The Ministry of Health reported that 3,088 new cases of COVID-19 have been reported in the past 24 hours. Specifically, 1,708 cases were reported in Ulaanbaatar city, with 1380 cases in rural aimags.

It was also reported that no COVID-19 related death has been reported in the past 24 hours. Currently, 8,882 people are receiving hospital treatment for COVID-19 whilst 41,854 people with mild symptoms of COVID-19 are being isolated at home.

Of the total patients currently undergoing treatment at hospitals, there are 2,862 patients in mild, 5,092 in serious, 875 in critical, and 53 in very critical conditions.

The coverage of 1st dose has reached 69.7 percent (2,268,377), 2nd dose – 66.7 percent (2,168,827) and 3rd dose or a booster shot of COVID-19 vaccines – 30.0 percent (979,390) of the total population. Moreover, 49,504 people or 2.0 percent got 4th dose of the vaccines.

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Small and landlocked, the Central Asian nation struggles to

balance its economy with essential public health measures.

Food shortages, inflation, hundreds of thousands of people without an income, and thousands of shipping containers stuck on the border, not to mention rising Covid-19 cases, job losses, closed businesses, a crippled export sector, and a decimated tourism industry: this has been the situation in Mongolia for the past two years. In an interview with the author, Deputy Prime Minister Amarsaikhan Sainbuyan described the pandemic as “the biggest crisis of my career” and went on to explain the difficulties that a small, developing democracy experiences when it tries to balance the economy while safeguarding public health.

Mongolia is a lower-middle income country with a population of only three million and a per capita annual household income of US$1,787. For almost 70 years, Mongolia was a Soviet satellite. In 1992, the Soviets left, and the country abandoned communism, transitioning to capitalism and democracy. While the living standards of most Mongolians have dramatically improved over the past ten years, Mongolia’s economic development has been erratic, with a negative 9.3 per cent GDP growth in 1992 and a positive 17.3 per cent growth in 2011. In 2018, Mongolia’s economy was improving, with 7.5 per cent growth, but in 2020, as a result of pandemic lockdowns, growth dropped to negative 4.6 per cent.

Mongolia’s mining sector accounts for 90 per cent of exports and roughly 26.1 per cent of GDP.

One of the reasons for Mongolia’s boom-and-bust trajectory is that the mining sector accounts for 90 per cent of exports and roughly 26.1 per cent of GDP. But these numbers only represent direct income from the sale of commodities. Mining money ripples through the economy, supporting businesses, education, banking, finance, construction and many other sectors. Indeed, Investment Monitor considers the nation’s economy to be 100 per cent dependent on mining and rates Mongolia as the country most vulnerable to fluctuations in commodity prices.

In January 2020, when the first coronavirus cases were reported in China, Mongolia closed the international airport, as well as its only two borders, with China and Russia. This resulted in a severe decline in Mongolia’s export income. China accounts for more than 60 per cent of Mongolia’s total trade, providing 33 per cent of its imports, while buying 89.1 per cent of its exports. Finished products began thinning out on retail store shelves, and prices started to rise. The government implemented a stringent lockdown, closing schools and non-essential businesses. With no unemployment benefits to rely on, people began to suffer.

A World Bank survey found that those living in poverty and households whose income was reduced by the pandemic were more likely to experience food insecurity. Many children, dependent on school meals, suffered vitamin and nutrition deficiencies. UNICEF found that 62.1 per cent of children lost weight, while 20 per cent experienced decreased frequency of meals.

Mongolia relies on China for more than 60 per cent of its total trade (Nick Farnhill/Flickr)

The World Bank also estimated that as many as 260,000 more Mongolians had slipped into poverty in 2020, increasing the poverty rate to 33.6 per cent, while 35.2 per cent of households reported a decline in income.

To make matters worse, inflation skyrocketed to 9..6 per cent, with the prices of food, solid fuels and gasoline increasing the most. Ten months into the pandemic, meat prices in Ulaanbaatar had risen 16 per cent and fuel prices 38.8 per cent.

Deputy Prime Minister Amarsaikhan explained that the government was doing its best to follow the guidance of the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and World Health Organisation, but “Covid measures drained our budget”. With very little revenue, he said, “We had to depend on international donors, our neighbours, embassies and diplomatic missions.” Donations of medicine and equipment came from around the world, but it cost money to outfit ambulances with oxygen machines and to get the supplies to doctors in remote regions of the country. The cost of Covid relief measures increased the 2020 budget deficit to 9..5 per cent of GDP.

