Belarusian BelAZ ships first bulldozer to Mongolia www.belarus.by

MINSK, 23 March (BelTA) – The Belarusian automobile engineering company BelAZ has shipped a bulldozer and several dust control sprinklers to Mongolia, the company’s press service told BelTA.

Virus control measures to hit Rio Tinto operations in South Africa, Canada www.reuters.com

Rio Tinto said on Tuesday operations at its mineral sands mine in South Africa will be halted and activity in Quebec, Canada will slow down due to government directives in both countries to stem the spread of the coronavirus.

Turquoise Hill announces financial results and review of operations for 2019 www.montsame.mn

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/. On March 21, Turquoise Hill Resources, an international mining company who owns 66 percent of the Oyu Tolgoi copper-gold mine in Mongolia and focuses on the operation and development of the mine, announced its financial results for the year ended December 31, 2019.

“For 2019, the Oyu Tolgoi mine recorded another year of excellent operational results, and record industry leading safety performance,” stated Ulf Quellmann, Turquoise Hill’s Chief Executive Officer. “Our team at Oyu Tolgoi continues to maximize our production efficiencies, which resulted in our full year copper production to fall within our original guidance, and our gold production exceeding our original targets. In addition, the mill throughput achieved its fourth year in a row of operating at above name-plate capacity.”

“2019 was also a pivotal year for the underground development with the completion of the above-ground infrastructure and Shaft 2. Shaft 2 is a critical piece of infrastructure that allows the team to accelerate the underground development. Productivity gains in the underground development over the last five months of 2019 have shown steady improvements with December achieving a new record of over 1,800 meters of lateral equivalent meters.”

“Today, COVID-19 presents a pandemic on a global scale that is affecting everyone and certainly also our business. We have got measures in place including a business resilience team at Oyu Tolgoi to monitor, manage and mitigate the effects of COVID-19. At this stage, the situation is very fluid and hence we are not in a position to specify the impact on cost and schedule. In the meantime, we continue to work closely with our customers, our suppliers and the Government of Mongolia”.

Some highlights of 2019

• The Oyu Tolgoi mine achieved another strong all injury frequency rate of 0.16 per 200,000 hours worked for the year ended December 31, 2019. AIFR steadily declined since 2013, dropping 64% from 2013 through 2019.

• Full year copper production of 146,346 tonnes vs original guidance range of 125,000 – 155,000 tonnes.

• Full year gold production of 241,840 ounces vs original guidance range of 180,000 – 220,000 ounces.

• Full year mill throughput of 40,777,225 tonnes, an increase of 5% over 2018.

• Revenue of $1.2 billion in 2019 decreased 1.2% over 2018, impacted by lower copper production partly offset by higher gold revenue driven by a higher average annual gold price in 2019.

• Cash used in operating activities before interest and taxes was $341.7 million, a decrease from $363.0 million generated in 2018, primarily reflecting the impact of reduced revenue.

• Total operating cash costs of $774.5 million for 2019 came in under the Company’s revised guidance and decreased 5.2% over 2018. This decrease was due to lower freight and royalty costs driven by lower volumes of concentrate sold and lower sales revenue respectively, and lower milling costs due to lower maintenance costs.

• Underground expansion capital for 2019 was $1.2 billion, meeting the upper-end of the Company’s revised guidance.

• Shaft 2 construction was completed in October 2019, and was fully commissioned in February 2020. Construction is progressing on Shafts 3 and 4 with both collars now installed. Final preparations are now underway to enable commencement of main sinking operations for both shafts during the second quarter of 2020.

• The Tavan Tolgoi Power Plant (TTPP) Feasibility Study was submitted to the Government of Mongolia on February 17, 2020 by Oyu Tolgoi LLC. The study is based on a 300 MW coal fired power plant to be located at the Tavan Tolgoi coal fields approximately 150 kilometres from Oyu Tolgoi.

• In February 2020, the Company announced that Oyu Tolgoi LLC has been unable to reach a resolution of its dispute with the Mongolian Tax Authority with respect to its tax assessment, and will be proceeding with the initiation of a formal international arbitration proceeding in accordance with the dispute resolution provisions of the Investment Agreement and the Underground Plan.

In 2020, Oyu Tolgoi is expected to produce 140,000 to 170,000 tonnes of copper and 120,000 to 150,000 ounces of gold in concentrates in 2020 from both the open pit and the beginning of the underground development material being processed. Operating cash costs for 2020 are expected to be $800 million to $850 million.

Coal shipment resumes through Gashuunsukhait border checkpoint www.montsame.mn

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/. In accordance with the decision made by the Government of Mongolia, the Ministry of Roads and Transport Development, National Road Transport Center, Customs General Administration, State Professional Inspection Agency and freight forwarding companies have resumed coal shipment through Gashuunsukhait border checkpoint. The coal exports were suspended for two months due to the heightened state of readiness.

Yokozuna Hakuho M.Davaajargal wins record-extending 44th championship title www.montsame.mn

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/. 69th Yokozuna Hakuho M.Davaajargal has won his 44th Grand Sumo Tournament by coming out victorious over 71st Yokozuna Kakuryu M.Anand on the final day of the Spring Grand Sumo Tournament organized in Osaka, Japan. He wrapped up the tournament with 13 wins and 2 losses.

Workforce not to be received for certain period www.montsame.mn

Ulaanbaatar/MONTSAME/. During its irregular meeting on March 22, the Cabinet issued a decision not to employ Chinese workers in the construction work of Ulaanbaatar-Darkhan auto road and further not to receive workforce from any country for a certain period.

