1 MONGOLIA PM FACES LIKELY CONFIDENCE VOTE AMID CORRUPTION CLAIMS WWW.AFP.COM PUBLISHED:2025/06/02      2 RIO TINTO FINDS ITS MEGA-MINE STUCK BETWEEN TWO MONGOLIAN STRONGMEN WWW.AFR.COM PUBLISHED:2025/06/02      3 SECRETARY RUBIO’S CALL WITH MONGOLIAN FOREIGN MINISTER BATTSETSEG, MAY 30, 2025 WWW.MN.USEMBASSY.GOV  PUBLISHED:2025/06/02      4 REGULAR TRAIN RIDES ON THE ULAANBAATAR-BEIJING RAILWAY ROUTE TO BE RESUMED WWW.MONTSAME.MN PUBLISHED:2025/06/02      5 MONGOLIAN DANCE TEAMS WIN THREE GOLD MEDALS AT THE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP CHOREOGRAPHY LATIN 2025 WWW.MONTSAME.MN  PUBLISHED:2025/06/02      6 RUSSIA STARTS BUYING POTATOES FROM MONGOLIA WWW.CHARTER97.ORG PUBLISHED:2025/06/02      7 MONGOLIA BANS ONLINE GAMBLING, BETTING AND PAID LOTTERIES WWW.QAZINFORM.COM PUBLISHED:2025/06/02      8 HOW DISMANTLING THE US MILLENNIUM CHALLENGE CORPORATION WILL UNDERMINE MONGOLIA WWW.THEDIPLOMAT.COM PUBLISHED:2025/05/30      9 ORBMINCO ADVANCES BRONZE FOX PROJECT IN KINCORA COPPER PROJECT IN MONGOLIA WWW.DISCOVERYALERT.COM.AU PUBLISHED:2025/05/30      10 MONGOLIA SOLAR ENERGY SECTOR GROWTH: 1,000 MW BY 2025 SUCCESS WWW.PVKNOWHOW.COM PUBLISHED:2025/05/30      ЕРӨНХИЙЛӨГЧ У.ХҮРЭЛСҮХ, С.БЕРДЫМУХАМЕДОВ НАР АЛБАН ЁСНЫ ХЭЛЭЛЦЭЭ ХИЙЛЭЭ WWW.MONTSAME.MN НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2025/06/02     Н.НОМТОЙБАЯР: ДАРААГИЙН ЕРӨНХИЙ САЙД ТОДРОХ НЬ ЦАГ ХУГАЦААНЫ АСУУДАЛ БОЛСОН WWW.ITOIM.MN НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2025/06/02     Л.ТӨР-ОД МҮХАҮТ-ЫН ГҮЙЦЭТГЭХ ЗАХИРЛААР Х.БАТТУЛГЫН ХҮНИЙГ ЗҮТГҮҮЛЭХ ҮҮ WWW.EGUUR.MN НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2025/06/02     ЦЕГ: ЗУНЫ ЗУГАА ТОГЛОЛТЫН ҮЕЭР 10 ХУТГА ХУРААЖ, СОГТУУРСАН 22 ИРГЭНИЙГ АР ГЭРТ НЬ ХҮЛЭЭЛГЭН ӨГСӨН WWW.EGUUR.MN НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2025/06/02     УУЛ УУРХАЙН ТЭЭВЭРЛЭЛТИЙГ БҮРЭН ЗОГСООЖ, ШАЛГАНА WWW.EGUUR.MN НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2025/06/02     ГАДНЫ КИБЕР ХАЛДЛАГЫН 11 ХУВЬ НЬ УИХ, 70 ХУВЬ НЬ ЗАСГИЙН ГАЗАР РУУ ЧИГЛЭДЭГ WWW.ZINDAA.MN НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2025/06/02     НИЙТИЙН ОРОН СУУЦНЫ 1 М.КВ-ЫН ДУНДАЖ ҮНЭ 3.6 САЯ ТӨГРӨГ БАЙНА WWW.MONTSAME.MN НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2025/06/02     ГОВИЙН БҮСИЙН ЧИГЛЭЛД УУЛ УУРХАЙН ТЭЭВЭРЛЭЛТИЙГ БҮРЭН ЗОГСООНО WWW.EAGLE.MN НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2025/05/30     СОР17 УЛААНБААТАР ХОТНОО 2026 ОНЫ НАЙМДУГААР САРЫН 17-28-НД БОЛНО WWW.MONTSAME.MN НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2025/05/30     НИЙСЛЭЛИЙН ТӨР, ЗАХИРГААНЫ БАЙГУУЛЛАГЫН АЖИЛ 07:00 ЦАГТ ЭХЭЛЖ 16:00 ЦАГТ ТАРНА WWW.EAGLE.MN НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2025/05/30    

