May 24 (Xinhua) -- Mongolia registered 630 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, bringing the national tally to 53,100, the country's heath ministry said Monday.

The ministry said that the latest cases were local infections and that 5,849 samples were tested in the past day across the country.

Meanwhile, the number of recoveries rose by 410 in the last 24 hours to 46,748, while five fatalities were added to the death toll which stands now at 266, the ministry said in a statement.

Mongolia launched a nationwide COVID-19 vaccination campaign in late February, aiming to cover at least 60 percent of its population of 3.3 million.

More than 1,830,600 Mongolians have so far received their first dose, and over 773,900 have been fully vaccinated.

Terex last week named Newcom Mining Services LLC as an authorized distributor for Terex Construction, Cranes, Aerial Work Platforms and Materials Processing equipment in Mongolia. Newcom Mining now provides equipment sales, applications expertise, and service and parts support for a wide range of Terex equipment used in construction, infrastructure, quarrying, mining, refining, recycling, energy and utility industries.

“Over the past few months, we have seen increased demand in Mongolia due to the local investments in mining and infrastructure,” said Steve Filipov, president of developing markets for Terex Corp. “Supplying the Mongolian market with the exact equipment it needs, and providing the best local service to our customers, are major priorities for Terex.”

"Our first year in business has been very rewarding. We have nearly completed construction on what will be the largest rental facility in the Gobi Desert,” said John Karlsen, CEO of Newcom Mining Services. “In addition, we are excited to become the authorized Terex dealer in Mongolia. We are proud to bring this world-class manufacturer to Mongolia, and glad that they have decided to be represented, here, by a Mongolian-owned company."

Newcom Mining Services is a construction and mining equipment rentals and sales company established in July 2011 by Newcom to contribute to the infrastructure and economic development of the Gobi region. The company offers a full range of services including rentals, technical support, operators and logistical services.

Terex Corp. is a diversified global manufacturer of a broad range of equipment for many applications, including the construction, infrastructure, quarrying, mining, shipping, transportation, refining, energy, utility and manufacturing industries.

On 24 May, Oyu Tolgoi LLC, Mongolia's largest copper and gold mining company - a strategic partnership between the Government of Mongolia, Turquoise Hill Resources and Rio Tinto, released its latest performance scorecard, highlighting key performance metrics for the first quarter of 2021, providing an update on the underground development, and its ongoing COVID-19 mitigation measures.

Some highlights from the performance scorecard are:

Continued its globally competitive safety performance

Strengthened our COVID-19 response and mitigation measures

Maintained its highest water use efficiency per tonne of ore production

In-country spend reaches US$12.3 billion

Spent US$98 million on national procurement

“The first quarter of 2021 has been challenging due to the COVID-19 global pandemic and increase of community cases in Mongolia. We are constantly adapting to the changing circumstances to prioritize the health and safety of our workforce, suppliers and communities.” the update says.

A site-wide lockdown was implemented in March for two weeks to mitigate the potential COVID-19 transmission risks on site. Self-isolation controls were quickly mobilized at camp. Currently, site-wide COVID-19 testing is in place and preparations to rollout a vaccination programme are progressing.

Oyu Tolgoi chief executive officer, Armando Torres, said, “We would like to express our gratitude to the Government of Mongolia, all levels of the State Emergency Commission, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Mining and Heavy Industry, and all other relevant agencies and frontline personnel working hard to keep us safe during this unprecedented time. I would especially like to thank our employees, communities, contractors, and suppliers for their hard work, perseverance, unwavering commitment and ability to quickly adapt to rapidly evolving situations.”

Despite the challenges, Oyu Tolgoi has maintained its business continuity while protecting its people and communities. COVID-19-related limitations around the movement of goods and people, border crossing restrictions, and enhancing our on-site controls, however, have impacted operations including the underground development, and copper concentrate shipments. First-quarter shipments have been affected by Chinese border restrictions due to increased cases of COVID-19.

“We declared force majeure on shipments from 30 March and continue to work closely with authorities and our customers to manage the risk of supply chain disruptions. Oyu Tolgoi vaccinated all its copper concentrate shipment drivers and logistics support teams on site, and has a number of controls in place related to disinfecting vehicles and testing to mitigate transmission risk. We partially resumed cross-border concentrate shipments into China on 15 April, however, the situation continues to be fluid with the COVID-19 resurgence in Mongolia.”

