Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- Mongolia's National Center for Communicable Diseases (NCCD) on Sunday confirmed 21 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the nationwide tally to 1,429.

"A total of 22,993 tests for COVID-19 were conducted across the country in the last 24 hours, and 21 of them tested positive," Amarjargal Ambaselmaa, head of the surveillance department of the NCCD, said at a daily press conference.

Twenty of the latest confirmed cases were locally transmitted, and the remaining patient was a serviceman of the Mongolian Armed Forces who had recently returned home from Afghanistan, said Ambaselmaa.

More than two-thirds of the COVID-19 infections in Mongolia were locally transmitted. The country confirmed its first locally transmitted case in November.

The Asian country with a population of 3.3 million has so far registered two COVID-19-related deaths and 896 recoveries. Enditem

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/ On January 6, the Start-up Promotion Agency announced that it had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) online for the cooperation of the Young Entrepreneurs Council of Mongolia to foster cooperation between the two startups and to create a foundation for Mongolia's start-up life system, including the knowledge of laws and institutions

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The Young Entrepreneurs Council was established in 2018 to bring startup and entrepreneurship to Mongolia.

The signing of the Memorandum of Understanding was aimed at establishing a cooperative relationship between the two countries to revitalize start-up life-based exchanges and develop startups, and to comply with the laws and regulations related to start-up and investment in the Republic of Korea.

Kim Kwang-hyun, director of the Start-up Promotion Agency, said, "We hope that by gaining knowledge and experience related to Startups in Korea to Mongolia, we will contribute to the development of Mongolia's startup ecosystem and enable startup cooperation between Korea and Mongolia."

Ulaanbaatar/MONTSAME/. Today, the Emergency Commission of the capital city has announced that 18 types of businesses will remain closed when the current COVID-19 strict lockdown is to be eased to the heightened state of readiness in the capital city of Ulaanbaatar from next Monday.

J. Sandagsuren, 1st deputy governor of the capital city, said “The Emergency commission has conducted risk assessments on sectors in the capital. Accordingly, it decided to re-open services, except 18 types of services. Driving restriction by license plate number will be adhered in the traffic."

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The 18 services include clothing shops, furniture stores, services for wedding ceremony, beauty salon, swimming pool, mobile phone trade and repair centers, churches, all kinds of sports, yoga and fitness halls, dance clubs, sauna and massages, hairdressing, hotels and class training with more than five attendants.

Dry bulk owners are watching customs data out of Beijing closely to see where China is sourcing coal from to replace banned Australian products – the choice will have an enormous ramifications for the overall tonne-mile picture of the sector. Relations between Canberra and Beijing have soured in recent months after Australia called for an international probe into the origins of the Covid-19 pandemic, leading the government of Xi Jinping to ban a range of Australian products including coal.

The start to 2021 has seen no sign of a thaw in China’s Australian coal stance. “China is not backing down on this. Very little Australian thermal coal will go to China in 2021. It’s the chicken game,” commented Peter Sand, chief shipping analyst at BIMCO. Sand said that for the sake of shipping, he was crossing his fingers that China turns to Colombia and Canada and not Mongolia and Russia for its coal needs.

Coal to China from Russia travels around 1,000 nautical miles, it’s 2,000 miles from Indonesia, 4,000 miles from Australia, 9,000 from Colombia and 11,000 from Canada. Most worrying for dry bulk owners is the growing exports by land from Mongolia into China – volumes have leapt during 2020.

Latest data from Braemar ACM show there are 23 capes and 52 panamaxes laden with Australian coal remaining at sea outside Chinese ports, unable to discharge, with a median waiting duration of over 90 days so far.

The ban has already reshaped trade flows. Some of the cargoes waiting in China have diverted to nearby countries such as Vietnam and South Korea, while India’s share of Australian exports grew over the last few months.

Ralph Leszczynski, head of research at Banchero Costa, said dry bulk owners ought to be looking at the bigger coal picture rather than the current Australia – China dispute.

“The reality is that 2020 was across the board a horrible year for coal trade, worldwide,” Leszczynski said.

Global seaborne coal trade declined by 12.7% year-on-year in 2020. Nevertheless, the International Energy Agency (IEA) has revised its forecasts for coal demand upwards.

