In the other Mongolian provinces, army recruitment will be conducted under conditions of advanced emergency readiness for avoiding gatherings and mass transportation.

Furthermore, the Student-Soldier programme has been cancelled for this year. The programme was launched in 2014 at the initiative of the then President and the Commander-in-Chief of the Mongolian Armed Forces Ts.Elbegdorj. Since then, over 6000 students have participated in the programme.

Within this framework, Minister of Finance Ch.Khurelbaatar and the World Bank Country Manager Andrei Mikhnev today signed USD26.9 million loan agreement for the Mongolia COVID-19 Emergency Response and Health System Preparedness Project that will help Mongolia meet emergency needs in the face of the current pandemic and prepare better for future health crises.

The project will address the immediate needs in the country’s health sector, such as the purchase of more than 11500 pieces of about 1000 kinds medical and laboratory equipment and supplies for the 300-bed maternity hospital in Khan-Uul district, Mongolia-Japan Teaching Hospital, 3rd Central Clinic, central hospitals of nine districts and rural hospitals as well as operate a 1000-bed hospital in response to Covid-19.

The project funding comprises a USD13.1 million credit from the International Development Association (IDA) and a USD13.8 million loan from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), allocated as part of the World Bank Group’s USD14 billion COVID-19 fast-track financing package.

Loan and credit terms are 30 years, with a grace period of 5 years.

On April 2, a chartered plane which was deployed to airlift Mongolia’s citizens in Japan escorted 130 Japanese nationals to their home country.

“I would like to express my gratitude towards MIAT for transporting Japanese 130 citizens safe and responsibly by the charter flight in route Ulaanbaatar-Tokyo following the decision made by the Government of Mongolia and State Emergency Commission during the difficult times caused by COVID-19 pandemic and we hope to further expand our cooperation," Monrsame reports Ambassador as saying.

In order to help you, PwC Mongolia summarized key legal issues in relation to COVID-19. It covers the Government's actions responding COVID-19, Key employment matters, Performance of contractual obligations, Time limits in administrative and legal proceedings and What you need to know if there is the Nationwide state readiness or the State of Emergency.
Click below to get access.

The households in Ulaanbaatar city used to consume 1.2 million tons of raw coal a year. However, a refined coal factory in Songinokhairkhan district is providing 600 thousand tons of refined coal for six central districts of the capital city starting from last year.

By establishing the new plant, it will become able to ensure need of 600 thousand tons of fuel for households living in suburban districts such as Gachuurt, Nalaikh, Baganuur and Bagakhangai. In doing so, raw coal consumption will be fully banned in above-mentioned areas and only refined coal will be used for household purpose in whole territory of Ulaanbaatar city.

“A study reveals that 2000-2500 people die a year in Mongolia with illnesses such as flu and cancer caused by air pollution. Therefore, we have talked about reducing air pollution for 20 years. And we are seeing that it is possible to resolve the issue within two years. The Government has made a decision to ban usage of raw coal in Ulaanbaatar city from May, 2019. Providing 22 thousand households with refined fuel is a big issue. Although we faced number of issues when realizing our decision, we did not give up. As a result of it, we could see its results and reduced smoke by 50 percent. With foundation of the new plant, conditions will be created to reduce air pollution by 20-30 percent again,” said Prime Minister U.Khurelsukh during his attendance to the foundation-laying ceremony of the plant.

PM also emphasized that establishing the plant, which will provide 1000-1500 people with jobs, in the territory of Tuv aimag neighboring Nalaikh district and along railway has several advantages. In particular, it is estimated to transport raw material of the refined coal from Tavan Tolgoi by railroad after completion of Zuunbayan-Tavantolgoi railroad as well as to make it easy to transport products manufactured in the plant to the capital city. The Government is also developing a project on reducing air pollution in aimag centers further.

According to the analytics company, disruption has been most significant in China. Coal production declined by around 6% in the first two months of 2020 as workers could not return to mine sites due to the coronavirus outbreak.

However, by March 4, 83% of China’s coal mining capacity was operational and production is now expected to recover over the remainder of 2020 with a forecast decline of only 1.2% expected by the year-end.

Thermal coal production is expected to grow by 0.5% to 7.05 billion tonnes, while metallurgical coal production is forecast to be flat at 1.1 billion tonnes.

Over the next four years, production of thermal coal is expected to grow at a compound annual rate of 1.9% to reach 7.6 billion tonnes by 2023, due to increasing demand from India and China.