Operational Update

Prioritised the safety and achieved an All Injury Frequency Rate (AIFR) of 0.20 per 200,000 people/hours worked. This still indicates Oyu Tolgoi’s strong safety performance among other operations of Rio Tinto where the average AIFR stood at 0.35 for the same quarter.

96 percent of Oyu Tolgoi’s workforce are Mongolian citizens.

Paid US$417 million in the form of taxes, fees and other payments to the Government of Mongolia in the first quarter of 2021. Since 2010, Oyu Tolgoi has paid US$3.3 billion in taxes, fees and other payments, including VAT to Mongolian suppliers.

Partnered with 494 suppliers in the first quarter of 2021, including 431 national businesses, accounting for 77 percent of the total operations procurement spend.

Q1 2021 Performance Scorecard can be viewed here.

Production Update

Mined copper production from the open pit was 29 percent higher than the same quarter of 2020 with the anticipated move to higher grade from the open pit, leading to higher head grade and copper recovery. In the first quarter, pit phasing delivered higher gold production (+457%) compared to the same period in 2020. Access to higher copper and gold grades is expected to continue throughout 2021.

However, the open pit wall failure experienced in the fourth quarter of 2020, combined with the cumulative effects of COVID-19 mitigation measures, have resulted in a downward revision in gold production guidance for 2021, from 500,000 – 550,000 ounces to 400,000 to 480,000 ounces, while the copper guidance range has expanded from 160,000 – 180,000 tonnes to 150,000 – 180,000 tonnes.

On May 20, officials of the Civil Aviation Authority of Mongolia (MCAA) held a meeting with representatives of foreign airlines that conduct regular scheduled flights in Mongolia, including Korean Air, Air Busan, Asiana Airlines, Turkish Airlines, Air China, and Aeroflot.

Per the Government Resolution No. 134 issued in 2020, the Chinggis Khaan International Airport was decided to be opened on July 1, 2021.

In connection with the decision, the Minister of Road and Transport Development approved a comprehensive plan to ensure preparations for the opening of the new airport. Thus, MCAA First Deputy-Director B.Altantsom organized the meeting as head of the working group in charge of moving.

At the meeting, MCAA officials introduced the comprehensive plan for preparing the new airport’s opening, current state of the civil aviation sector, and information about the summer flight schedule, and preparations being made to lift the restrictions that are currently in place for passenger traffic coming through the air checkpoint.

MCAA Deputy-Director B.Altantsom expressed gratitude for providing comprehensive support during the COVID-19 pandemic, and gave a briefing on the pandemic’s effect on the civil aviation sector.

Compared to 2019, the number of international flights decreased by 86 percent, and domestic flights decreased by 34 percent in 2020. With the total number of flights decreasing by 74 percent, flyovers also decreased by 47 percent, he mentioned. He then informed about the reason behind constructing the new international airport of Ulaanbaatar city, and gave details regarding the new airport including passenger capacity, fire safety, runway length, area of the terminal complex, and parking spaces in comparison to the Buyant-Ukhaa International Airport.

In connection with moving operations to the Chinggis Khaan Airport starting from June 1 per the comprehensive plan developed by 21 organizations including the Ministry of Road and Transport Development, government organizations, MCAA, domestic air carriers, and the New Ulaanbaatar International Airport LLC, it was also informed that regulations are currently being developed regarding the entry of passengers, transport vehicles, and goods and products during the COVID-19 pandemic as well as a guideline for preventive measures against infection for international flights.

An updated summer flight schedule will be approved for the duration between July 1 and October 30, 2021. However, we will prioritize keeping the previous flight schedules of airlines that have operated in the country for numerous years, said MCAA First-Deputy Director B.Altantsom.

During the meeting, representatives of the foreign airlines expressed that they will provide comprehensive support and cooperate with the plans to put the new Chinggis Khaan International Airport into operation.

Mongolia’s quadrennial presidential election of 2021 is scheduled on June 9, Wednesday. The General Election Commission (GEC) has approved the candidates nominated by three political parties and coalitions with seats in the State Great Khural.