While Mongolia is ready to get back to work, China maintains a zero Covid policy, which keeps the borders closed, Mongolia’s exports low, and domestic consumer prices high.

About half of the population lives in the capital city of Ulaanbaatar, while between 30 and 40 per cent are nomadic herders. Across the entire country, the population density is only two people per square kilometre. “We had to bring these new ventilators, beds, pumps, new medicines…and we had to deliver it,” said Amarsaikhan. “In the rural areas, the countryside, in 21 provinces, there were almost no oxygen facilities, so in the past two or three months we had to import, transport and install oxygen facilities in 16 provinces.”

Since April 2021, things have improved a great deal. Private sector businesses have been reopening and people have been returning to employment in many sectors. Production and sales volumes have remained lower than pre-pandemic levels, as have incomes, but the deputy prime minister vows that the government has no plan to lock down the country again.

So while Mongolia is ready to get back to work, China maintains a zero Covid policy, which keeps the borders closed, Mongolia’s exports low, and domestic consumer prices high. National Statistical Office division head, Tseveenjav Lkhanaa, sums up Mongolia’s precarious economic situation as “disproportionally dependent on our biggest foreign trade partner, China.” Ultimately, Mongolia is hostage to China’s zero Covid mandate and the country’s recovery lies almost exclusively in the hands of Beijing and its border control policies.

Research by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Mongolia shows a migration ban aimed at reducing overpopulation in Ulaanbaatar only increased the vulnerabilities of the capital city’s urban migrants.

IOM found that rural-to-urban migration improved the lives of most internal migrants in Mongolia, providing them with more and better job opportunities and increasing their incomes.

Due to development discrepancies between rural areas and the capital, Mongolia has experienced a dramatic rural-to-urban migration flow, raising Ulaanbaatar’s population to almost 1.5 million – half the country’s total, according to its 2020 census.

The Municipality of Ulaanbaatar shut the door to new residents with annual bans between 2017 and 2020 in a bid to protect health and safety, and the environment, but given IOM's findings, it will not reintroduce a ban.

“The city administration does not intend to impose another migration ban as the study clearly shows that the ban did not achieve its intended purpose,” Deputy Mayor R. Dagva told a high-level panel discussion on Internal Migration in Mongolia.

“It is important to understand that the ban, based on the underlying opportunities and circumstances of the time, was an attempt to regulate migration.”

IOM's research findings – from two studies – were released during the panel discussion last month. The first study, Assessing the Effectiveness of Migration Restrictions in Ulaanbaatar City and Migrants’ Vulnerability, shows that while the ban prevented registration for official residency, it did not stop the flow of people into the city.

The lack of residency registration deepened the vulnerability of migrant households, as they could not access public services and suffered from exposure to economic, social and health risks.

The second study, Mongolia: Internal Migration and Employment, showed that better job opportunities, living conditions and education are the key factors pulling internal migrants into Ulaanbaatar.

“The internal migration issue is complex, and we should expect the response policies to be as sophisticated,” said Victor Lutenco, IOM Mongolia Programme Manager.

"By substituting restrictive policies with those supporting better integration of migrants, Ulaanbaatar and Mongolia will ensure that migration and migrants fill the ranks of the net contributors to the development of the receiving community and of the entire country.”

IOM cooperated with the National University of Mongolia and Independent Research Institute of Mongolia to conduct the research in Ulaanbaatar, having support from the Maastricht School of Governance and methodological endorsement from the National Statistics Office of Mongolia. The activity is part of an ongoing project implemented by IOM with support from Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation.

For more information, please contact Erkhembayar Munkhbayar, communication consultant IOM Mongolia, at emunkhbayar@iom.int and +976-88101117

The gas exploration and development company has also achieved progress on multiple fronts for its green hydrogen project – Gobi H2 – including the recent signing of an MoU to support project finance.

Elixir Energy Ltd (ASX:EXR) is very well placed to benefit from Mongolia’s and China’s decarbonisation policies as it ramps up plans to set up Mongolia’s first gas-fired generation plant in the South Gobi region using natural gas, and at the same time develop the region’s first green hydrogen project.

The gas exploration and development company has already achieved progress on multiple fronts for its green hydrogen project – Gobi H2 – including the recent signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to support project finance with the Mongolia Green Finance Corporate, a joint-public-private sector body.