Events

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MBCC “Doing Business with Mongolia seminar and Christmas Receptiom” Dec 10. 2024 London UK MBCCI London UK Goodman LLC

NEWS

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Mongolia to host COP17 session in 2026 www.montsame.mn

Desertification is one of the greatest challenges facing humanity in the 21st century. Desertification is affecting all continents except Antarctica, to a greater or lesser extent, and combating desertification is a global priority. This was discussed at the 15th session of the Parties of the Conference of the Parties (COP15) of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) which was held from May 9 to 20 in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.
COP15 brought together leaders from governments, the private sector, civil society, and other key stakeholders from 189 countries. Mongolian delegation led by Minister of Environment and Tourism B.Bat-Erdene and Advisor to the President of Mongolia on Green Development N.Batkhuu participated in the session where each participating country presented its measures against desertification and shared their best practices.
In recent years, global warming has led to an increase in the number of droughts, as well as the threat of desertification due to human activities. In addition, global warming manifests itself in different ways depending on the region, zone, and location. In Mongolia, 76.9 percent of the country's land area is affected by desertification.
In his remarks delivered during the Ministerial Roundtable meeting, Minister B.Bat-Erdene said that Mongolia has lost about 50 percent of its permafrost over the past 40 years. This shows the need to pay more attention to soil management in reducing desertification and land degradation in the northern region. He then emphasized that the ‘One Billion Tree’ national movement initiated by the President of Mongolia will be a significant impetus to address the issues such as land policy, use, sustainable economic development, and human rights.
While underscoring that the national movement will not only reduce desertification in Mongolia but also have a positive impact on the environment in Northeast Asia, Minister B.Bat-Erdene put forth a proposal to host COP17 in Mongolia.
He also stressed that he believes that Mongolia's efforts will contribute to the sustainable green development of the world, as there are no borders in nature.
After being discussed by more than 6,000 delegates from 189 countries, Mongolia’s proposal to host COP17 was approved.
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Governments should subsidise food and energy, says IMF boss www.bbc.com

