved.

The technical and economic basis of the project, the necessary basic research and design work were carried out by the Ministry of Construction and Urban Development in cooperation with the team of "Architectural Design and Research Institute of Tongji University" of China.

The complex has an area of 58.560 square meters for basketball, volleyball, soccer, swimming, tennis, table tennis, air tennis, squash tennis, boxing, wrestling, rock climbing, fencing, shooting, archery and fitness, yoga, spinning and cycling, a total of 19 types of sports.

The sport complex has an importance that children, youth and citizens can spend their free time properly, and athletes can achieve success in international competitions, Olympics, continental and world competitions.

It is planned to reach 70 percent of public utility works and services to be performed by the private sector this year and 100 percent in 2024. In this context, five works are being transferred to the private sector in stages.

Specifically, cleaning, service and waste transportation of roads and streets’ 95, maintenance and protection of green areas’ 99, lighting, maintenance and repair of public roads’ 100, urban landscaping, construction, sidewalk work’s 94, public toilet services’ 84 percent are transferred to the private sector. Three-year contract was signed with enterprises. As a result, the organizations were able to get investment loans, and the conditions for staff to work stably were made.

"Healthy future" campaign to be organized

In order to reduce maternal and child morbidity and mortality, the Health Department of the Capital city is implementing 20 activities in five areas. For example, it has organized training on comprehensive management of children's diseases and specialization in adolescent health. In addition to organizing events such as discussions based on serious cases of maternal mortality, Youth Cabinets were established in the districts. Preparations are being made for the "Healthy Future" campaign in order to expand training and advertising for teenagers, children and youths to prevent smoking and electronic cigarettes.

MEDIA AND PUBLIC RELATIONS DEPARTMENT OF THE GOVERNOR’S OFFICE OF THE CAPITAL CITY

The city of Ulaanbaatar has received permission from the Ministry of Finance, the Bank of Mongolia, and the Financial Regulatory Commission to issue bonds worth up to MNT 500 billion in the domestic market. Specifically, the Law on the Legal Status of the Capital City was revised and approved in 2021, and the city of Ulaanbaatar has the right to issue bonds in the financial market. In this way, Ulaanbaatar is able to follow the standards of major cities in the world and use more efficient means of financing to decide on major infrastructure investments and to work independently financially.

In the process of releasing Ulaanbaatar city bonds to the financial market, the lead underwriter will be “BDSec UtsK” JSC, and the sub-underwriters will be “TDB Securities UTsK” LLC and “Golomt Capital UTsK” LLC. In this context, the Governor's Office of the Capital city signed a cooperation agreement with the leading underwriters and sub-underwriters.

The leading underwriter "BDSec UTsK" JSC is a leading securities company in the industry, which has been continuously operating for 31 years since the beginning of the stock market relations in Mongolia. In 2006, the company became a public company through an IPO on the Mongolian Stock Exchange, and in 2021, it was selected as the "Best Broker" and "Best Investment Bank" of Mongolia. www.bdsec.mn

The sub-underwriter "Golomt Capital UTsK" LLC was founded in 2011, and is one of the market leaders, having performed 40% of all IPO and FPO underwriting services announced in the Mongolian market in the last five years. www.golomtcapital.com

Sub-underwriter “TDB Securities UTsK” LLC served as the domestic advisor for Chinggis Bond, which was issued for the first time in the international market by the Government of Mongolia. Since then, the company has attracted a total of 3.8 billion dollars of investment from foreign markets and has rich experience in international markets. Most recently, they offered US government bonds (Treasury Bill) to investors for the first time in Mongolia. www.tdbsecurities.mn

The leading underwriter, who will provide professional services as an intermediary and guarantor in the public offering of Ulaanbaatar bonds, was selected by the Procurement Department of the Capital city on the order of the Governor’s Office of the Capital city.

MEDIA AND PUBLIC RELATIONS DEPARTMENT OF THE GOVERNOR’S OFFICE OF THE CAPITAL CITY

The IESF World Esports Championship 2023 took place in Iași, Romania between August 26 and September 3, 2023.

A total of 16 teams from around the globe, including Mongolia, Sweden, Ukraine, the United States, and Egypt, converged to battle in the DOTA 2 tournament of the Championships with a prize pool of USD 100 thousand.

The Mongolian team, IHC E-Sports, topped Group B with a perfect 3-0 record, defeating teams from Jordan, Romania, and South Africa. In the Upper Bracket Semifinals, they lost to Kyrgyzstan 2-1, but they bounced back in the Lower Bracket and defeated the United States, Indonesia, and Kyrgyzstan.

The Grand Final was a close-fought battle between Mongolia and Myanmar. Myanmar took the first game, but Mongolia won the next two games and became a World Champion. Winning a major DOTA2 tournament was a historic achievement for Mongolia.

It’s a mid-winter’s day and the temperature in Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia, is 10 degrees Fahrenheit.

Wanting to keep her family warm in their yurt — a portable, circular dwelling made of a lattice of flexible wood and covered in felt — and disconnected from the city’s gas utility system, a mother burns raw coal.

Smoke soon fills the yurt. With every breath, for more than an hour, the mother and her children ingest the smoke into their lungs.

