Investors in the world’s biggest mining companies will this month be watching for signs that mounting cost pressures and the impacts of slowing Chinese growth could further erode record earnings.

Miners are likely to report a drop in profits. The top-five western diversified mining companies, including iron-ore giants Rio Tinto Group, Vale SA and BHP Group Ltd., may see combined 2021 second-half earnings of $73 billion, according to analysts’ estimates, compared to $82 billion in the first half.

Although elevated prices for metals mean profits remain robust on a historical basis, the dip is reflective of the headwinds that developed over the period.

“That’s going to be a theme: With the bumper profits that they’re enjoying, they are rewarding shareholders with dividends rather than ploughing it back into expansion,” said David Bassanese, chief economist at fund manager BetaShares in Sydney. “That shows that there’s not a lot of confidence” for the longer-term, with uncertainty about China at the forefront of concerns, he said.

Threats to economic growth in the world’s largest metals consumer are clouding the outlook for miners — and especially iron-ore companies.

Giant miners to see record profits slip as cost pressures bite

China’s property market, which consumes around a third of the country’s steel output, has been cooling — Bloomberg Intelligence expects new home starts to decline by 5% this year. And Beijing’s bid to cling to its Covid-zero status, even as regional outbreaks become more frequent, is the X factor that’s likely giving some resource executives sleepless nights.

The pandemic has been a double-edged sword for the mining sector over the six months to Dec. 31. On the positive side of the ledger, the trillions of dollars in stimulus packages ignited demand for commodities like iron ore, copper and aluminum, driving prices sharply higher and sending inflation pressures rippling through the global economy.

On the negative: rising operating costs are set to be a feature of the latest set of reports. Labor shortages are becoming an increasing challenge to ore producers in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, a state which remains subject to strict borders controls to keep the Covid-19 out. Supply chain bottlenecks have also seen global shipping rates ratchet higher.

“While commodity prices remain at or close to record highs, and the underlying performances of companies are generally robust, rising costs related to inflationary pressures are eating into operating margins at an even faster rate,” said Gavin Wendt, founding director at the consultancy MineLife Pty. That’s “leading to disappointment in the minds of some investors,” he said.

BHP and Rio have said that a lack of workers in key roles are having an impact on their operations. Fortescue Metals Group Ltd., the world’s No. 4 ore producer, reported last month that its costs had risen 20% over the past 12 months driven primarily by rising fuel prices and labor shortages.

Vale is expected to have offset volatile ore prices by selling down its stockpiles and getting some cost relief last quarter. Still, the market will be wary of the potential for increased provisions for remedial action following the Samarco dam disaster.

The Brazilian company is still trying to get its base metals division back on track after a strike and an incident with workers trapped in a mine in Canada. That affected nickel and copper production in the third quarter.

Giant miners to see record profits slip as cost pressures bite

All up, iron-ore miners had a bumpy ride in the second half of 2021. Prices collapsed from peaks north of $230 per ton in May to the mid-$80s in November after China tightened curbs on steel production to meet stricter environmental standards. They have since rallied afresh on expectations for a rebound in steel output after Beijing relaxed climate targets, yet price volatility remains a risk for the earnings outlook.

Coal surge

Glencore Plc has limited iron ore exposure and missed out on the excess riches enjoyed by its rivals in the first half. That trend is set to reverse in the second half, with the Swiss-based group benefiting from surging prices for coal — a commodity it has stuck with even as the likes of Rio and BHP look to sell out. The Swiss-headquartered company is the only one of the big five expected to report a rise in underlying earnings for the period.

Meanwhile at Anglo American Plc, Chief Executive Officer Mark Cutifani will preside over his last earnings report after almost nine years at the helm. Investors will also be keen for an update from the company on its plans to develop the Woodsmith potash mine in northern England.

The earnings season will also see close scrutiny on what the big miners are doing to tackle deep-rooted cultural issues highlighted in Rio’s report into workplace culture earlier this month. Chief Executive Officer Jakob Stausholm said he was shamed by the report, which pointed to endemic sexism, racism and bullying across its operations.

(By James Thornhill, Thomas Biesheuvel and Mariana Durao, with assistance from Tim Smith and Ricardo Strulovici Wolfrid)

On February 11, a Memorandum of Cooperation was established between the Ministry of Education and Science and the University of Cambridge in aims of bringing the current school curricula for mathematics, English, and science up to globally competitive levels.