Governments need to subsidise the cost of food and energy for the poorest members of society, the head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has told the BBC.
People around the world are struggling with the rising cost of living.
Kristalina Georgieva said support needs to be provided "in a very targeted manner, preferably by providing subsidies directly to people".
Many governments are providing some help but critics argue it's not enough.
When it comes to the cost of living crisis, Ms Georgieva said: "There are two priorities, one the very poor people, segments of society that are now struggling with high food and energy prices".
The second, she added, is to support those businesses that have been "most damaged" by the war in Ukraine.
The IMF's role is to work with governments to stabilise the global economy and enhance prosperity.
However, that's proving challenging because food prices have hit record highs this year, whilst oil and gas prices have also risen sharply.
This is largely because of the twin shocks of the coronavirus pandemic and the war in Ukraine. Between them Russia and Ukraine are major exporters of crops and hydrocarbons.
Recession fears
The importance of these commodities to the global economy has led the annualised inflation rate to reach its highest point in decades in many countries: 9% in the UK, 8.3% in the US and 7.4% in the Eurozone.
Central banks are lifting interest rates to try and slow the increase in prices, which has led some influential figures such as Goldman Sachs' Lloyd Blankfein to warn of the risk of recession.
Ms Georgieva is concerned about the impact those higher borrowing costs will have on governments who have to repay huge debts they took on to get through the pandemic.
She said governments needed to be "very careful" about how much money they spent and what they spent it on.
Chart showing inflation of UK and other countries
IMAGE SOURCE,AFP
The problems of falling living standards was at the top of the agenda at this week's meeting of G7 finance ministers in Germany.
The meeting of seven wealthy countries ended with a pledge to "continue to work together to minimise the impact of the war globally as well as on our own economies and population by providing well-targeted support, where necessary".
Over the last few months governments have made a range of interventions to try and lower the cost of living.
In the US President Biden has released oil from reserves to try and bring prices down, Spain and Portugal have capped gas bills and it's a leading issue in Australia's election.
In the UK Chancellor Rishi Sunak has made some tax changes and is considering a windfall tax on the soaring profits of energy companies.
G7 finance ministers meeting in Bonn
IMAGE SOURCE,EPA
Image caption,
Finance Ministers from the G7 group of advanced economies are facing similar challenges
Ms Georgieva is concerned that without the correct government support the protests seen in Sri Lanka could be repeated in other countries.
Sri Lanka's economic crisis, exacerbated by rising prices, has led to deadly riots, a new prime minister and a first ever default on its debts.
The IMF boss said such similar unrest before the pandemic, from France to Chile, was caused by "a sense of inequality growing" and decisions being made without the support of the people.
"If we are to learn any lessons from 2019 if is to be much more humble about policy decisions, and engage in multiple ways with people, because policies must be for people, not the paper we write them on," she said.
Feeding the world
A group of international development bodies including the IMF and World Bank this week launched a major plan to try and tackle food insecurity around the world.
It was spearheaded by US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, who said it was necessary because: "There's a very real risk that soaring global market prices of food and fertiliser will result in more people going hungry."
Ms Georgieva said that while there is plenty of food, it is not evenly distributed.
The solutions, she said, are growing more crops where possible but also a greater focus on agricultural productivity, "not only because of the war, but because of climate change".
She added: "Trade needs to be retained open, we should not have a situation in which countries hold on to food more than they need and create all kinds of barriers for moving it from one place to another."
Media caption,
Watch: Ros Atkins on why the war in Ukraine is pushing up food prices - and the likely impact on poorer countries
India is the world's second biggest wheat producer but has banned exports, just as other countries were looking for it to make up some of the shortfall from Ukraine's inability to ship its produce. Narendra Modi's government says that ban could be revised at some point.
"I would really beg them to reconsider, that is such a difficult moment for the world," Ms Georgieva said.
"I understand they need to feed their people. They have 1.4 billion of them, but let's all act in a collaborative manner because only if you do [that, do] we have a chance to overcome this crisis."
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Russia hopes for trade boom with South Asian state thanks to Western sanctions www.rt.com

Ukraine-related Western sanctions are expected to strengthen ties between Russia and Thailand, boosting trade turnover between the nations to as much as $10 billion, according to Russian Economy Minister Maxim Reshetnikov.
“The level of $10 billion that we had previously set is still a goal, and an achievable one,” he told journalists after the first day of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum, which kicked off on Saturday in the Thai capital of Bangkok.
Reshetnikov said that trade between Russia and the South Asian state reached $2.8 billion in 2021, stressing that the two partners expect that figure to multiply.
According to the minister, the countries had discussed the issue of boosting mutual trade earlier in the day.
“New opportunities have appeared… one of them is the automotive industry,” Reshetnikov said, explaining that anti-Russian sanctions are creating favorable circumstances for a large number of countries, including Thailand.
“Thailand has a very strong automotive and automotive components industry,” he added.
Russia and Thailand may boost cooperation in the spheres of energy resources, oil, oil products, gas and fertilizers, as well as food and engineering products, according to the minister.
Reshetnikov noted that the two nations had established diplomatic relations 125 years ago.
“They have not only a wonderful history, they have great opportunities for development, and, I am sure, they have a bright future,” he said.
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Mongolia’s Film and TV Location Incentives Are Ready for Use www.variety.com