China’s Top Envoy to U.S. Breaks With Foreign Ministry on Virus www.bloomberg.com

In Mongolia, Yak Wool Is the New Cashmere www.globalpressjournal.com

A local cooperative helps herders capitalize on a common Mongolian resource: yaks. Workers can spin their soft undercoats into wool as soft as cashmere – and consumers around the world are taking notice.

ERDENEBULGAN, ARKHANGAI PROVINCE, MONGOLIA — Munkhjargal Bat-Ulzii smiles as she weaves with rhythmic precision on her manual loom.

Bayarmagnai Batsuuri stands nearby and watches stunning patterns emerge from the loom.

Bayarmagnai founded the Ar Arvijin Delgerekh cooperative, which specializes in producing and weaving yak wool. The material, according to the cooperative, rivals the quality of cashmere and has the potential to boost income opportunities for yak herders in this central Mongolian province.

Arkhangai province is home to 32% of the country’s yak population, but herders have not historically used the yak’s wool.

Wild yaks, which are long-haired bovines found throughout the Himalayan region and as far north as Mongolia and Siberia, were previously considered endangered but are now tagged as vulnerable.

Domesticated yaks thrive in Mongolia, thanks to its cold temperatures, steep ravines and rocky terrains. The yak’s long, thick hair and fine underfur help it withstand cold weather.

The cooperative has been gaining momentum since it was founded in 2010. Today, all 225 members are herders who joined to receive training on how to tease and prepare yak wool fibers.

Bayarmagnai says they’ve trained herders to collect the fur by separating it from grass, dirt and the yak’s thicker outer hair. The valuable hair is the fine underfur, known as the pure fiber, which can be used to weave yarn and quality goods.

“When we initially established the cooperative, yak fiber was a raw material without any value,” Bayarmagnai says.

Today, herders throughout the province benefit from understanding the value of their yak’s fur.

“I had been herding livestock for 40 years but never teased yak fiber,” says Dagiitserev Lkhagvasuren, a local herder. He joined the cooperative in 2018. From his 27 yaks, he says, he was able to tease about 560,000 Mongolian tugriks’ ($202.50) worth of fiber.

The average annual household income here is about 14.8 million tugriks ($5,350).

“It really helps our livelihood and is especially beneficial for families like ours, who do not earn any salary,” Dagiitserev says.

Herders who have been with the cooperative since it opened have seen tremendous increase in the demand for and value of their yaks’ wool.

Choisuren Namsraikhorol, a local herder, says when he started bringing wool to the collective, he earned about 1,500 tugriks (54 cents) for one kilogram (2.2 pounds) of wool. Today, he earns about 20,000 tugriks ($7.23) for the same amount.

The collective exports the pure fibers and makes yarn for local use, while also weaving yak wool products like shawls and clothing. Annually, they sell about 1,500 textile products at the collective’s retail outlet, Baby Yak, which opened in 2018.

Enkh-Amgalan Sumiyabat, a cooperative member who shows yak wool textiles at trade shows, says one question is more common than any other: “Is it cashmere?”

“Nobody knows that it is yak wool,” she says. “Our products are so cool and soft.”

The yak’s pure fiber, especially from young yaks, isn’t cashmere, although it does meet the microfiber classification for cashmere, says Baasanjav Choijin, head of Arkhangai province’s Herders’ Association.

“It is a luxury item, which is soft and can sustain warmth similar to goat cashmere,” he says.

Cashmere, the luxury wool made from fine goat hair, is popular and expensive thanks to the fact that it is extremely soft while being both warm and lightweight. There are three market grades of cashmere. Grade C cashmere, the lowest quality, can measure up to 30 microns, the standard unit used to grade wool. Grade B measures between 16 to 19 microns and Grade A, the finest, can measure as low as 13 microns.

The Mongolian University of Science and Technology and the accredited laboratory of the Mongolian Customs General Administration are responsible for testing the yak wool prior to export. On average, the yak fiber that the collective exports measures between 18 and 20 microns.

Local herders credit the cooperative with making a previously valueless material valuable, while creating a global market for Mongolian yak wool. The cooperative exports 1.4 tons of its washed and sorted yak wool to France, Spain, Italy, Japan and other countries annually.

Ganchimeg Gombojav, a regular customer at Baby Yak, says she likes to give the textiles to elders during the traditional Mongolian New Year holiday, Tsagaan Sar, in February.

“I like it because it is cheaper compared to cashmere and it is soft and warm,” she says.

Tsogtbaatar Jantsandorj, head of the Food and Agricultural Department’s Cattle Breed Section, agrees that yak wool products have been an asset to Mongolian markets.

“Today we are supplying something that previously had no value and blew on the market,” he says. “It is a very big advantage that people are now consuming domestically produced, eco-friendly animal products.”

Bayarmagnai says they are thrilled to see yak wool products take off locally and globally. He plans to add more looms and a larger factory space later this year. He says they will continue to work with herders and help them boost income, while creating internationally marketable products.

“Everything we make with our hands comes from our heart,” he says.

Otgoo Tsedendemberel, GPJ, translated this article from Mongolian.

China sees drop in new coronavirus cases; all new cases imported www.reuters.com

BEIJING/SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Mainland China saw a drop in its daily tally of new coronavirus cases, reversing four straight days of gains, as the capital Beijing ramped up measures to contain the number of infections arriving from abroad.

Mongolia postpones opening schools, international flights www.xinhuanet.com

Mongolia will delay the opening dates of all schools and international flights in a bid to stem the spread of COVID-19, a senior official said on Sunday.