Within the aim of improving school curricula as well as its management, a certain number of public schools were established with the Cambridge programme in 2011. Since then, the initiative has been continuously implemented in cooperation with the Cambridge International Examinations (CIE).

As of today, there are over 10 public and private schools that have the Cambridge programme. Thus, in order to introduce the programme at all general education schools in the framework of the goal to increase the accessibility of quality education and provide equal opportunities to students nationwide, the Ministry of Education and Science has established a Memorandum of Cooperation with the University of Cambridge.

In the framework of the cooperation, works will be carried out:

• to bring the curricula for mathematics, science, and English up to globally competitive levels, and have them internationally recognized and accepted,

• to specifically create a national system for the programme’s implementation,

• to establish specialised high schools, provide opportunity for the schools to implement the international programme,

• to ensure the continuous professional development for teachers involved in the programme’s implementation,

• to build the capacity of professional institutions to be in charge of developing the assessment, textbooks, and other teaching tools based on the programme,

• to establish a centre for examinations and assessment based on the programme, and create equal opportunities for all students to take the Cambridge examinations.

The Central Bank of Mongolia or Mongolbank purchased 1.6 tons of gold in January. This represents that the amount of precious metal purchase increased by 312 kg compared with the same period of the previous year.

In January, the BoM branches in Darkhan-Uul and Bayankhongor provinces bought 48.5 kg and 64.1 kg of precious metals respectively.

The average price of BoM’s purchase of 1 gram of gold was MNT 166,244.8 last month.

Gold Reserves in Mongolia averaged 4.89 Tonnes from 2000 until 2021, reaching an all time high of 23.40 Tonnes in the first quarter of 2020 and a record low of 0 Tonnes in the fourth quarter of 2005.

Feb. 13 (Xinhua) -- Mongolian Foreign Minister Batmunkh Battsetseg has praised China for successfully hosting the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games.

"First of all, I would like to say that China is very successfully hosting the 'white' Olympics or the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games," Battsetseg told Xinhua.

During the a time when the Omicron variant of the coronavirus was on the rise around the world, Battsetseg said "China successfully organized the splendid opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics by taking the advantage of technology at the highest level" under strict anti-pandemic measures "with the attendance of leaders of state and government of many countries."

She accompanied her country's Prime Minister Luvsannamsrai Oyun-Erdene to attend the opening ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games.

Billionaire investor George Soros bought nearly 20 million shares of electric truck startup Rivian, according to securities filings released on Friday. The shares were worth roughly $2 billion at the time of purchase, making Soros Fund Management one of the firm’s largest investors.

Rivian, which is 20% owned by e-commerce giant Amazon, was a hit with investors last fall, when it raised $12 billion in its IPO, becoming the largest market debut of 2021.

However, the startup has not yet produced a consumer vehicle. As of December 2021, the carmaker has reportedly delivered just 150 of its electric R1T pickup trucks and only two electric SUVs, the R1S, to customers (mostly employees) with little revenue to report. It is hard to tell when non-employee customers will receive their Rivian cars, but the automaker began notifying non-affiliated reservation holders about when they could expect their vehicles in September last year. In a Rivian Owners forum poll, reservation holders said their R1S delivery dates are between June and September of 2022, while the majority of R1T respondents put down deliveries from March to June.

Rivian was due to provide Amazon with more than 100,000 electric trucks last year, but said in December it expected production to fall “a few hundred vehicles short” amid supply chain constraints.

Apparently due to the failure to deliver on its promises so far, Rivian saw shares drop 43% for the year to date on Friday. The carmaker’s stock price is currently down 67% from the high of $179.46 it reached a week after its IPO debut.

Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia--(Newsfile Corp. - February 1, 2022) - Aranjin Resources Ltd. (TSXV: ARJN) ("Aranjin") is very pleased to announce that it has have entered into a term sheet agreement (the "Term Sheet") which sets out the terms for an exploration joint venture with ION Energy Ltd (the "Joint Venture"). The Joint Venture will consist of both Parties granting one another reciprocal exploration rights on their respective exploration licences within Mongolia.