Italy’s Aurora Vision has joined with Mongolia’s BroSis Pictures and Culture Distributor to co-produce documentary “Round Ger.” The film is among the first to make use of Mongolia’s newly hatched location production rebate scheme.
Co-directed by Lia Beltrami and Bolortsetseg Dugardondov, and produced by Andrea Morghen, Beltrami and Tsengel Davaasambuu, “Round Ger” focuses on the relationship between a young mother and her disabled daughter. Production is expected to get under way in July next year.
“We are determined that Mongolia become a major new location for productions,” Nomin Chinbat, Mongolian minister of culture, told Variety in Cannes. “For that, it is not sufficient simply to have an amazing variety of locations. We also need to be able to offer a meaningful incentive program.”
Vomit, Poop and Woody Harrelson: ‘Triangle of Sadness’ Shocks Cannes With Uproarious Eight-Minute Standing Ovation
Mongolia offers a basic 30% rebate scheme, which is already competitive with other locations in Asia. That can be increased by a further 10% for culturally relevant productions that pass a test. A further 5%, making 45% in total, is available to help with cast and crew costs.
The scheme applies to both film and TV and has a minimum spending requirement of $500,000. There is no cap on the money that can be paid out to any single project, though there is an initial pool of $25 million allocated by the government. Some two years may be needed from first application to final payout.
The new Mongolian National Film Council, the country’s first official government film entity, will operate the rebate plan, and has taken a booth at the Cannes Market. “We want the MNFC to be autonomous from government, even if it is government backed. This is intended to ensure that the incentives are protected in in case of a change of government,” said Chinbat, who was previously the head of Mongol TV. “I think what we have is simple, clean and competitive.”
She says that it took roughly three years to develop the scheme within the ministry and to then convince the finance ministry and lawmakers. It was finally passed in parliament in January this year. “We had to provide examples of the success of similar schemes overseas,” Chinbat said. “And to show the economic benefits of production incentive schemes.”
The country has few formal co-production treaties in the audiovisual sector but has some 43 cultural co-operation agreements with 26 countries. These could help drum up interest in using the location incentive scheme or make it go further.
Mongolia was among the first countries in the world to react to the COVID-19 crisis with shutdowns. These were inevitably disruptive to film and TV production. But Mongolia was also among the first to reopen. Its international borders were open to everyone from Feb. 2022, film releases have picked up in volume and new cinemas have opened in the past two years.
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Mongolia to partner with India in veterinary and dairy sectors www.montsame.mn

As the pandemic is negatively affecting countries’ food supplies, trade and economy, and cooperation, overcoming the current situation has become of utmost importance for all sectors.
Mongolia has set an objective to provide state support for the sectors of food, agriculture, and light industry, put the sectors’ commodities and products into economic circulation, and boost production in the next five years.
In its framework, Minister of Food, Agriculture, and Light Industry Z.Mendsaikhan held a meeting with Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of India to Mongolia M.P.Singh and Resident Representative of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in Mongolia Vinod Ahuja.
During the meeting, the sides discussed cooperating in the production of milk and dairy products through ways such as supplying equipment, introducing biotechnological solutions, and preparing specialists in the veterinary field.
The Minister expressed interest in utilizing India’s advanced technological solutions in the agricultural sector by creating an online platform that will benefit herders and farmers throughout the country.
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2.5-2.8 million tons of freight pass through Zamiin-Uud transloading facility each year www.montsame.mn

As of today, the Zamiin-Uud transloading unit of Ulaanbaatar Railway JSC continuously runs operations by loading freight onto 902 train cars each day. At its four sites with 39 hectares of area, they have three broad-gauge railroads and two narrow-gauge railroads, with a total capacity of loading 1,200 train cars.
In charge of handling 100 percent of Mongolia’s railroad freight, the unit loads various types of freight being transported from China in open and enclosed cars as well as containers from narrow-gauge railroads onto the country’s broad-gauge railroad and autoroads. They have transferred and unloaded 348.2 thousand tons of freight so far.
The current facility for the Zamiin-Uud transloading unit was constructed through non-refundable aid from the Japanese government in 1996-1998.
In the early 90s, Mongolia had 1,520 mm broad-gauge tracks, while China had 1,435 mm gauge tracks which created difficulties in conducting transport between the two countries.
Thus, it became necessary to construct a transloading facility at the border checkpoint.
Due to the circumstance, the country’s government put forth a request to the Japanese government to have a study conducted on constructing a transloading facility based near the Zamiin-Uud railway station in November 1990. Per the request, the study was carried out between 1992-1993, and later, an agreement was signed between the two countries’ governments on implementing the project through a non-refundable aid of JPY 2.1 billion. The facility was put into operation in 1994-1996, highlighted Third Secretary at the Embassy of Japan in Mongolia Katanoda Tomoki.
As requested by the Mongolian government, a soft loan of JPY 8 billion was also provided for renovating the railroad gauge and train car repairing facility. The Railway Transport Capacity Reinforcement Project was also launched for the Mongolian railroad sector in 1993.
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Mongolia exempts sugar, vegetable oil and rice from import tariffs www.news.mn