Citing a faster-than-expected economic recovery in Asia, the agency amended its previous forecast of a 7% drop in 2020 to 5%, and forecast growth of 2.6% in 2021. The IEA estimated that coal trade volumes had decreased by 10% or 150m tons in 2020, the largest drop ever recorded. Thermal coal volumes fell 10% and coking coal 12%. Remaining bullish for China coal import numbers is Jeffrey Landsberg, the managing director of US-based Commodore Research & Consultancy.

In recent weeks Commodore has been highlighting how a surge in electricity generation for heating has remained underway in China. Of note most recently is that nine separate power grids all saw their power loads set new highs this week. This includes the power grids in Hebei, Shanxi, Liaoning, Heilongjiang, Shaanxi, Ningxia, Jilin, Xinjiang, and Beijing.

“Going forward, we remain bullish for China’s coal import prospects,” Landsberg told Splash. The dry bulk analyst said it was significant that it is not common for power loads in China to set records during the winter. Instead, records are only normally set in the summer. “The current record power production levels in China at present are atypical for this time of year and very supportive to the dry bulk market. With the ban on Australia in place, China’s imports from Indonesia at present have been rising,” Landsberg said. (Splash 247.com)

On Friday (8 Jan), Indian Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas & Steel Dharmendra Pradhan) reiterated India’s commitment towards the timely completion of the Mongol Refinery Project. This assurance was made during a virtual meeting with L.Oyun-Erdene, MP, Minister and Chief Cabinet Secretary of Mongolia and Co-Chair of the India-Mongolia Joint Committee on Cooperation.

Bilateral cooperation in the hydrocarbons and steel sectors were comprehensively reviewed in the meeting, an official statement added.

The Indian Minister also expressed willingness to further share India’s expertise in the oil and gas sector, including capacity building in line with Mongolia’s developmental priorities. He expressed appreciation for the support in facilitating approvals for the expeditious implementation of the greenfield Mongol Refinery Project, built under a Line of Credit from the Government of India, and their commitment to setting up a pipeline to transport crude to the refinery being built near the city of Sainshand.

The Minister also welcomed the eagerness of Mongolian mining companies in supplying coking coal to the Indian steel industry and agreed to advance mutual benefitial cooperation. “We look forward to substantial partnerships with Mongolian companies in the areas of minerals, coal and steel.”, he added.

Following the coronavirus pandemic, the issue of economic recovery is now in the spotlight. As the head of the government that overcame the economic crisis of 2008-09, how do you assess the current situation?

Compared to that time, countries and the world are facing much more difficult situations. In these difficult times, the Government of Prime Minister U.Khurelsukh is able to take comprehensive and effective measures to protect the health and livelihood of its citizens. The Parliament and the Government are paying special attention to the implementation of solutions to revitalize small and medium-sized businesses in a low-risk way, and will continue to work hard in this direction. At the time, the beginning of the Oyu Tolgoi and Tavan Tolgoi projects was a major factor in itself, but it is still important to intensify other major processing, construction and infrastructure projects. It is right that the government is paying attention to this. We believe that by overcoming this difficult situation together, the future of the private sector, led by more efficient and educated young people, will be even stronger.

You just mentioned the Tavan Tolgoi project. It is the 10th anniversary of Erdenes Tavan Tolgoi state-owned company. The public may not be well aware that you have made important decisions about the Tavan Tolgoi deposit…

Yes, when I was working in the business sector in 1998 I acquired the license to Tavan Tolgoi deposit and later gave it to the state. Later, when I was the Prime Minister, in 2012, made the decision to give 1072 shares to every citizen. The fact that every shareholder received a dividend last year is the first time that Mongolians have directly benefited from the country’s natural resources. Also, under our government, until the end of 2012, every citizen of Mongolia received 1.5 million MNT in “National grace”, Tavan Tolgoi shares, 1 million MNT for seniors, 1 student tuition fee of 1 million MNT, health and social insurance compensation, 21 monthly thousand tugrugs in the form of benefits from this deposit.

How do you assess the current and future significance of the Tavan Tolgoi deposit?

Today, the Tavan Tolgoi deposit has expanded into a vital economic and social project for Mongolia. In addition to the nearly 2,000 jobs created, more than 20,000 jobs have been created indirectly, and thousands of Mongolian families are making their living. It alone accounts for a large share of state budget revenues, which finances everything from salaries to pensions. During this difficult time, the government is issuing the money that every Mongolian family spends on their children in the form of “child benefits”. This deposit is the most real and clear manifestation of justice. The Tavan Tolgoi deposit will continue to be of economic importance as a key tool for attracting foreign and domestic investors to large projects and reviving business activity. But the importance of bigger development should be even greater.