It has also submitted a detailed analysis of the legal issues surrounding a potential green hydrogen project in Mongolia to the Ministry of Energy, which concludes that no new major legislation is needed for the development of green hydrogen projects in Mongolia.

Elixir is also confirming the bankability of the renewable power inputs for green hydrogen production and has procured expert water advisory services, with potential water sources for the pilot H2 project already identified.

The company recently lodged plans for its long-term coal-bed methane (CBM) pilot production testing project with the Mongolian petroleum regulator as part of the mandatory annual budgetary approval process.

Elixir Energy is currently primarily focused on an exploration and appraisal program in Mongolia targeting natural gas in the form of CBM, also known as coal seam gas (CSG) in Australia. More recently it has developed the Gobi H2 green hydrogen project, in the same area of operations as its CBM business.

First mover advantage

Elixir Energy has named the green hydrogen project the ‘Gobi H2’ project and is applying for a Mongolian trademark for the name.

Elixir managing director Neil Young said: “All the work we are doing on our Gobi H2 project serves to reinforce our original starting concept: the country is a potential tier-one location for large scale hydrogen exports.

“Elixir’s first-mover advantages are being progressively locked in and it is fantastic to see the rapidly growing interest in this future-facing industry from multiple local and international stakeholders.”

Investor of the Year for second consecutive year

Elixir Energy bagged the ‘Investor of the Year 2021’ award by Mongolia’s Minister of Mining and Heavy Industry, making it the second year in a row the company has been recognised for its efforts.

Elixir’s Young said: “It is a great tribute to our local staff and contractors that we have yet again been formally awarded as ‘The Investor of the Year’ by the Mining Minister.

“This recognises their great resilience in not just maintaining, but in fact greatly increasing, our exploration and appraisal efforts, notwithstanding all COVID has thrown at them.

“We look forward to even more growth in 2022 as we undertake Mongolia’s first sustained production pilot program and continue our ‘rinse & repeat’ model of adding new coal- bearing sub-basins to our inventory.”

2021 drilling program wrapped up

The company’s 2021 drilling program has been wrapped up, with the following results:

➢ The Nomgon-7S well has been successfully drilled and suspended as a pressure monitoring well for next year’s production pilot in the Nomgon sub-basin;

➢ The Richcairn-4 appraisal well reached a total depth of 560 metres and encountered 20 metres of coal and 6 metres of silty coal. Further appraisal work will be undertaken in the Richcairn sub-basin in 2022; and

➢ The Bag-1S exploration well reached a total depth of 779 metres but did not intersect coal.

Elixir’s final 2021 drilling program comprised 17 wells of which 65% successfully intersected coals in the CBM window.

Seismic acquisition program

Elixir’s 2021 2D seismic acquisition program in the South Gobi has been wrapped up as planned.

A total of 528 kilometres was acquired in a two-stage program that required 123 days of field operations – a program of record size for the region.

The data is now being processed and interpreted and is feeding into lead generation for 2022’s drilling program.

Nomgon CBM project

Elixir Energy is primarily focused on its 100%-owned Nomgon IX CBM production sharing contract (PSC) project in the South Gobi region of Mongolia.

The Nomgon Project licence area covers around 30,000 square kilometres and is on the Mongolian Chinese border, with excellent infrastructure, mines and planned pipelines. It is around 400 kilometres north of China’s main gas transmission grid.

This very large area has been independently certified to contain a giant CBM risked recoverable prospective resource of 7.6 Tcf (best case).

2022 forward program

After nearly 300 days of non-stop drilling undertaken in 2021, there will be a short hiatus in the field, whilst the mandatory annual regulatory processes for the 2022 program are underway.

These include:

➢ The company’s exploration drilling tendering process has closed and a number of bids are currently being evaluated.

➢ The pilot drilling tender is still open and to date a number of companies have informally expressed their interest. The award of the contract, which will involve the regulator, is expected to be handed out next month.

➢ The company’s currently open seismic tender has also attracted multiple informal expressions of interest. The tender will close imminently and is expected to be awarded next month.

➢ Standard discussions are underway with the petroleum regulator over the formal 2022 budget.

➢ Key long lead items for the pilot production program have recently been ordered.

Approvals from the petroleum regulator are expected to come through in February, followed by annual sign-offs from the Environment Ministry.