Both ION and Aranjin will leverage one another's expertise in their respective metals, with Aranjin being granted a right to explore ION's properties for base metals (including copper, lead, zinc, nickel, cobalt and associated metals), and ION being granted a right to explore Aranjin's properties for lithium. This structured approach is aimed at enlarging both Parties' exploration area within the mineral rich regions of Mongolia, thus ensuring that both ION and Aranjin maximize their chances of carrying a property to the development stage.

The area covered by the Joint Venture consists of all mineral rights in Mongolia currently held by the Parties, which consists of the Sharga Project, the Bayan Undur Project, the Baruun Tal Project (pending final purchase), the Baavhai Uul Project, the Urgakh Naran Project and all mineral rights acquired by the Parties in Mongolia after the date of entering into the Joint Venture.

Highlights:

Maiden auger drill program was completed in the fall of 2021 at ION's Baavhai Uul project and included 222 auger holes for a total of 1,304.5 meters

To date, only 50% of the assay samples have been returned

Initial drilling results are highly encouraging with a new Copper and Nickel discovery at the center of the Baavhai Uul licence

Drill hole AU-83 returned results of up to 2,150 ppm Nickel from 5.0 to 5.5m depth in clay samples and average 202 ppm Nickel. Numerous auger holes with over 200 ppm and up to 480 ppm Nickel were assayed in the eastern area of the licence and these will be subject to follow up infill drilling programs

Drill hole AU-85 returned up to 570 ppm Copper from 2.5-3m depth and averaged 103 ppm Copper. seven auger holes that were drilled in the eastern part of the licence returned over 100 ppm Copper

The copper geochemical anomaly is over 4 sq km in size and the Nickel Geochem anomaly is over 2 sq km in size, anomalies located in the central part of the licence overlap each other.

Auger holes were drilled to a maximum depth of six meters with samples being collected every 0.5 meter and were located over 1 kilometer apart. This represented a broad pass of the licence prospectively. The remaining results from this drilling program are expected before the end of February 2022.

The main aim of Aranjin's 2022 exploration program is to expand the revealed Nickel and Copper high grade anomalies and plan to drill infill auger holes in a 250m grid. A total of 321 holes are planned over 1,926 meters. The Aranjin drilling program is scheduled to begin no later than February 5, 2022. Aranjin also plans to test the high grade zones using IP Geophysics and diamond drill holes at shallow depth. ION will continue its exploration with Hydrogeological sampling and advanced Lithium exploration techniques over the coming months.

Joint Venture Highlights

ION and Aranjin will grant each other a reciprocal right to explore one another's properties, with Aranjin earning an 80% interest and ION earning a 20% interest in all base metal projects discovered on ION's properties, and ION earning an 80% interest and Aranjin earning a 20% interest in all lithium projects discovered on Aranjin's properties, subject to existing royalties.

If a Party has prepared a Feasibility Study (as defined by the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum) in respect of a deposit on a licence of the other Party, and the Party wishes to undertake development of the deposit (the "Development Project"), the Parties shall negotiate a separate joint venture or similar agreement governing the development and operation of the Development Project, with the initial participating interest being 80% for the Party initiating the Development Project, and 20% for the other Party.

Each Party will bear their own costs of exploration on the properties of the other Party, with ION obligated to expend at least USD$500,000 and Aranjin USD$3,000,000 over the three (3) years commencing from the date of the Term Sheet. Aranjin shall be entitled to satisfy any shortfall of its required expenditures in cash up to USD$2,500,000.

If a Party fails to prepare a Feasibility Study in respect of a deposit on the licence of the other Party within five (5) years of the date of the Term Sheet, the rights of the non-performing Party under the Term Sheet will be terminated.

Aranjin shall appoint Ali Haji, Chief Executive Officer of ION, to the board of directors of Aranjin, and further appoint him as President and Chief Executive Officer of Aranjin.

Matthew Wood will resign as President and Chief Executive Officer of Aranjin and will continue to act as Executive Chairman of Aranjin.

Aranjin intends to issue 1% of the outstanding common shares to Mr. Haji as an inducement to act as President and CEO of Aranjin. The common shares issued to Mr. Haji will be subject to a hold period of four months and a day.