More than 6,000 miles away, in January 2020, Shamsher Warudkar read an article in the bulletin of the World Health Organization. The article says that approximately 830,00 individuals living in Ulaanbaatar’s Ger Districts — located on the hills and mountains surrounding the city — are disconnected from Ulaanbaatar’s gas utility system. A UNICEF report says the lung function of children born and raised in Ulaanbaatar, where the average winter high temperature is 8.6 degrees Fahrenheit — is only 40% of their rural counterparts.

Warudkar, an aerospace engineering student at Arizona State University, asks Professor Jared Schoepf, director of the Engineering Projects in Community Service (EPICS) program, what can be done to help.

Three years later, the mother burns more raw coal to heat the family’s yurt. But a small, solar-powered air-filtration system dissipates the smoke in less than 30 minutes.

The children breathe easier, thanks to a team of nine ASU students who saw a problem and invented a solution.

“The students were passionate on making a positive impact for the community members that needed it the most,” Schoepf said. “I’m very proud of them.”

Sun power

The project’s name is Project Koyash, named after the Mongolian god of the sun.

So far, students working on the project have sent 13 of the air-filtration systems to Mongolia, and team leader Bryan Yavari, a senior majoring in neuroscience, has formed a nonprofit corporation called Koyash, whose purpose is to raise funding for the assembly and shipment of as many units as possible.

“The goal is to obtain as much funding as we can because at the end of the day, we have the data to prove the system works,” Yavari said. “We’re working to develop a local supply chain. But that’s for the longer-term future. Right now, people’s lives are at stake, so we have to get as many units there as we can.”

The EPICS program at ASU consists of approximately 550 students whose goal is to design, build and deploy systems to solve engineering-based real-world problems centered around four themes: community development, education, health and sustainability.

“Students work with a community partner to define the problem,” said Schoepf, adding that EPICS teams are currently working on 70 different projects. “Rather than assuming the problem and the best solution for the community, the students complete a needs assessment where they work with the community to define the user needs and engineering design requirements.

“The example I love to use is that if someone said they need something that anyone in their family can use, that’s the user need. The engineering design requirement is, ‘OK, children ages 5 to 10 must be able to learn how to use the solution in under five minutes. Whatever we do must be simple enough that the children can help with the use of the solution for the long-term success of the project.'”

When Yavari, Warudkar and the rest of the team got together in the fall of 2020 (COVID pushed the project back several months), they started brainstorming by breaking the project down into two parts: What is the problem, and what are the user needs — which in this case was electrification and filtration.

Originally, the team investigated alternative fuel sources to reduce the air pollution; however, after talking with the community members, they realized those solutions were too expensive and outside air pollution would still enter their home and be unsafe for the families. Instead, they decided to investigate reducing the air pollution through filtration.

Because electricity isn’t available to families living in the yurts and Ulaanbaatar receives more than 290 days of sun per year on average, powering an air-filtration system with solar panels became the clear choice.

Solar panels outside of a yurt

The filtration system is powered by solar panels, seen here outside of a yurt in Mongolia. Photo courtesy Bryan Yavari

They connected the solar panels to a charge controller — the controller regulates the voltage supplied by the panels to batteries — and then connected the controller to a rechargeable car battery. The battery, through an inverter, was hooked up to a multi-faceted air filter — one side is an activated carbon filter and the other an air ionizer filter.

The system also contained an Arduino the team built — “it’s kind of like the brain of the system,” Yavari said, which regulates the battery percentage, turning the charging from the solar panel off if the battery percentage becomes too high. Therefore, the system will not overheat and will run autonomously.

Warudkar said that “a battery may or may not have been lit on fire at some point in the initial prototyping stages.”

Through testing

The team spent the entire 2020 fall semester testing the power system to see if all the components worked. The next hurdle was replicating the smoke-filled conditions in the yurts.

Fortunately, Warudkar’s sister, who lives in Tempe, has a shed in her backyard. The team covered up the ventilation holes inside the shed, purchased a meat smoker, packed it with coal and for nearly a year conducted tests, filling the shed with smoke in order to determine how the electrical components responded and what filters worked best.

Their system worked, obtaining an air quality index value of four; an AQI value of 50 or below represents good air quality.

Because most of the parts were purchased off store shelves, the per-unit cost came to only $400. Also, the inverter, battery and Arduino fit inside a weatherproof box that’s just 12 inches high, 8 inches wide and 6 inches deep.

“A lot of the inventions we do consist of taking parts that already exist and integrating them together in a new, unique way,” Schoepf said. “That’s something we push heavily in the class in terms of working with our international partners. The last thing we want to do is create something that’s so drastically complex there’s no way to fix it or do maintenance. This ensures long-term success of the project.”

With the invention validated, Yavari reached out to the Taiwan Fund for Children and Families, which operates in the area. The team collaborated with the Mongolian Consulate, a system was sent for testing and, soon after, 12 more were shipped to Mongolia.

“This system is great for the families in Ulaanbaatar,” said Bayar Be, one of Project Koyash’s community partners in Mongolia. “It’s easy to use and effective at filtering the air.”

Yavari is currently collaborating on a research project with pediatricians to determine the impact their solution is having on the children’s lives.

“It makes such a big difference in those children’s developmental stages for the families that are there,” Yavari added. “It can help extend and save lives.”

BY Scott Bordow

Reporter , ASU News

Scott.Bordow@asu.edu