In Mongolia, the demand for coal is on the rise despite global efforts to reduce reliance on this highly polluting fossil fuel. Mongolia produced 32.3 million metric tonnes of coal in 2021, a 22% increase from the previous year, reaching pre-COVID-19 levels. Coal is not only used for more than 90% of Mongolia’s electricity but also accounts for 30% of its exports.

Government officials in Mongolia have expressed the need to export as much coal as possible to take advantage of this opportunity, and even the country’s environment minister admits that coal will be necessary for the next five to ten years. The natural gas price increase due to the Ukraine-Russia war has led countries like Germany to revert to using coal, further justifying Mongolia’s dependency on it.

Mongolia, with its vast coal reserves of 33.27 billion metric tons, is dubbed “Mine-Golia” as it is poised to meet the growing demand for coal. The country holds more than 2,700 valid mining licenses, covering 5% of its landmass. Plans include establishing more border checkpoints and transportation links with China, its primary coal export destination, to facilitate increased exports.

Despite the economic benefits, coal mining poses significant environmental concerns. Experts point out that mining contributes to water, soil, and air pollution and degradation, affecting herders and their livelihood in the semi-arid grasslands of Mongolia. A recent study found higher rates of soil erosion near mining areas, highlighting the environmental impact.

The reliance on coal has its human costs as well. Independent truckers like Barkhas Buyandavaa, who transports coal on contract, endure difficult working conditions. They drive on unpaved desert roads, often facing breakdowns in remote locations. However, the economic necessity of the job keeps them tied to this hazardous profession.

While the world is moving away from coal, Mongolia remains heavily dependent on it. Efforts to transition to cleaner energy sources are crucial for the country’s sustainable development and to mitigate the environmental and health impacts associated with coal mining and consumption.

Sumiyabazar, Governor of the Capital City and Mayor of Ulaanbaatar, introduced to the City Council Meeting about the issuance of securities of MNT 500 billion and to purchase semi-coked coal and starter from China by MNT 177.5 billion.

B.Choijilsuren, the Minister of Energy, participated in the City Council Meeting and said, “We can’t tell a lie that we will remove air pollution completely. Between December 15 and January 31, firing will be tested. MNT 30 billion out of MNT 177.5 billion will be spent on purchasing starters. Remaining will be purchased for coking coal.

Ulaanbaatar city has a population of 1.6 million. There are many difficulties and challenges. However, it is not the best solution, we only have this solution. And we decided to try it instead of doing nothing. We will test it this winter in Ulaanbaatar. I'm not afraid of testing”

On 11 August, MIAT Mongolian Airlines, the flag carrier of Mongolia, has taken delivery of its first Boeing 787, a 787-9.

The aircraft, registered as EI-MGL, flew from Haikou Meilan International Airport (HAK), China to Ulaanbaatar New International Airport (UBN), where it landed at 10:00 AM local time (UTC +8). UBN is also known as Chinggis Khan International Airport.

This is the airline’s first Boeing 787, which joined its narrow-body fleet, consisting of a single Boeing 767-300ER.

Previously, the aircraft was registered as B-20AF and was operated by Suparna Airlines, which withdrew it from use in August 2022, storing it at Shanghai Pudong International Airport (PVG), according to planespotters.net data. It was moved to HAK in May 2023, before it finally landed at UBN and was transferred to MIAT Mongolian Airlines.

Boeing delivered the aircraft to Suparna Airlines in July 2019.

On August 7, 2023, the airline announced that it and AerCap, an Ireland-based aircraft lessor, has signed an agreement for a long-term lease of two Boeing 787-9s. The second aircraft of the type should be delivered in Q1 2023.

MIAT Mongolian Airlines said that its initial routes using the 787-9 would be to Frankfurt Airport (FRA), Germany, Istanbul Airport (IST), Turkey, and Seoul Incheon International Airport (ICN), South Korea. There are also plans to use the aircraft to operate flights to the United States (US).

In early August 2023, Mongolia and the US signed an Open Skies agreement, which could open the doors to direct flights happening between the two countries starting 2024.

The sun shone brightly on the Ikh Gazriin Chuluu Nature Reserve, bathing the landscape in golden light. Thousands of people gathered for the annual “Sun Over the Placid World” Festival, a celebration of Mongolian folk art. On August 11-12, the Festival was held at the amphitheater in the Ikh Gazriin Chuluu Nature Reserve, which attracts visitors with the towering granite peaks of the Ikh Gazriin Chuluu, big rocks in the background.