What would that be?

The most important thing is to finance the education and health systems that will lead the Mongolian people to the middle class. People’s initiative to build their own lives should begin with an education system of international standards and an inclusive health care system. It should also be one of the pillars of a low-tax, low-interest, low-interest business support system that supports people’s initiatives. At the same time, in a democratic Mongolia, citizens must be able to express themselves without fear and live more freely, ensuring the immunity of an independent state. In short, it should be a guarantee of Mongolia’s economic, social and political independence, freedom and justice.

Recently, in the special issue of the 100th anniversary of the newspaper “Unen”, the General Secretary of the MPP, D. Amarbayasgalan, announced the names of politicians who can run for the presidency from MPP in next year’s presidential election. What do you think about this?

The Mongolian People’s Party has a 100-year history and has sufficiently prepared human resources. There are several people who have a good reputation and are candidates for the Presidential election. The party’s secretary general probably named me as one of them as I was the Prime Minister of Mongolia and the chairman of the MPP, and I am still actively involved in politics. I am ready to work if fellow party members gives me the trust and responsibility.

You are a successful politician and the founder of a large Mongolian company. Briefly summarize your success?

For more than 20 years, I have been a politician, and I have always believed that democracy, human rights, and development are the most important values. I have worked to ensure unity and to guide progressive ideas. An example of this is I gave the license to the Tavan Tolgoi back to state to make it people’s property, without selling the license to foreigners. I have experience in initiating reforms in the education sector and the stock market. Under the coalition government I led, the Mongolian economy grew at an all-time high of 17.5 percent. Poverty was reduced by double digits for the first time, and household incomes almost doubled. These are real statistics, not words. Numbers don’t lie. The government of MPP Chairman U. Khurelsukh was able to accelerate economic growth, which had fallen to the floor between 2012 and 2016, before the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. It has begun to recover to the period of high growth that was the focus of foreign and domestic investors. I am confident that this opportunity will be realized in the near future after the pandemic is over. Personally, I have run businesses in the privcate sector since 1990 before entering politics. I worked hard in many sectors. The companies I founded has now created more than 3,000 jobs and pay tens of billions of tugrugs in taxes to the state. In short, this is it.

Recently, various information about you has appeared in the press. Do you think it has anything to do with the statement of the party secretary general? For example, you have been accused of influencing the Oyu Tolgoi agreement and lowering interest rates?

It is no secret that every time there is organized slander about Mongolian politicians, there is a hidden motive behind it. For example, after I was appointed Prime Minister, in 2011 we made amendment to the Oyu Tolgoi agreement which reduced the Mongolia’s loan interest rate from 9.9% to 6.5% to save hundreds of millions of dollars. This is the only case in which the agreement has been amended in favor of Mongolia since it was first signed. Accusing and distorting facts which are in front of everyone’s eyes and proven by numbers is unthinkable and a sign of made up slander. Not just this time. I’ve been talking about it for the last 20 years. But it’s important that I do my job well, to follow the principle of “”the dogs bark but the caravan goes,” and it was probably wrong not to always make explanations and rebuttals.

Its also being said that you reduced Oyu Tolgoi’s tax?

That is another unreasonable accusation. The government led by me submitted to the Parliament the draft law to cancel the double taxation agreements of Mongolia with the Netherlands and Luxembourg and it was passed by the Parliament. As a result, the Mongolian tax rate on the Oyu Tolgoi project has been increased from 0-10 percent to 20 percent, increasing tax revenues by hundreds of millions of dollars. It is an indisputable fact that our government has increased taxes, not reduced them.

What do you think is the purpose of this made up story?

Deliberate misrepresentation of the facts in foreign news raises suspicions that may be they are opposing the policy of raising taxes and lowering interest rates. It is clear that slander is for political purposes. However, I do not understand the purpose why they are trying to bring the Oyu Tolgoi, which is so obvious, against me. The dispute at the domestic court has been labelled “top secret” so I don’t know what kind of detective story has been made up for the accusation.

“Democracy, human rights and development are the most important”

Is there such thing as a secret civil dispute?