On May 24, today, the GEC handed over the candidacy cards to the approved presidential candidates, who are Khurelsukh Ukhnaa from the ruling Mongolian People Party, Erdene Sodnomzundui from the Democratic Party and Enkhbat Dangaasuren from The Right Person Electorate Coalition.

After receiving his candidacy card, Former Prime Minister of Mongolia and Chair of the Mongolian People’s Party U. Khurelsukh pledged that if elected, he will be working towards firstly, strengthening the social justice, and independent legislative and judicial systems and secondly, strengthening the rule of law in the government with respect to parliamentary governance, human rights and free market economy.

“Continuing the past achievements on providing benefits from natural resources to Mongolians, I will establish sovereign wealth fund, carry out development projects and enable each and every citizen of the country to reap equal benefits from natural wealth as dividends. I also vow to pay more attention on reaffirming Mongolia’s reputation on an international level and creating a country with a ‘powerful economy’ as reflected in the government’s Vision – 2050 policy guideline, and maintaining the unity of our nation.” He then added that his election platform was developed on scientific basis, the government’s four-year action plan, Vision – 2050 long term policy document and the Constitution.

Presidential candidate from the Democratic Party S. Erdene “I feel confident that I can be a president who could overcome the difficulties encountered by the nation by exerting all my efforts. I nominated myself for the presidency as it is now my responsibility to protect the democracy”. He continued that the main principle of his platform for the election will be strict compliance with ‘freedom’.

Third candidate for the forthcoming presidential election from The Right Person Electorate Coalition, D.Enkhbat delivered remarks to the public as well, confirming that he will be working to strengthen the democracy, perfect the economy and society, improve livelihoods of the Mongolia people, establish justice and fight against corruption while contributing to the growth of Mongolia and creating a new Mongolia of the XXI century based on knowledge, skills and technology. His campaign slogan is ‘We all Mongolians can’ - Mongolian herders can, Mongolian engineers can and Mongolian youths can, he explains.

With the announcement of the final list of candidates, the official election campaigning launched today to run through the end of June 7, Monday – 24 hours prior to the polling day. The candidates’ declaration of income and assets as well as action plan are placed open to the public by the National Audit Office and the Independent Authority Against Corruption from this day.

In line with the law on presidential election, the election campaigning will take place for 15 days and during this period, the candidates have the opportunity to meet with voters and political parties and their candidates running for the presidential election will undertake eight types of permitted campaign activities, including distribution of promotional materials to voters, political advertising on radios, TVs and online, outdoor billboard advertisements and operating campaign offices.

In order to increase trade and investment between Mongolia and Japan, the National Development Agency, Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO), Embassy of Mongolia in Japan, International Finance Corporation (IFC), and Irbis Ventures hosted "Invest in Mongolia - Tokyo 2021", an online Mongolian-Japanese business forum on May 20. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Mongolia and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan (METI) also cooperated as supporting organizations.

During the forum, Japanese investors and entrepreneurs were introduced to Mongolia’s economic cooperation, investment, and business climate reform plans, and the success stories of Japanese investors and entrepreneurs who have invested in Mongolia. In particular, CEO of Mobicom Corporation Tatsuya Hamada, CEO of And Global B.Khos-Erdene shared their experiences on investment and Board Member of Newcom Group E.Orchlon shared his views on the future and opportunities of Mongolia’s renewable energy sector.

Furthermore, projects selected and enhanced through the Project Capacity Building Program, carried out in cooperation with the National Development Agency, Irbis Ventures, and GMG Consulting, have been presented at the forum based on their high investment potential. For instance, introduction of projects by companies such as Chimege Systems (software, voice tech, AI/ NLP), Solongo Kharaa Company (health), Urban Lily (agriculture), Zoson Fashion (light industry) and “Mongolian Artisan Cheesemakers Union” attracted interest of Japanese investors.

Over 400 Japanese and Mongolian delegates attended the forum, representing the areas including banking and finance, construction, food production, light industry, other manufacturing sectors, transport, trade and education.