Co-organized by the Governor's Office of Dundgobi aimag and the Mongolian Cultural Foundation Norovbanzad, the "Sun Over the Placid World" Festival featured a variety of events, including:

A "Grand Honor" concert by artists from the Dundgobi aimag

Two concerts for children: "Once Upon a Time" and "Children of the Sun"

"Melodies of Nomads" performance in the Ger Museum

Taste of Airag (fermented mare milk) and National Sport-Heritage Festivals - promote Mongolian horsemanship, wrestling, archery, and knucklebone shooting cultures

A cooking show

A photo exhibition by E. Munkhchuluun titled "The Rock Resting in the Steppe"

Visitors’ activities, including horse trekking

The second day of the Festival began with a sunrise welcoming ceremony at the monument dedicated to Legendary N. Norovbanzad, Hero of Labour of Mongolia, People's Artist and Laureate of State Premium, where traditional long-song singers, horsehead fiddlers, and traditional Mongol dancers performed, and when the sun rose over the horizon, the crowd cheered and sang in celebration.

The officials reported that over 3,500 traditional long-song singers and horsehead fiddlers participated in the Festival.

Three suspected cases of bubonic plague have been reported in Mongolia's capital here, the country's National Center for Zoonotic Diseases (NCZD) said Monday.

The suspected cases are people who have recently eaten marmot meat in the eastern provinces of Khentii and Sukhbaatar, the NCZD said, adding that polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests are now being conducted to confirm the diagnosis.

Although hunting marmots is illegal in Mongolia, many Mongolians regard the rodent as a delicacy and ignore the law.

On Aug. 8, one case of bubonic plague was confirmed in Ulan Bator, which is home to over half of the country's 3.4 million population.

Seventeen out of all the 21 Mongolian provinces are now at risk of the bubonic plague, according to the NCZD.

The bubonic plague is a bacterial disease that can be spread by fleas living on wild rodents such as marmots and can kill an adult in less than 24 hours if not treated in time, according to the World Health Organization.

Teams of top managers from Japanese companies arrived in Mongolia. In particular, a team of top managers led by Akira Saito, East Asia Director of Itochu Corporation, was received by the leaders of the Mongolian Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The sides exchanged views on cooperation.

A Japanese business group is studying the Mongolian business environment. The group expressed a desire to import products from Mongolia to Japan during the meeting.

President of the Mongolian Chamber of Commerce and Industry Amartuvshin Otgondavaa named mining and non-mining industry products suitable for export from Mongolia to Japan. Special attention is paid to meat, wool, cashmere, leather, pine nuts and green energy.

China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region confirmed two bubonic plague cases on Saturday, according to the local government.

The two new cases were the husband and daughter of the previous case confirmed on Aug 7, the government of the Sonid Right Banner in Xiliin Gol League said on its official website on Saturday night.

The cases' close contacts have all been brought under quarantine and have not shown any abnormal symptoms as of Saturday.

The major forum of the mineral sector, "Mongolian Mining Week 2023" will be held for the second year in Ulaanbaatar on October 9-13.

The event to be organized jointly by the Ministry of Mining and Heavy Industry and the National Mining Association of Mongolia will discuss the policy reforms of the sector and the reform of the investment environment, which are included in the "Vision-2050" development document and the "New Revival Policy" implemented by the Government.

Last year, for the first time in Mongolia, participants from all levels of the mineral sector gathered for five days to stimulate the development of the industry, attract foreign investors, support domestic enterprises, and add strength and leverage to Government policies. They discussed many pressing issues of the sector with the participation of all level organizations to determine the competitiveness of the industry, develop products that meet global trends and market demand, ensure the participation of citizens and communities in the policy decisions of the Government, seek joint solutions, restore a favorable investment environment, and accelerate legal reforms, and determined the direction.

The Ministry of Mining and Heavy Industry reports that their policy is aimed at supporting responsible mining, consistently protecting interests of law-abiding domestic and foreign investors, cooperate with private sector by giving opportunities and confidence, and raising responsibility, and increasing competitive edge of the sector.

“The period of the Mongol Empire is the most important stage for the formation of the Eurasian civilization. The Mongol Empire contributed to the development of ethno-cultural processes in Eurasia thanks not only to trade, but also to cultural exchanges, leasing of technologies and intellectual interaction between the peoples of Eurasia, as well as the synthesis of nomadic and sedentary civilizations,” underscored Dr. Oleg Lushnikov, Director of the Center for Eurasian Research of Russia in his presentation “The Great Mongol Empire as the World-System of the Middle Ages and Its Contribution to the Foundation of Eurasian Integration” at XII International Congress of Mongolists in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.