Final approval, depending on developments on the COVID-19 front, should be forthcoming in the first half of March.

Chinese gas markets

The company noted that the de-carbonisation efforts in China are real and realistic, with the security of supply arguably even more important than the price, as shown by the current exceptionally high Asian gas prices being paid by China.

China has already been actively reducing the carbon intensity of its economy, with the neighbouring province of Inner Mongolia changing its coal-heavy energy mix.

China has been accelerating its own hydrogen developments and in the long term is likely to turn to imports.

Furthermore, Russia’s increasing gas supply leverage over Europe has not gone “unnoticed” by China, Elixir noted.

Competitive advantage

Around two-thirds of the cost of producing green hydrogen is the cost of renewables.

Shipping hydrogen by boat costs multiples of shipping the same energy as methane.

The delivered cost of hydrogen is, therefore “all about the quality of renewable energy and the cost of delivery”.

Access to markets by pipeline is massively advantaged over seaborne supplies and Mongolia can supply hydrogen to the Chinese markets this way.

New business opportunities

Like many other oil and gas companies, Elixir has carefully considered what new business opportunities the energy transition might offer it that take advantage of its existing skillsets and do not present a value destructive distraction.

As the first mover in this area, the company signed a MoU with Mongolia’s Ministry of Energy to work with it in exploring hydrogen opportunities and other stakeholders are also being progressively engaged.

In the meantime, it is garnering bankable quality renewable resource data in the region from its SODAR equipment.

Its desktop analysis has concluded that the combination of wind and solar resources in the Gobi region is exceptional – and the locational advantages this region brings in terms of immediate proximity to Chinese steel mills, for example, should place green hydrogen produced in the globally lowest delivered cost category.

Expert water advisory services

Elixir has worked with Mongolian drilling company ErdeneDrilling LLC for a number of years on the CBM drilling front.

Although water is not a large part of the cost structures of producing green hydrogen, it is a vital input and the social issues surrounding it are a key priority.

Elixir’s CBM business, where producing water is a necessary part of gas production from coal seams, provides complementary areas of expertise and even potential H2O feedstock for the Gobi H2 project.

Elixir and Mongolian drilling company ErdeneDrilling LLC have recently formalised their relationship over procuring water for hydrogen through an agreement for the provision of water advisory services.

The parties are currently planning field-based water exploration and appraisal activities for later in the year.

Renewable resources

Other than water, the other key input for a green hydrogen project is high-quality renewable power sources, which desktop analysis indicates are of globally very high quality in the Gobi region.

On this front, Elixir is currently:

➢ Measuring wind and solar resources to a bankable standard through its Australian sourced SODAR unit imported to the country last year and deployed in the South Gobi region; and

➢ Importing a solar focused measurement tool (from the same Australian firm who supplied the SODAR – Fulcrum3D) to be deployed at its recently acquired Solar Ilch solar farm.

Mongolia’s president Ukhnaa Khurelsukh turned heads at the United Nations in September 2021 with a seemingly fantastical pledge: His nation would “fight against climate change with achievements of the modern science and technology, as well as best practices and the traditional experiences” of Mongolia’s “nomadic civilization”.

To prove it was no publicity stunt, Khurelsukh turned up in Glasgow two months later for the UN Climate Change Conference, or COP26. There, he told the world that Mongolia was raising its target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 22.7% by 2030. Even better, Khurelsukh said, odds are high that Ulaanbaatar can nudge that commitment up to 27.2%.

It was music to the ears of long-time Mongolia investors.

“In its quest to establish its green credentials, Mongolia could and should attract international sustainable finance,” says Alisher Djumanov, founder of boutique investment bank Silk Capital and a veteran emerging markets investor.

“For the last two decades, China has overshadowed other developing countries as a massive magnet for foreign investments, crowding out smaller economies like Mongolia,” he says. “Now with global investors increasingly viewing China as less investable, Mongolia should strongly compete for reallocation of investment flows.”

Now comes the hard part. Embracing the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals in the long run will take considerable political will because of the economic costs for Mongolia.

The full article on the following link

Without doubt, 2022 is going to be another busy year for Mongolian rock sensation, The HU. In addition to the forthcoming Europe tours, the four-man band will be performing in Germany, Denmark, Czech Republic and Sweden in March.