Incidentally, Mongolian-Japanese trade turnover reached USD 416.5 million by the end of 2020, a decrease of 30.7 percent compared to the previous year. Mongolia’s exports to Japan reached USD 9.68 million and imports reached USD 406.7 million in 2020, which is a year on year decrease of 38.6 percent and an increase of 30.6 percent respectively. The main export items were combed cashmere and cashmere products, while the main import items were passenger vehicles, trucks, public transport vehicles, rice, and synthetic fabrics.

Japan’s foreign direct investment in Mongolia from 1990 to 2020 was about USD 1 billion, ranking ninth out of 123 countries. Japan accounts for 4.4 percent of foreign direct investment in Mongolia. Trade and catering accounted for 45 percent of investment; 8.23 percent was in light industry; 14 percent was in construction, engineering, and construction materials; 9.6 percent was in banking and finance; and 23.17 percent was invested in other sectors. There are 670 Japanese direct foreign investment companies registered in Mongolia. Trade and catering account for 63.13 percent of these enterprises (423), light industry for 10.30 percent, banking and financial activities for 7.01 percent, tourism for 2.69 percent and other sectors for 16.87 percent.

May 20 (Xinhua) -- Mongolia on Thursday decided to further ease COVID-19 restrictions imposed in early April to contain the COVID-19 pandemic in the country.

Major markets, hotels, restaurants, resorts, tourist camps and saunas across the country can resume their operations at 50-percent capacity starting Saturday with strict observation of social distancing guidelines and wearing face masks, Tseden-Ish Ganzorig, head of government press office, told a press conference.

However, only people who have received two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine will be allowed to enter these units, said Ganzorig.

The ban on all kinds of gaming, religious and entertainment services, bars, and mass gatherings such as sports events and cultural activities across the country will stay unchanged, according to the official.

Mongolia imposed a nationwide lockdown on April 10 to curb the steep surge in local COVID-19 cases, and the lockdown restrictions have been eased gradually since May 8.

As of Thursday, the Asian country has registered 50,618 COVID-19 cases with 247 related deaths. Most of the total confirmed cases were locally transmitted.

Mongolian Prime Minister Luvsannamsrai Oyun-Erdene has ordered the country's Finance Minister Bold Javkhlan to spend at least 420 billion Mongolian Tugriks (147 million U.S. dollars) annually in 2022-2024 to reduce traffic congestion in the capital, the government's press office said Wednesday.

For many years, traffic congestion has been one of the most pressing issues in Ulan Bator, which is home to around half of the country's 3.3 million population.

The average speed on roads in Ulan Bator is now 13 km/h, and the average driving speed during peak hours is 8.9 km/h, according to data released by the municipal government of the capital city.

It was estimated that residents of the city spend an average of 2.5 hours a day stuck in traffic.

China’s northern region of Inner Mongolia is calling for more comprehensive reporting of cryptocurrency mining, signalling a strong determination to weed out power-consuming activities in the region.

The move comes as the country’s financial regulators have expressed growing concerns over the risks stemming from volatile cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin, ethereum and dogecoin. And Beijing’s growing distrust over these popular digital assets could pave the way for a broader clampdown on digital mining.

“This is to fully play the role of public supervision,” says a notice released this week by the region’s economic planning agency, which included telephone numbers and email addresses for people to report instances of digital currency being mined.

Inner Mongolia had suspended such mining projects before this month.

The agency listed four crackdown targets: mining enterprises; miners disguising themselves as data centres and accordingly receiving preferential treatment in tax, land and power tariffs; landlords housing mining activities; and those utilising power supplies illegally.

Cryptocurrency mining requires massive amounts of electricity to run the large computer server arrays needed to do the complex calculations required for cryptocurrency transactions, as well as for air conditioning to cool the data centres, so operations have long been attracted to areas such as Inner Mongolia, Sichuan and Xinjiang due to low electricity prices.

Inner Mongolia, which is also the country’s second-largest coal producer, is under mounting pressure to meet its energy-saving targets. Meanwhile, a number of thermal power plants in the region have been constrained by the nation’s carbon-neutrality goals. China wants to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by at least 65 per cent by 2030, relative to 2005 levels, and then achieve carbon neutrality by 2060.

