New Sainshand-Altanshiree rail carries first passengers www.montsame.mn

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/. It has been recently reported that a construction of railroad between Sainshand city of Dornogobi aimag and Altanshiree soum has completed. Last weekend, the first passenger train ran on the newly-commissioned 27,7 km long railway. The railroad was built to reach Altanshiree soum, where the first oil refinery of Mongolia with a capacity of 1.5 million tons per year is currently being developed.

Tavantolgoi-Zuunbayan railway construction goes smoothly www.montsame.mn

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/. Last weekend, President of Mongolia Kh.Battulga worked in Dornogobi to become acquainted with the development works of Tavantolgoi-Zuunbayarn railroad, being built in Mandakh soum of the aimag. As reflected in a document “State Policy on Railway”, a 414.6 km long road from Tavantolgoi coal mine in Tsogttsegtsii soum of Umnugobi aimag to Zuunbayan, Dornogobi aimag is presently under construction. Thanks to the railway, Tavantolgoi’s coking coal’s sole market dependency will end and around 40 deposits along the railway line, that are not under exploitation yet, will be utilized and their products will be supplied to international buyers at international market price. Also, the railway expected to help reduce widespread problems, such as degradation of pastureland, dust and soil pollution and bring positive social and economic changes to the food, agriculture and tannery industries.

Corresponding officials reported to the President that the railway construction project is continuing without hindrance. Personnel of the General Staff of the Mongolian Armed Forces and 7781st military unit of the Mongolian army are taking part in the construction works with 8 companies as sub-contractors and 4 companies of geology and geodetic control using around 210 machinery and equipment.

D.Sumiyabazar, Minister of Mining and Heavy Industry, who accompanied the President to Dundgobi aimag, noted that there are 37 deposits of mineral resources of special license along the 30 km long area of the Tavantolgoi- Zuunbayan railway, including Tavantolgoi coal mine, Kharmagtai copper-gold mine, Manlai coal mine as well as Kharaat Mountain, Tukhum and Dadiin Khar Mountain and Dulaan mountain with coal, copper, gold and gypsum resources. According to the Minister, total value of the deposits mentioned here reaches MNT 6 billion. Therefore, he said that the new railway will not only carry coals from the Tavantolgoi deposit, but also it will allow transportation from other deposits in the area in order to put them into economic circulation.

During the construction project, a total of 3700 people are estimated to be provided with employment and 1352 machinery to be used. Furthermore, 10 thousand people and their families will earn income from supply of materials, techniques, drinking water and food throughout the project period.

During his working trip in Dornogobi, President Kh.Battulga also visited the construction site of a 15 km long railroad in Zuunbayan and an extension of Zuunbayan station, a part of the Tavantolgoi-Zuunbayan railway construction. The extension is being built at the Zuunbayan station as the railway to Tavantolgoi will be connected to the rail line at 49.4 km line of the Zuunbayan station. The extension work is being performed by military personnel of the 7781st unit of the army.

The military unit crew working at the building site told that they have done excavation and earthworks on 59040 m3 land, over-fulfilling the scheduled works to 127 percent. Minister of Road and Transport Development B.Enkh-Amgalan said “Military troops’ highly effective and responsible organization has had a great influence on the advancement in the construction. Some technical issues related to the construction will be discussed at a cabinet meeting next week”.

At the end of his visit to the construction sites, President Kh.Battulga expressed his gratitude toward every person taking part in the development works and requested them to finish the project on time.

160 Mongolian students graduate from Cuban Universities www.news.mn

More than a hundred Mongolian youngsters have graduated from higher education institutions in Cuba, the Cubaminrex website reported.

Mongolia's photojournalism program attracts 20 from 6 countries www.xinhuanet.com

ULAN BATOR, Aug. 12 (Xinhua) -- More than 20 domestic and foreign photojournalists from six countries are taking part in an international photojournalism program, which kicked off here on Monday.

Cashmere’s journey from Mongolia to Multrees Walk www.heraldscotland.com

THE marriage between Mongolia and Multrees Walk - the Edinburgh avenue where Harvey Nichols and Louis Vuitton are neighbours - has to be sustainable, says Simon Cotton.

The chief executive of the luxury knitwear firm Johnstons of Elgin - which has just opened a flagship store in the Scottish capital’s exclusive shopping precinct - has set up a critical link between its mills and the cashmere farmers of Mongolia who supply the raw materials for their products that are sold under their own brand and for names like Burberry, another Multrees neighbour.

The 222-year-old firm is also investing in its Scottish future with a new £500,000 development centre set to open in Hawick later this year where it will centralise the design of new techniques and new types of fabric.

Mr cotton, 49, said there is growth across the company, which now has five stores in the UK, with others located on London’s Bond Street, in mills in Hawick and Elgin, and in St Andrews, and a further store could follow.

He said: “There’s two sides to our business. We have our own brand, and that’s about a third of our turnover.

“We have the private label business where we manufacture for other brands. Both sides have been growing.

“On the private label side, it’s been about having fantastic relationships with the best brands in the world, which we are doing very well, and we make iconic products for them, which the customers want.”

The firm tends not to mention private clients but customers such as Burberry are happy to make the association in their accounts.

“On the brand side, it has been very much about that new consumer interest in authenticity, and brands that have a provenance and a history.”

The firm sources merino wool mostly from Australia and cashmere from China, Mongolia and Afghanistan.

He said: “I was involved in the setting up of an organisation called the Sustainable Fibre Alliance.

“Ourselves and a few other companies set this up to work in Mongolia particularly on the sustainability of cashmere, and just making sure that the nomadic herders that produce it are able to deal with issues like the challenges of global warming, because they’ve got warming there of 2.8C.