The materials submitted to the domestic court have been classified as “top secret”. In general, what kind of gross violation of the law to hide a civil dispute from the participants and keep it a state secret for about 2 months without showing it when requested? How can lawyers make a defense if they are not familiar with the case materials? However, it is a serious discrimination to give it to a foreign lawyer without keeping it a secret from them. What does it mean to discriminate your own citizen against a foreigner? Are you hiding it after filing a lawsuit that is clearly unfounded and does not meet the criteria to create a legal dispute? I have been working for the state for many years, and I can tell the difference between what a state secret is and what is not. We are appealing to the relevant law enforcement agencies on this issue.

You are said to have a foreign apartment and property?

I recently gave an interview to the press regarding this. I don’t have an account, I don’t have money, nor do I have an apartment in offshore. I am confident that our court will determine who is right and who is wrong. The truth prevailed from the outset, and a New York court ruled in favor of not freezing the property of the Korean businessman in question, and the plaintiff’s law firm withdrew my name from the lawsuit.

Do you think there is an organized operation against you abroad?

I respect the work of the judiciary. However, it has raised a suspicion that an official is ordering a citizen of their country to be spied on by a foreign for profit and private detective company? During the repression of the 1930s, the so-called case materials arrived in a foreign language, and it is like the Lhumbe case, which was carried out silently in Mongolia. As for me, I will never accept the slander of my family and children in this shameful act, and I will have it checked whether it violates human rights and is in accordance with the law on surveillance. Law enforcement agencies must investigate where and for what purpose the large sums of money paid to the foreign private detective company were spent from, and by whose order. I will fight this accusation. There is a wise saying, “If you are honest, the ox cart will catch up with the rabbit.” At the end of the interview I wish all the Mongolians a happy 2021 and on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the Mongolian Revolution we will recover from the pandemic, stable economic growth, a successful start to the century of development respecting democracy, human rights, the rule of law, good health and all the best.

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/. “Doha Masters 2021” judo tournament will bring together the best judokas from all around the world in Doha, Qatar on January 11-13.

398 judokas from 69 countries consisting of judokas ranked in the top 32 in each weight category will compete in the tournament.

As for the Mongolian team, a total of 16 judokas - 10 male and 6 female athletes will be participating in the tournament.

After being involved in their repeated COVID-19 testing as advised by the National Center for Communicable Diseases, the team will set off for Doha tomorrow on a charter flight which will be conducted by Hunnu Air company and return on January 14.

Propelled by a fourth-quarter rally in copper and iron ore prices, MINING.COM’s ranking of the world’s 50 most valuable mining companies jumps to a new record high of $1.3 trillion by year’s end.

The Top 50 most valuable mining companies added $250 billion in market capitalization over the three months to end December thanks to surging base metal and iron ore prices, and precious metals markets holding onto most of their 2020 gains.

Measured from the height of the pandemic in March-April, the MINING.COM TOP 50* has now recovered by $580 billion amid predictions of a post-pandemic supercycle in commodities demand thanks to construction and green infrastructure spending not only in China but also in the US and many parts of the developed and emerging world.

Iron ore price lit a fire under the top 4 producers, with a strengthening currency further boosting BHP, Rio Tinto, and Fortescue’s US dollar value during the year.

Fortescue Metals Group was the best overall performer in 2020, climbing to number 4 after starting the year outside the top 10. US iron ore producer Cleveland Cliffs managed to climb 18 spots but fell just short of the ranking at position number 53.

Copper, iron price rally adds $250bn to Top 50 mining companies

Gold’s relative underperformance during the quarter saw two mid-tier producers – B2Gold and Yamana Gold – fall out of the top 50 at year-end and replaced by Lundin Mining and Ivanhoe Mines. Once Endeavour (which also absorbed Samafo this year) and Teranga close their combination, the merged entity would stand a good chance of entering the Top 50.

Copper, iron price rally adds $250bn to Top 50 mining companies

Base metal miners stormed the rankings towards the end of the year, and Ivanhoe becomes the first non-producing company to rank among the Top 50 and joins other copper companies on the best performing list, notably Freeport McMoRan and KGHM.

FCX doubled over the course of the year, but is up an astonishing 400% from its covid-lows in March. KGHM briefly dropped out of the Top 50 at the end of the first quarter but is now back at no 35.

Quantum Minerals shares the honor of fastest climber this year with lithium miner SQM – while copper has rallied hard, the lithium market has at least put the worst behind it.

As with any ranking, criteria for inclusion are contentious. We decided to exclude unlisted and state-owned enterprises at the outset due to a lack of information.