“The period of the Mongol Empire is the most important stage for the formation of the Eurasian civilization. It was a very large-scale integration process covering the entire period of Antiquity and the Middle Ages. For us it is also the foundation as to formulate certain basic principles of the Eurasian integration in the 21st century. At present, the world-system approach is the most promising methodology for describing large-scale historical processes, for identification and explanation of the patterns of economic and political cycles. Moreover, it must be mentioned that this paradigm has all the prospects to use a rigorous apparatus of exact sciences for constructing mathematical models of systems of different levels – from mini-systems to the global world-system.”

“The world-system is a set of systems of societies united by close economic ties, acting as specific evolving units, but not always merged into a particular political formation. Trade communications connect different regions and cultures, and form a common macroeconomic area. Even more changes occurred after the crusades and the rise of the Great Mongol Empire in the XIII century. Thus, we can speak about the creation of the "Eurasian world-system ".

“The Mongols formed a largest ancient network of trade and economic routes from China to Europe, the Silk Road. They contributed to the growth of transcontinental trade, the influx of innovations in Europe, and the inclusion of India in closer relations with other parts of the world-system (due to the Islamization in the era of the Great Moghuls and the growth of the East-West spice trade). The Pax Mongolica crisis and the disintegration of the Mongol Empire resulted eventually from the Black Death pandemic and the formation of the Ottoman Empire that had blocked the Levantine spice trade. Those factors facilitated the search for sea routes to India and the development of new technologies and mercantilism, a precursor of capitalism in Europe, which led to the creation of the “European Center" world-system in the XVI-XIX centuries.”

“Рах Mongolica between 1250 and 1350 was not only trade relations, but also intercultural exchange, leasing of technologies, and intellectual interaction of the peoples in Eurasia. There was a synthesis of nomadic and sedentary civilizations.

The culture and science, the literature and art of the peoples of the Mongolosphere had been further developed. Medicine, history, mathematics, astrology and science prospered in the cities of the Mongol Empire. Moreover, Muslim doctors and astronomers from Iran worked at the Yuan court in Khanbalik, and Chinese experts transferred their knowledge to the peoples in the Middle East. Persian miniature and Yuan painting occupy a special place in the imperial cultural heritage. Prestigious products manifested the imperial culture most vividly as well as the nobility's clothing: costumes, paizis, waistbands, weapons, horse harness, accessories, and even hairstyles.”

“In general, it is plain to see the magnificent culture of the Mongol Empire absorbed the traditions of the cultures of all the imperial peoples, all the richness of the steppe nomadic (Mongolian, Kipchak, Kimak, et cetera), Muslim (Bulgar, Khorezm, Iranian), Central Asia and Far East elements of material and artistic culture,” noted Dr. Oleg Lushnikov.

XII International Congress of Mongolists is convening for the third day today in Ulaanbaatar and will be closed tomorrow evening.

Fossils are found everywhere around Wyoming, but finding a Mongolian dinosaur in a Cowboy State rock shop is unique.

And illegal.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security held a repatriation ceremony at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., this week to return a collection of Mongolian fossils to that country. One of those fossils was the rare skull of a Tarbosaurus bataar, a Tyrannosaurus relative found in a Wyoming rock shop.

Thomas Holtz, Ph.D., is the principal lecturer on vertebrate paleontology at the University of Maryland and one of the world's foremost experts on Tyrannosaurus and its relatives. While thousands of miles part, Mongolia and Wyoming are both sparsely populated and rich in dinosaur fossils, he said.

"Mongolia regards fossils as part of their national heritage and not as minerals or trophies to be extracted and sold,” he told Cowboy State Daily. "Its huge size and low population make their territories hard to patrol. So, they still suffer from poaching of their natural resources.

"Thankfully, the last decade has seen a pattern where law enforcement, customs officials, and scientists around the world are more diligent so that stolen fossils might be returned to Mongolia.”

So how did a smuggled Mongolian fossil end up with a price tag in Wyoming?

A complete Tarbosaurus skeleton. This specimen was sold by Heritage Auctions for more than $1 million before becoming the object of United States v. One Tyrannosaurus Bataar Skeleton, a contentious case that ultimately decided to void the sale and return the skeleton to Mongolia.

Homeland Security Investigations hasn't shared much information on any of the fossils. But when the agency got word that a Tarbosaurus skull was on display in a Wyoming retail shop, it launched an investigation.