Mongolia has decided to exempt import tariffs for certain food products until the end of this year in order to ensure their supply and price stability.
The government approved a list of certain food products such as sugar, vegetable oil and rice to be exempt from import tariffs.
It is estimated that the exemption is to help reduce the retail price of those products by 4 to 7 percent.
Consumer prices have been rising sharply in Mongolia due to the continued border restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict.
For example, the average retail price per kilogram of rice stood at MNT 6,900 at the end of the first quarter of this year, up 130 percent from the same period last year.
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Mongolia to host Group B matches of the AFC Asian Cup qualification www.news.mn

The third round of the AFC Asian Cup qualification will take place from June 8 to 14 in six centralised venues. A total of 24 teams will participate in this round to battle it out for the 11 slots available in the 2023 Asian Cup.
The teams have been equally divided into six groups and they will play single round-robin matches. The group winners and the five best runners-up across all groups will qualify for the main event.
Group A is made up of Jordan, Kuwait, Indonesia and Nepal. Meanwhile, all matches in Group B will be hosted by Mongolia. The hosts will be joined by Philippines, Palestine and Yemen.
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China spent over $6 billion on Russian energy imports in April www.bloomberg.com

China kept buying more energy from Russia, with purchases of oil, gas and coal jumping 75% in April to over $6 billion, even as domestic demand slowed due to a resurgent virus and the US and Europe moved away from purchases.
Imports of Russian liquefied natural gas surged 80% from a year earlier to 463,000 tons, according to Chinese customs data on Friday. That’s despite China’s total imports of the super-chilled fuel dropping by more than a third as lockdowns and other restrictions on industrial activity choked demand.
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Crude imports, meanwhile, rose 4% on the year to 6.55 million tons, with Russia again behind only Saudi Arabia as China’s main source of oil.
The surge in prices that accompanied Russia’s invasion of Ukraine boosted the value of China’s purchases of mineral fuels, including coal, to $6.42 billion. It means that 72% of China’s total imports in April from its strategic partner were energy-related.
The volume figures for gas don’t include pipeline imports, which haven’t been reported since the start of the year, but the Power of Siberia link is a major conduit of the fuel to China.
Moreover, Beijing is in discussions with Moscow to replenish its strategic crude stockpiles with cheaper Russian oil, a sign that energy ties between the two are only likely to strengthen as Russia’s westward markets wither due to the war in Ukraine.
Other highlights of commodities trade between China and Russia in April:
Coal imports fell 14% on-year to 3.82 million tons as Covid restrictions, milder weather and elevated domestic output reduced demand for the thermal variety
But coking coal for the steel industry rose for a third month to 1.71 million tons, more than double last year’s level, after mills bought more on the prospect of enhanced government spending
Refined copper imports fell 39% to 18,871 tons
Refined nickel imports rose almost threefold to 1,738 tons
Aluminum imports rose almost half to 31,218 tons
Palladium imports were zero
Wheat imports dropped 81% to 2,990 tons
(By Ailing Tan, with assistance from Kathy Chen, Sarah Chen and Winnie Zhu)
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Unloved since Fukushima, uranium is hot again for miners www.mining.com