Ali Haji, incoming President and CEO of Aranjin, commented: "This joint-venture allows for ION Energy to work alongside Aranjin on two very important elements that are required for the clean, green energy revolution. The synergistic makeup of each company will allow for this joint-venture drive the electrification of the future and represent the largest lithium and copper exploration licence holders in Mongolia. We look forward to working together and receiving the balance of our exploration results."

Matthew Wood, Executive Chairman of Aranjin, noted: "With the promising early results and evidence of copper at the Baavhai Uul Project we are excited to expand our portfolio of prospective copper assets. Partnering with ION allows us to diversify our asset footprint and our exploration spend."

Final approval of the Joint Venture and the share issuance to Mr. Haji remains subject to the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange.

About ION Energy Ltd.

ION Energy Ltd. is committed to exploring and developing Mongolia's lithium salars, which includes the Baavhai Uul and Urgakh Naran Project. ION's flagship, 81,000+ hectare Baavhai Uul lithium brine project, represents the largest and first lithium brine exploration licence awarded in Mongolia. ION Energy is well-poised to be a key player in the clean energy revolution, positioned well to service the world's increased demand for lithium. Information about the Company is available on its website, www.ionenergy.ca, or under its profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.

About Aranjin Resources Ltd.

Aranjin Resources Ltd. is committed to exploring and developing its prospective copper projects, the Sharga Project, the Bayan Under Project and the Baruun Tal Project (pending final purchase) located in Mongolia. Information about the Company is available on its website, www.aranjinresources.com, or under its profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.

Feb. 13 (Xinhua) -- Mongolia's COVID-19 tally rose to 457,372 after 893 new infections were reported in the past 24 hours, the country's health ministry said Sunday.

The new cases were all local transmissions, and among them, 465 were detected in capital Ulan Bator, which is the region hit hardest by COVID-19 and home to more than half of the country's population of 3.4 million.

Meanwhile, the national death toll increased to 2,073 after one more COVID-19 patient died in the past day, the ministry said.

So far, 66.8 percent of the country's total population have received two COVID-19 vaccine doses, while more than 1,013,900 people aged over 18 have received a third dose.

More than 89,800 Mongolians have received a fourth dose, which the country started to administer from Jan. 7 on a voluntary basis.

Globe International Center noted that recent court decisions involving a newspaper and several activists favor the rights of citizens to freedom of expression and peaceful demonstrations.

Globe International Center welcomes recent court decisions in favor of the rights of citizens to freedom of expression and peaceful demonstrations.

On 18 October 2021, the civil defamation case brought against Ugluunii Sonin (Morning Newspaper) daily newspaper was dismissed by the Chingeltei District Civil Court of First Instance. The court decision was based on the abandonment of a claim by the plaintiff, a state-owned company called Mon-Atom. The company filed a civil defamation lawsuit against the newspaper over an article of 22 April 2021 titled ‘Uranium hazards are destroying Dornogovi’s migratory gazelles’, written by environmental journalist Ulziibayar Sanjaajav, and demanded that the newspaper publish a retraction and pay 100 million Mongolian tugrik (approx. US$38,065) in compensation.[1]

Furthermore, on 11 January 2022, the Capital City Criminal Court of Appeals dismissed a case brought against Amartuvshin Dorj and others for organizing a flash mob in protest against the restrictive pandemic regulations of the government in June 2021. Amartuvshin informed the public about the court decision through his social media accounts. Earlier, on 18 November 2021, the First Instance Court of Sukhbaatar District ruled that Amartuvshin Dorj and others had acted in violation of quarantine protocols, and imposed a fine of 500.000 Mongolian tugrik (approx. US$190).[2]

Likewise, on the same day (11 January 2022) the First Instance Criminal Court of Sukhbaatar District dismissed a case launched against Odbayar Erdene and Mongolkhuu Davaajamts, coordinators of #NoDoubleStandart and #NoNaadam movements. Previously, they were accused of illegal demonstrations by the District Police Department.

Meanwhile, the implementation of the Law on Coronavirus (COVID-19) prevention, fight, and mitigation of its socio-economic impact of 2020, which puts certain restrictions on fundamental rights including the right to free expression and the right to peaceful assembly, has been extended until the end of June 2022.

HOHHOT: Archaeologists have unearthed a relic site dating back 4,000 years in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.

The site, which contains relics from the ancient Zhukaigou culture, is located in the city of Ordos and covers an area of 500,000 square meters, according to the regional institute of cultural relics and archaeology.