“Across the globe, compared with other commodities coal production is only expected to be marginally affected by the impact of the coronavirus as thermal coal mines are permitted to operate during lockdowns as they are deemed essential to maintain power supplies,” says Vinneth Bajaj, senior mining analyst at GlobalData.

China’s overall annual coal consumption is expected to decline by 0.5%, due to the lockdown of industrial areas with thermal coal consumption falling by around 0.3% in 2020.

Through to 1 March 2020, Chinese coal-fired power plants reported a 3% decline in their coal consumption, with an 8% decline in the country’s power generation during the first two months of 2020.

In India, around 845 million tonnes of coal is expected to be produced in 2020 – an 8.3% increase compared to 2019.

Elsewhere, thermal coal mines in South Africa have been permitted to operate despite the country’s 21-day lockdown.

“Longer term, whilst power demand is growing, we will see coal declining as a proportion of the power generated. At present, 67% and 75% of the electricity in China and India is generated from coal,” Vinneth adds.

“However, both counties have environmental commitments to reduce carbon emissions, and have targeted to reduce these shares to 58.5% and 50% by 2030 respectively.”

A person, who arrived in the home country on the night of March 26 to 27 from Russia and was under quarantine in Selenge aimag, was tested positive to Covid-19. The patient’s first test dated March 28 resulted negative, but the repeated testing on April 8 or after 11 days since his arrival has detected the infection of the novel coronavirus.

General Director of the National Center for Communicable Diseases D.Nyamkhuu said, “The person with Covid-19 was isolated in a separate room as we considered him suspected because he arrived from Russia. Five people who were near the patient were also placed in separate rooms one by one. Currently, the patient has not shown any symptoms. Required measures are being taken.”

The government is responsible for funding the TTPP project, which will be made available from every possible financial sources, including foreign loans, said Minister of Energy Ts.Davaasuren to the press after the cabinet meeting.

In 2018, the government reached an agreement with the Oyu Tolgoi LLC for the construction of the Tavan Tolgoi-based power solution for the Oyu Tolgoi copper-gold mine by June 30, 2023.

In February 2020, Turquoise Hill Resources, an international mining company, who owns 66 percent of the Oyu Tolgoi mine in Mongolia, has submitted a TTPP Feasibility Study, based on a 300 MW coal fired power plant to be located approximately 150 kilometers from the Oyu Tolgoi mine in Tsogttsetsii soum of Umnugobi aimag, with a total project cost estimate of up to USD 924 million.

However, according to Minister Davaasuren, the Oyu Tolgoi’s proposal on the TTPP project with development cost 2-3 times higher than world market prices is financially impossible to be realized. “It also has been considered that the date when Mongolia starts receiving dividends from Oyu Tolgoi could be postponed further due to the high cost of the TTPP construction” added the Minister.

The TTPP project with a payback period of 5 years will cost 30 percent less than Oyu Tolgoi’s proposed investment and the cost of energy generation is estimated to be 50 percent cheaper.

“Considering the fact that the annual spending on power purchase for Oyu Tolgoi from China to support its operations reaches USD 170-200 million and it is calculated to take around five years for the government of Mongolia to recover the cost of TTPP project investment, said Minister Davaasuren.

Once it is built, the TTPP holds a number of advantages of ensuring reliable power supply for the mining industry in southern Mongolia and increasing the economic benefits of the Oyu Tolgoi project by saving coal transportation costs. The state-run TTPP, which will supply electricity to the Oyu Tolgoi mine, will be established at the Erdenes Tavan Tolgoi JSC, government-owned company, reports the Cabinet Secretariat.

The majority of its taxes were paid in Australia ($6.2 billion), home to the largest part of Rio Tinto’s business. The company also made significant payments in Chile ($311 million), Mongolia ($305 million), Canada ($291million), United States ($178 million), the United Kingdom ($117 million) and South Africa ($80 million).

The report also outlines the $45.1 billion direct economic contribution Rio Tinto made in 2019 to the countries and communities where it operates, taking the company’s direct economic contribution since 2015 to $210 billion.

Rio Tinto chief financial officer Jakob Stausholm said: “Our business, including the taxes and royalties we pay, play a critical role in the overall economic health and development of the regions where we operate. The funds we provide to governments and communities support the basic infrastructure of society – bridges and roads, schools and hospitals – as well as other local development priorities, like job creation and skills training. Being transparent about where these payments go helps our stakeholders better understand how these funds may be used.”

Rio Tinto is a founding member of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative and a signatory to the B Team Tax Principles, a not-for-profit initiative formed by a group of cross-sector, cross-regional companies to help define what leadership in responsible tax looks like. (press release)