The National Development and Reform Commission has said that China’s energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions per unit of gross domestic product must be lowered by 13.5 per cent and 18 per cent, respectively, by 2025. No provincial breakdowns have been revealed yet, but Inner Mongolia aims to reduce its energy intensity by 3 per cent in 2021 while capping its energy consumption growth at 1.9 per cent.

China’s leadership has attached great importance to such endeavours. Speaking at a seminar on Tuesday, Vice-Premier Han Zheng said strict controls must be imposed to curb energy consumption and high-emission projects.

These types of strict energy-saving initiatives are among the strong headwinds that cryptocurrency faces in China. Initial coin offerings and cryptocurrency trading are also banned.

Li Bo, deputy governor of the People’s Bank of China, said at the Boao Forum in Hainan province last month that bitcoin was just an alternative investment, rather than currency, and that authorities were studying how to regulate it.

Meanwhile, the central bank has accelerated the pilot programme for its sovereign digital currency nationwide, as China moves further towards being a cashless society.

On Tuesday, three semi-official financial associations – the National Internet Finance Association of China; the China Banking Association; and the Payment and Clearing Association of China – told their members to steer clear of any cryptocurrency-related financing activities while also warning the public that cryptocurrencies are “not supported by intrinsic value”, and that their prices are “easily manipulated”.

Some banks, including China Citic Bank, had already barred users from trading bitcoin via their bank accounts from last month.

Bitcoin fell to a three-month low on Wednesday, dropping below US$40,000, while ethereum continued its gradual decline in recent days, falling below US$3,000.

By playing off its big neighbors, Russia and China, Mongolia has emerged as a positive outlier among developing nations on the hunt for shots.

Mongolia, a country of grassy hills, vast deserts and endless skies, has a population not much bigger than Chicago’s. The small democratic nation is used to living in the shadow of its powerful neighbors, Russia and China.

But during a pandemic, being a small nation sandwiched between two vaccine makers with global ambitions can have advantages.

At a time when most countries are scrambling for coronavirus vaccines, Mongolia now has enough to fully vaccinate its entire adult population, in large part thanks to deals with both China and Russia. Officials are so confident about the nation’s vaccine riches that they are promising citizens a “Covid-free summer.”

Mongolia’s success in procuring the vaccines in the span of a few months is a big victory for a low-income, developing nation. Many poor countries have been waiting in line for shots, hoping for the best. But Mongolia, using its status as a small geopolitical player between Russia and China, was able to snap up doses at a clip similar to that of much wealthier countries.

“It speaks to the Mongolian ability to play to the two great powers and maximize their benefits even while they are on this tightrope between these two countries,” said Theresa Fallon, director of the Center for Russia Europe Asia Studies in Brussels.

It is also a win for China and Russia, which have extensive resource interests in Mongolia and ambitions to appear to play a role in ending the pandemic, even when much of the world has expressed deep skepticism over their homegrown vaccines.

Mongolia is a buffer between eastern Russia, which is resource rich and mostly unpopulated, and China, which is crowded and hungry for resources. While Russia and China are often aligned on the global stage, they have a history of conflict and are wary of each others’ interests in Mongolia. Those suspicions can be seen in their vaccine diplomacy.

“Putin is deeply concerned about what China is doing in their neighborhood,” Ms. Fallon said of Russia’s president, Vladimir V. Putin.

Russia has sold Mongolia one million doses of its Sputnik V vaccine. China has provided four million doses of vaccine — the final shipment of doses arrived this week. Mongolia’s most recent agreement with China’s Sinopharm Group, which is state-owned, was made days before the company received emergency authorization from the World Health Organization.

Mongolia was late to the global clamber for Covid-19 vaccines. For nearly a year officials boasted that there were no local cases. Then came an outbreak in November. Two months later, political crisis precipitated by the mishandling of the virus led to the sudden resignation of the prime minister. The prospect of continued coronavirus restrictions threatened to throw the country into further political turmoil.

The new prime minister, Oyun-Erdene Luvsannamsrai, pledged to restart the economy, which had suffered from lockdowns and border closures, particularly in the south, where Mongolian truck drivers ferry coal across the border to China’s steel mills. But these plans were complicated by surging cases, with the daily count going from hundreds a day to thousands.

“We were quite desperate,” said Bolormaa Enkhbat, an economic and development policy adviser to Mr. Luvsannamsrai.