In 2021, the institute carried out a rescue excavation at the site, discovering eight housing sites, 30 pits and ditches, 31 tombs, as well as over 150 items of pottery, stone tools and jade, among other articles.

Experts noted that a large number of the jade articles and shellfish ornaments were not local products, but came from distant locations, indicating that people who lived here had close cultural and trading exchanges with those in other areas.

They added that the bronzes collected at ground level and the smelting sintered blocks indicate the likelihood that bronze was smelted, cast and used at the site.

The incoming chairperson of Rio Tinto will review the position of CEO Jakob Stausholm to determine whether he is suitable to lead an overhaul of the company’s toxic work culture, two people familiar with the matter said.

Dominic Barton, a former diplomat who takes up the role of chairman in May, could remove Stausholm if he decides Rio would be better served by a leader who was not in the upper echelons of the organisation in recent years, the sources told Reuters.

It was Stausholm who commissioned an external report released by Rio on Jan. 31, that shone a light on a company culture rife with sexual harassment, racism and bullying over the past five years, including 21 allegations of rape, attempted rape or sexual assault. The report, which was based on the experiences and views of more than 10,000 employees, did not ascribe individual blame to any executive or worker.

Rio Tinto declined to comment further on the culture of bullying and on whether the board has confidence in Stausholm and the company’s management. It referred queries back to a Reuters interview with Stausholm on Feb. 1, shortly after the report was released. Rio said Barton, who joins the board in April, was not available to comment.

READ: Rio Tinto report reveals culture of sexual harassment, bullying and racism

“What we are saying today, very loud and clear, is what constitutes acceptable and not acceptable behaviour and we will not tolerate non-acceptable behaviour and we will deal with that,” the CEO said at the time.

“In a way that’s kind of the easier part. The more difficult part is to address the root causes,” said Stausholm, adding that he would push for change “now I know what I know”.

Stausholm didn’t respond to an emailed request for comment.

Rio Tinto won praise from many investors for publishing the damning 85-page report by former Australian sex discrimination commissioner Elizabeth Broderick, and pledging to implement all 26 recommendations, including creating an independent confidential unit to address reports of harmful behaviour.

The two sources, who declined to be named due to the sensitivity of the matter, said Barton had not yet made a judgment on Stausholm’s position.

Barton will weigh whether the fact Stausholm has held senior management roles since 2018 – during some of the time covered by the report – made him unsuitable to lead a clean-up of the company’s culture, according to the people. The CEO previously served as Rio Tinto’s chief financial officer and executive director.

“I don’t think you can say the culture came from him (Stausholm) in any way, shape or form,” said Ian Woodley, senior mining analyst at Old Mutual Investment Group, an investor in Rio Tinto. “If anything I think it probably reflects quite well on him that they’ve been open and upfront about it.”

Destruction of caves

Stausholm was vaulted into Rio’s top job in 2021 after his predecessor Jean-Sebastien Jacques and two deputies left the company in an executive cull prompted by another scandal: a public and political backlash over Rio Tinto’s destruction of 46,000-year-old sacred Indigenous rock shelters in Juukan Gorge, Australia, to expand an iron ore mine. Rio said last year that it would work with the leadership of local groups to agree an appropriate remedy for the destruction of the caves.

Rio’s chairman of four years Simon Thompson subsequently said he would step down in April, bowing to investor pressure over the same issue, to be replaced by Barton.

Stausholm’s elevation to CEO came as a surprise to some investors and industry watchers who had expected the 149-year-old mining company to opt for an external hire to help to turn a fresh page.

The two sources said Rio had struggled to attract suitable external candidates who could take the role at relatively short notice amid the Juukan Gorge furore.

Furthermore, Stausholm’s initiation of the probe into the company’s culture, coupled with possible board reluctance to have yet another leadership change – he is Rio’s fourth CEO in nine years – may give him breathing room, the sources said.

“This culture that has been hidden is beginning to surface, and it’s not pretty. (But) we are heartened by the fact that Rio has come out in the open, it has laid it bare. We are still to see what action Rio is going to take,” said Glen Mpufane, director of mining at IndustriALL, a union federation that represents millions of industrial workers around the world.

(By Clara Denina and Helen Reid)