Tarbosaurus is a meat-eating dinosaur so similar to Tyrannosaurus rex, it was once thought to be a different species of the same animal. Both lived during the Late Cretaceous Period in Asia and North America, respectively.

Several Tarbosaurus fossils have turned up in the United States, but all have been returned to the people of Mongolia, usually accompanied by criminal charges for those responsible for smuggling or selling the fossils.

The provenance of this Tarbosaurus skull hasn't been disclosed, but it definitely didn't belong in a Wyoming shop. The only explanation officials have given is that the fossil had been illegally smuggled out of Mongolia.

In 2012, investigators began a cultural property investigation to look into the Wyoming skull. Earlier that year, Homeland Security in New York initiated its own investigation after learning a U.S. auction house was planning a sale of Mongolian fossils.

Investigators in New York, Wyoming, and Arizona collaborated on 12 investigations to seize several Mongolian fossils and prosecute those responsible. The Tarbosaurus skull in Wyoming was included in the seizure.

Other fossils seized through the investigations include complete skeletons of Tarbosaurus and Gallimimus (the ostrich-like dinosaur that appears in “Jurassic Park”), a skull from the duck-billed hadrosaur Saurolophus, and several dinosaur nests and eggs.

At least one person pleaded guilty to criminal counts of illegal importation of dinosaur fossils.

An Important Fossil

The repatriation ceremony included the first public display of the incredible specimens, including the Tarbosaurus skull. But one of the more significant specimens on display was the skull of Alioramus, another Mongolian relative of Tyrannosaurus.

Homeland Security calls the skull "one of the best-preserved fossils ever found" of the 70 million-year-old dinosaur.

Holtz is happy this rare specimen will be returned to Mongolia, where it will be available for scientific research. Tarbosaurus fossils are more common, but even common fossils have enormous scientific potential.

"Alioramus is still only poorly understood," Holtz said. “So new fossils will help us to better understand the anatomy, ecology, and evolutionary relationships of this distinctive dinosaur. And while Tarbosaurus fossils are more common, their abundance means we can study this dinosaur in more detail to understand its biology."

The skull of the Tyrannosaurus relative, Alioramus. Now that this skull, “one of the best-preserved fossils ever found” of this rare dinosaur, will now be available for paleontologists to study as they learn more about the tyrannosaur family tree.

Fossils from Mongolia's Gobi Desert are legendary for their exquisite preservation.

Dinosaurs were frequently unexpectedly buried in sandstorms or under collapsing dunes. The sudden death and immediate burial led to phenomenal preservation.

The beauty of Mongolian fossils also makes them desired by international collectors. Despite international law, specimens have been illegally excavated, smuggled out of Mongolia, and sold on the black market or through private vendors.

Dinosaur eggs are among the most common Mongolian dinosaur fossils that show up for sale. The first dinosaur eggs ever found were discovered during a 1925 expedition to the Gobi Desert by the American Museum of Natural History in New York, New York.

Author Paige Williams published “The Dinosaur Artist: Obsession, Betrayal, and the Quest for Earth's Ultimate Trophy,” a book about a similar situation where a Tarbosaurus skeleton was auctioned off in the United States before being seized and returned to Mongolia.

While these dramatic cases of fossil seizure make great stories and headlines, Holtz says many people are being proactive by willingly returning fossils to Mongolia.

"While this case required the intervention of law enforcement, there have been several cases of voluntary Mongolian fossil repatriation, where the buyer wasn't aware of the illegal status of their purchase and were convinced that the right thing to do was to return these specimens to the nation to which they belong," Holtz said.

In the US, Finders Keepers

In the United States, while there are strict laws regarding fossils found on public land, any fossils found on private land are the property of landowners. They can choose to do anything they'd like with their property, which is why so many dinosaurs and other fossils found in Wyoming end up in museums and private collections in other states and nations.

Unlike the United States, Mongolia has patrimony laws that declare all fossils found in the nation rightfully belong to the people and government. Because of this, it is illegal for any fossils to be exported from the country without permission.

And all the fossils in the repatriated collection were illegally imported into the United States, and each was either part of a private collection, on the auction block, or waiting to be sold.

Several American T. rex fossils have taken up international residency, but Mongolian Tarbosaurus fossils belong in Mongolia. And the U.S. government says it will ensure all Mongolian dinosaurs find their way home, even if they end up in the wilderness of Wyoming.

Andrew Rossi can be reached at: Arossi@CowboyStateDaily.com