That, of course, excludes giants like Chile’s Codelco, Uzbekistan’s Navoi Mining, which owns the world’s largest gold mine, Eurochem, a major potash firm, trader Trafigura, top uranium producer Kazatomprom (partially listed on the LSE, but with only an estimated market value) and numerous entities in China and developing countries around the world.

Another central criterion was the depth of involvement in the industry before an enterprise can rightfully be called a mining company.

For instance, should smelter companies or commodity traders that own minority stakes in mining assets be included, especially if these investments have no operational component or not even warrant a seat on the board?

This is a common structure in Asia, and excluding these types of companies removed well-known names like Japan’s Marubeni and Mitsui, Korea Zinc and Chile’s Copec.

Levels of operational involvement and size of shareholding were central considerations.

Do streaming and royalty companies that receive metals from mining operations without shareholding qualify, or are they just specialized financing vehicles? We included Franco Nevada, Royal Gold and Wheaton Precious Metals.

What about diversified companies such as BHP or Teck with substantial oil and gas assets? Or oil sands companies that use conventional mining methods to extract bitumen, for that matter?

Vertically integrated concerns like Alcoa and energy companies such as Shenhua Energy where power, ports and railways make up a large portion of revenues pose a problem as do diversified companies such as Anglo American with separately listed majority-owned subsidiaries. We’ve included Angloplat in the ranking, as well as Kumba Iron Ore.

Chemical companies are also problematic – should Albemarle not be ranked because its potash and lithium operations are such a small part of its overall revenues? The same issue applied to FMC before it spun off its lithium business.

Many steelmakers own and often operate iron ore and other metal mines, but in the interest of balance and diversity we excluded the steel industry, and with that many companies that have substantial mining assets including giants like ArcelorMittal, Magnitogorsk, Ternium, Baosteel and others.

Head office refers to operational headquarters wherever applicable, for example BHP and Rio Tinto are shown as Melbourne, Australia, but Antofagasta is the exception that proves the rule. We consider the company’s HQ to be in London, where it has been listed since the late 1800s.

Trading data are from primary listing exchange and currency cross-rates at the date of publication. Market capitalization calculated at primary exchange, where applicable from total shares outstanding, not only free-floating shares.

Please let us know of any omissions, deletions or additions to the ranking or suggest a different methodology.

Boeing has agreed to pay $2.5bn (£1.8bn) to settle US criminal charges that it hid information from safety officials about the design of its 737 Max planes.

The US Justice Department said the firm chose "profit over candour", impeding oversight of the planes, which were involved in two deadly crashes.

About $500m will go to families of the 346 people killed in the tragedies.

Boeing said the agreement acknowledged how the firm "fell short".

Boeing chief executive David Calhoun said: "I firmly believe that entering into this resolution is the right thing for us to do - a step that appropriately acknowledges how we fell short of our values and expectations.

"This resolution is a serious reminder to all of us of how critical our obligation of transparency to regulators is, and the consequences that our company can face if any one of us falls short of those expectations."

'Fraudulent and deceptive conduct'

The Justice Department said Boeing officials had concealed information about changes to an automated flight control system, known as MCAS, which investigations have tied to the crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia in 2018 and 2019.

The decision meant that pilot training manuals lacked information about the system, which overrode pilot commands based on faulty data, forcing the planes to nosedive shortly after take-off.

Boeing did not co-operate with investigators for six months, the DOJ said.

"The tragic crashes of Lion Air Flight 610 and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 exposed fraudulent and deceptive conduct by employees of one of the world's leading commercial airplane manufacturers," said Acting Assistant Attorney General David Burns.

"Boeing's employees chose the path of profit over candour by concealing material information from the FAA concerning the operation of its 737 Max airplane and engaging in an effort to cover up their deception."

Under the terms of the agreement, Boeing was charged with one count of conspiracy to defraud the US, which will be dismissed after three years if the firm continues to comply with the deal.

Of the total settlement, the majority - $1.77bn, some of which has already been paid - is due to go the firm's airline customers, who were affected by the grounding of the planes following the crashes.

The firm also agreed to pay a penalty of $243.6m.

But attorneys for the victims of the Ethiopian Airlines crash said the deal on Thursday would not end their pending civil lawsuit against Boeing.

"The allegations in the deferred prosecution agreement are just the tip of the iceberg of Boeing's wrongdoing — a corporation that pays billions of dollars to avoid criminal liability while stonewalling and fighting the families in court," said a statement from the group of lawyers representing them.