Mongolia approached China and Russia first, the foreign minister said, hoping longstanding economic ties with each country would help move it to the front of the line of countries seeking vaccines. Officials simultaneously explored diplomatic and private channels — putting in requests for donations from rich countries and the world’s biggest vaccine manufacturers.

They contacted price-gouging middlemen, international health organizations and vaccine alliances for poorer countries. One intermediary offered to sell Pfizer-BioNTech’s Covid vaccine for $120 a shot, nearly a quarter of the average monthly salary, Ms. Enkhbat said. Covax, the global vaccine-sharing alliance, which Mongolia signed onto in July 2020, promised doses in the fall or winter.

In early February, Mongolia approved Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine. Three days later, China’s Sinopharm Group received approval for its Vero Cell vaccine. Soon after, China donated 300,000 doses of its Sinopharm vaccine to Mongolia, citing a “profound traditional friendship” as motivation.

Opening up more of the border between China and Mongolia was also a part of the vaccine discussions, Chinese and Mongolian officials said in Chinese state media. Mongolia needs China to buy its coal — exports to the country make up nearly a quarter of Mongolia’s annual economic growth. The revenues helped to pad Mongolia’s budget by a quarter last year.

After a month of back and forth, the Mongolian government struck a deal in March with Russia’s Gamaleya Research Institute, too, for one million doses of the Sputnik vaccine. Days later, Mongolia finalized an agreement to buy 330,000 additional doses of the Sinopharm vaccine.

When there was a last-minute hitch in the delivery of the purchased Chinese vaccines, a call on April 7 between China’s premier, Li Keqiang, and Mongolia’s prime minister, Mr. Luvsannamsrai, helped to smooth things over and reassure both sides. Up to that point, it was still unclear if Mongolia would be able to rely on China or if it would need to return to Russia for more vaccines.

“That’s what paved the way for the rest of the deal,” Ms. Enkhbat said about the phone call, Mr. Luvsannamsrai’s first with Mr. Li. “We laid out the situation and said that we are betting on Chinese vaccines at a time when the rest of the world fully isn’t.”

Mongolia has also secured commitments from AstraZeneca and Pfizer-BioNTech. So far it has received only 60,000 of the Sputnik vaccine because of manufacturing delays. But the Chinese vaccine will account for a majority of Covid-19 shots for Mongolia’s population.

“We are thankful to our partners, especially China, that they are providing us with vaccinations when they also need it for domestic use,” said Battsetseg Batmunkh, Mongolia’s foreign minister.

The Chinese and Russian embassies in Mongolia did not respond to requests for comment.

In Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia’s capital, 97 percent of the adult population has received a first dose and more than half are fully vaccinated, according to government statistics. Across the country, more than three quarters of Mongolians have already received one shot.

The country’s vaccination effort still faces hurdles. Mongolia is economically dependent on China, and many of its citizens continue to fear its power and influence. When tensions have arisen in the past, China has shut its border and stopped purchasing Mongolian coal.

Mongolians have also expressed a preference for Russia’s Sputnik vaccine. To get the population to take the Sinopharm shot, the government has offered each citizen 50,000 tugriks — about $18 — to get fully vaccinated. The average monthly salary in 2020 was $460.

The terms and pricing of the Sinopharm and Sputnik deals were not made public, and Mongolia’s foreign ministry declined to comment on pricing. Representatives for the Gamaleya Research Institute and Sinopharm did not respond to requests for comment.

While some global health experts have questioned whether Sinopharm will be able to continue to deliver on its commitments overseas, it has delivered all of the doses Mongolia ordered. China has said it can make as many as five billion doses by the end of the year, though officials have warned that the country is struggling to make enough shots for its citizens.

There are also some signs that governments that have chosen the Sinopharm vaccine may have to roll out a third booster shot sooner than expected.

China, for its part, may be playing a long game, said Julian Dierkes, an associate professor at the University of British Columbia who specializes in Mongolian politics. Though many Mongolians may still not trust China, the Mongolian government will remember how it made its vaccines available at a critical moment.

“We could coin a phrase here: ‘The opportunity of smallness,’” he said.

By Alexandra Stevenson