The HU is scheduled to perform at the ‘Coachella’ music and art festival in California. They will be the first Mongolian band to perform at the one of the world’s biggest music festivals. But is it surprising? The HU is already fast becoming a rock legend!

The popular music festival, which is annually held at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, will be taking place across two weekends: in April. The festival is known for being filled with nonstop music, celebrities, and bold fashion statements.

In the fourth quarter of 2021, 5.6 thousand foreign citizens from 77 foreign countries were working in Mongolia with labor contract with purpose of earning wage and income or voluntarily without earning wage and income. The number of foreign workers decreased by 136 (2.4 percent) from the previous quarter.

In terms of country of all foreign workers in Mongolia, 62.9 percent is from China, 4.8 percent -- the Russian Federation, 4.2 percent -- Vietnam, 3.9 percent -- the Republic of Korea, 2.9 percent -- India, 2.4 percent -- Australia, 2.3 percent -- Albania, 2.0 percent -- United States, and remaining 14.6 percent is from other countries.

In terms of the occupation of foreign workers, the highest percentage or 2.5 thousand (44.8 percent) were professionals and the lowest percentage or 2 persons (0.1 percent) were skilled agricultural, forestry and fishery worker.

In the fourth quarter of 2021, 2027 workers (36.1 percent) were working in mining and quarrying sector, 1600 workers (28.5 percent) in construction sector, 494 workers (8.8 percent) in education sector, 377 workers (6.7 percent) in manufacturing sector, 344 workers (6.1 percent) in wholesale and retail trade, repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles, 219 workers (3.9 percent) in transportation and storage, 79 workers (1.4 percent) in accommodation and food service activities, 75 workers (1.3 percent) in administrative and support service activities, and 402 workers (7.2 percent) were working in other sectors

Rio Tinto PLC on Tuesday reported a fall in full-year production across all the commodities it produces, including iron ore, copper and aluminum. Here are some remarks from its fourth-quarter operational report.

On commodity markets:

"Market dynamics were broadly positive throughout 2021 for most commodities, lifting a number of prices to cyclical highs. Fiscal and monetary support and successful vaccine campaigns were key contributors to strong demand growth that ultimately stretched global supply chains to their limits and created challenging conditions for many of the world's producers. We are encouraged by growth prospects in the coming year but remain vigilant in relation to potential disruption from new Covid-19 variants and geopolitical tensions."

On Mongolia copper operations:

"Mined copper production from the open pit was 9% higher than 2020 with improved performance, temporary increase in grades, and increased mill feed following geotechnical issues in the first half, partly offset by lower staffing levels due to Covid-19. In the fourth quarter, stringent Chinese border restrictions continued due to increased cases of Covid-19 in Mongolia. We continue to work closely with the Mongolian and Chinese authorities and our customers to manage the risk of supply chain disruptions. Cross-border concentrate shipments into China have resumed with some measures in place to transport greater volumes in a safe and efficient manner, however uncertainty continues to exist with the rate of Covid-19 cases in Mongolia. The force majeure declared on shipments from March 30 remains in place."

On Australian iron-ore operations:

"Pilbara operations produced 319.7 million tons (Rio Tinto share 266.8 million tons) in 2021, 4% lower than 2020. This was due to above average rainfall in the first half of the year, cultural heritage management and delays in growth and brownfield mine replacement tie-in projects. Ongoing Covid-19 restrictions and a tight labor market have further impacted our ability to access experienced contractors and particular skill sets. Production from the new greenfields mine at Gudai-Darri and brownfield mine replacement project at Robe Valley, was delayed due to Covid-19 impact on labor availability and an inability to conduct pre-delivery quality assurance and control at international steel manufacturers due to limitations on travel."

On China's steel market:

"China's crude steel production and iron ore imports were stable year on year, with steel production exceeding 1 billion [metric] tons for a second time, despite numerous steel mill operating restrictions and a slowing property sector. Steel consumption and production rates in China decelerated significantly during the fourth quarter of 2021 however, iron ore seaborne supply improved, resulting in a circa 30% decline in iron ore prices in the fourth quarter versus the prior quarter. Meanwhile, the steel and iron ore demand recovery in developed and other emerging economies maintained its momentum and global crude steel production grew by an estimated 6% year on year--by one of its largest absolute annual increments in history--to a record total of almost 2 billion tons in 2021."

Write to Rhiannon Hoyle at rhiannon.hoyle@wsj.com