They added that the FAA "should not have allowed the 737 Max to return to service until all of the airplane's deficiencies are addressed and it has undergone transparent and independent safety reviews."

Boeing says it has now addressed concerns about the Max, while the plane returned to service in the

The charge against Boeing was that its employees used "misleading statements, half truths and omissions" to dupe the regulator charged with maintaining the safety of US aviation.

In the circumstances, you could say the company got off relatively lightly.

It has avoided prosecution, and a large part of the settlement involves compensation to airlines - a fair amount of which it would probably have ended up paying anyway.

The company would doubtless like to use this moment to draw a line under one of the most traumatic episodes in its history.

Yet while the 737 Max is back in the air, the scrutiny of Boeing and the FAA is unlikely to stop here.

Critics, including victims' families, lawyers and politicians, insist serious questions about the aircraft remain - and they're still pushing for answers.

US President Donald Trump’s outgoing administration plans to approve a land swap on Jan. 15 that Rio Tinto and partners need to build a copper mine in Arizona, clearing a long-time hurdle for the project that is opposed by many Native Americans.

Developers will continue their effort to obtain a series of regulatory approvals, including construction permits, for the Resolution copper project after President-elect Joe Biden takes office.

The local San Carlos Apache tribe and several environmental groups have said they may sue to stop the land swap.

What is Resolution?

The underground copper deposit was discovered in 1995 in the Tonto National Forest, which abuts the reservation where the San Carlos Apache tribe lives. The tribe and other Native Americans say the mine would destroy land considered the home of religious deities and sites used for tribal ceremonies.

Rio and BHP Group Plc have spent more than $2 billion on new mine shafts and permitting applications for the project, among other costs, though they have yet to produce any copper.

The proposed mine would tunnel 7,000 feet underground and developers say it could supply a quarter of the copper consumed annually in the United States. Copper is used to make a wide range of products from wires and pipes to solar panels, wind turbines and electric vehicles.

What does the land swap accomplish?

Rio and BHP have sought for years to access the deposit, which sits below land that belonged to the tribe before the United States existed.

In 2014, then-President Barack Obama signed a Pentagon funding bill that approved a swap letting Rio exchange land it already owns for land above the copper reserve, with the caveat that the swap could not occur until an environmental study was published. The Trump administration plans to publish that study on Jan. 15, clearing the way for the exchange within 60 days.

Who is opposed to the land swap, and why?

Lawmakers, including US Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, introduced legislation in 2019 to reverse the land swap, but that bill gained little traction.

Rio said it has consulted with the San Carlos and other Arizona tribes about preserving other culturally significant locations including Apache Leap, a rock cliff where in the late 19th century Apaches jumped to their deaths to avoid capture by US troops.

Not all members of the San Carlos Apache tribe oppose the project. Some tribal members work for Rio’s team developing Resolution.

Still, some members of the tribe said that if the swap goes through, they plan to barricade themselves on the land to block development. Activists have evoked the 2016 protests by opponents of the Dakota Access Pipeline in North Dakota.

“People don’t understand that this mine will destroy an important part of the earth,” said Wendsler Nosie, a former tribal chairman who has formed a protest camp at the mine site.

Rio faced criticism last year for destroying indigenous sites in Australia. Native Americans say the mining giant is poised to make the same mistake in Arizona.

What has Biden said about the project?

Biden, who replaces Trump as US president on Jan. 20, has not spoken publicly about the project, but promised Arizona tribal leaders in October that they would “have a seat at the table” in his administration. Biden’s transition team did not respond to a request for comment.

Biden was overwhelmingly supported by Native Americans across Arizona in November’s US election, exit polling data show. Tribal leaders are already lobbying the incoming president to block construction permits for the mine.

Biden plans to nominate US Representative Deb Haaland of New Mexico to run the Interior Department, making her the first Native American Cabinet secretary in US history.

That choice, though, will have little bearing on the Resolution project because the Tonto National Forest is controlled by the US Forest Service, which is part of the Agriculture Department. Biden plans to nominate Tom Vilsack to run that department, a post Vilsack held during Obama’s tenure.

What happens next?

While the land will soon be controlled by Rio, the company still needs federal permits, a process that both sides acknowledge could take years. Biden’s administration is expected to take its time reviewing the permit applications.

After obtaining permits, Rio would need to make a final investment decision. The company said tribal members will be able to continue to access the land for the next few decades.

(By Ernest Scheyder and Jarrett Renshaw; Editing by David Gregorio)