Uranium miners are racing to revive projects mothballed after the Fukushima disaster more than a decade ago, spurred by renewed demand for nuclear energy and a leap in yellowcake prices after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Spot prices for uranium have doubled from lows of $28 per pound last year to $64 in April, sparking the rush on projects set aside after a 2011 earthquake and tsunami crippled Japan’s Fukushima nuclear power plant.
“Things are moving very quickly in our industry, and we’re seeing countries and companies turn to nuclear with an appetite that I’m not sure I’ve ever seen in my four decades in this business,” Tim Gitzel, CEO of Canada’s Cameco, which mothballed four of its mines after Fukushima, said on a May 5 earnings call.
Uranium prices began to rise in mid-2021 as several countries seeking to limit climate change said they aimed to move back to nuclear power as a source of carbon-free energy.
A quest for secure energy supplies has added to the potential demand.
Unrest in January in Kazakhstan, which produces 45% of primary global uranium output, had already driven prices further when Moscow’s Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine spurred a 50% rally.
Russia accounts for 35% of global supply of enriched uranium.
Prices have retreated since a peak in April, but John Ciampaglia, CEO of Sprott Asset Management, which runs the Sprott Physical Uranium Trust, told Reuters Moscow’s invasion had “shifted the energy markets dramatically”.
“Now the theme is about energy security, energy independence and trying to move away from Russian origin energy supply chains,” he said.
There are about 440 nuclear power plants around the world that require approximately 180 million pounds of uranium every year, according to the World Nuclear Association.
Uranium mines produce about 130 million pounds, a deficit that mining executives predict will widen even if idled capacity by major producers such as Cameco and Kazakhstan’s Kazatomprom comes back online.
The supply gap used to be filled by stockpiled material, much of which came from Russia.
Now, miners are dusting off feasibility studies for mothballed mines and reviving projects.
In Australia, uranium producers – including Paladin Energy Ltd which aims to restart its Langer Heinrich uranium mine in Namibia, idled over a decade ago – have raised close to A$400 million ($282.08 million) in share sales over the last six months to fund exploration and resuscitate mines on three continents.
“With all of the additional demand that’s coming from the new nuclear (plants), the thesis is that over a five or 10-year period, that additional demand will just dwarf those volumes coming back to market,” said Regal Funds Management analyst James Hood.
China plans to build 150 new reactors between 2020 and 2035 and Japan also aims to boost nuclear capacity as does South Korea.
In Europe, Britain has committed to build one new nuclear plant every year while France plans to build 14 new reactors and the European Union has proposed counting nuclear plants as a green investment.
Easier said than done?
Delivering the new reactors, however, will be a challenge as repeated delays and cost-overruns could be exacerbated by the supply chain problems following the pandemic and the additional disruption of the Ukraine war, making demand for uranium hard to predict.
Many environmental campaigners, especially in the West, also remain opposed to nuclear energy because of the waste it generates even though atomic power is emissions-free.
Advocates of nuclear energy say small modular reactors are a solution to the difficulty of bringing on new capacity.
Keith Bowes, managing director of Lotus Resources, which owns the idled Kayelekera uranium mine in Malawi, says modular reactors will be a major source of growth from 2028 onwards.
Others say the traditional obstacle of high cost is less of a problem given the sharpened focus on security of supply.
“No longer is price the determinant, it’s now security of supply,” Duncan Craib, managing director at Boss Resources told the Macquarie Australia conference on May 9.
Boss will make a final investment decision soon on developing the Honeymoon uranium mine in South Australia, aiming for first production 18 months after any go-ahead.
Sprott’s Ciampaglia said uranium could hit $100 per pound in the long run. Prices peaked around $140 per pound in 2007.
This year’s rally has taken them to levels last seen in 2011 in part as a result of Sprott’s activity in the market with its uranium funds growing from near zero last year to about $4 billion now.
Ciampaglia said Sprott’s buying is in response to investor demand: “The Trust provides investors with a vehicle to express their view on physical uranium.”
Smaller uranium developers also want to get involved, but will need prices of at least $60 a pound to ensure the economic viability of projects, industry watchers said.
Even then there would be risks. The restart of idled capacity from uranium giants could disproportionately hit smaller players while community opposition in some areas remains.
“No mine development or restart of an idled mine is easy or without challenges,” said Guy Keller, manager of Tribeca Investment Partners’ Nuclear Energy Opportunities Fund.
($1 = 1.4180 Australian dollars)
(By Praveen Menon and Sonali Paul; Editing by Barbara Lewis)
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