“That’s affecting the grassland, increasing animal numbers are affecting the grassland. The nomadic herding practices that have been in place for centuries really now have to deal with a lot of new challenges.

“Cashmere is a great, romantic story. You know, wild goats roaming the grasslands and all that stuff. But if we want that to be around for the next 100 years, we’ve got to support the people and the supply chain.”

Claimed as a world first, it has introduced lighter weight technology which it says allows customers to wear knitted products year round.

Last year the company committed £4.5 million, an 800 per cent increase from 2012, to introducing its new technology and R&D capabilities.

Owned by the Johnstons for the first four generations and then the Harrison family since 1920, it last year booked £9.9m, profit before tax, a 59% increase year-on-year.

The firm employs 1,000 over its Hawick and Elgin mills, and is responsible for one third of Scotland’s textile apprentices.

It again looks to the future by running school visits, with 2,500 children seeing the mills each year. “They’ll do tours, but they’ll also do face to face interviews with young people in the company. They’ll do hands-on projects as well. So really, it’s trying to engage with the next generation and let them see that textiles is a vibrant industry with a good future, which has not always been how it’s been portrayed.

“Obviously the industry as a whole has gone through some decline for a period of time, but there’s now definitely a resurgence as people get much more interested in things like authenticity and how things are made, who’s making the products, and things like that.”

The company says it has the most advanced weaving looms and knitting machines in the UK.

Mr Cotton said: “We’ve invested a lot in finer gauges for the weaving and the knitting. That’s to give us a more international appeal, more year-round appeal, and broaden our products, so it means that we can remain relevant to the private label customers regardless of what their fashion cycle does. But it also means that from our own brand, we can give a much wider range of products.

“The technology and investment in machinery certainly is part of it. Take, for example, the fine gauge knitwear, which we’ve developed, so a really fine knit where you can wear it under a suit jacket. We developed that with whole garment technology, so basically very little sewing required. It’s a product which is made almost entirely on a single machine. We did that in collaboration with a very high end, very well respected yarn spinner in Italy, and the Japanese technology leader in the sector, Shima Seiki. You needed all three parties to do that. Just buying the machinery on its own was certainly never going to get us there.

“We’re in the process of launching our innovation centre in October in Hawick, where we’ll have all our design team, all the technical developers, all our programmers together under one roof. The magic happens when you’ve got designers and technical people working together, and then you can do things which maybe can’t be done if you’re designing in one office and sending things down the modem to another office.”

He said so far Multrees Walk living up to expectations and some international shoppers are “engaged by the idea that there’s actually a Scottish luxury brand which can sit beside the Louis Vuittons and the Burberrys and the Max Maras very comfortably”.

Q&A

Q What countries have you most enjoyed travelling to, for business or leisure, and why?

A I have a particular fondness for Mongolia. Alongside two other companies, Johnstons was the original member of the Sustainable Fibre Alliance, which works with the nomadic herders in Mongolia to improve all aspects of the sustainability of cashmere production.

Q When you were a child, what was your ideal job? Why did it appeal?

A I don’t think I had a clear idea until I was in my mid-30s and realised I had the opportunity to lead a business.

Q What was your biggest break in business?

I joined Russell Europe Ltd as a marketing manager and, although incredibly hard at the time, I learnt very quickly as part of that process, and when we did achieve the turnaround it was extremely satisfying.

Q And your worst moment?

A For my first MD role in 2007 I took over a company that had never made a profit. I learned a lot about the value of “lean” in manufacturing and how to balance the need to fill factories with the need to stay profitable.

Q Who do you most admire and why?

A My wife runs a charity that brings to Scotland children from the areas of Belarus affected by the Chernobyl disaster. Somehow she manages to completely energise herself to work with the charity and can make some incredibly tough decisions when necessary.

Q What book are you reading, what music are you listening to?

A I am reading Alistair Gray’s new book The Game Changer and listening to a young local musician called Calum Jones – he has a fantastic future.

Q What was the last film you saw?

A My son Seth took me to see Spider-man: Into 
The Spider-Verse. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Mongolia to host festival as reindeer population increases www.theasian.asia

Ulaanbaatar: Mongolia will hold a two-day festival next week to celebrate the latest increase in the number of reindeer in the country.

Gold purchase drops 20 percent www.zgm.mn

Mongolia’s gold purchase has decreased 20 percent compared to the previous year, according to the Bank of Mongolia (BoM). As of June, BoM purchased 7.5 tons of gold, down by 1.8 tons year-on-year. The Central Bank’s fulfillment of gold purchase reached 30 percent in the second quarter of 2019.

US-Mongolia relations lack healthy balance www.globaltimes.cn

Mongolian President Khaltmaa Battulga met US President Donald Trump at the White House on July 31. During the state visit, the White House said, "The US and Mongolia have agreed that their relationship has reached the level of a 'strategic partnership.'" On Thursday, US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper was in Mongolia where he met high-ranking Mongolian leaders. Why have Ulaanbaatar and Washington become closer recently?

As tension increases with China and Russia, US frequent interactions with Mongolia could be regarded as an attempt to create more pressure for Beijing and Moscow.

Following its democratic transition, Mongolia has shown a willingness to become a liberal and democratic country with the US as its role model. This is in line with US strategy and provides room for Washington to export its ideology and values to Ulaanbaatar, which aimed at Beijing and Moscow.

As the China-US trade war continues to escalate, reports say that China could slash its rare-earth exports to the US as a countermeasure. According to the US Geological Survey in 2009, Mongolia had 31 million tons of rare-earth resources, 16.77 percent of the world's total and second only to China.

Boosting ties with Mongolia could be a way for the US to show China it has found an alternative country that can meet its rare-earth demands. This would reduce US reliance on China in this regard.

By strengthening ties with Mongolia, the US is also attempting to upgrade Mongolia's status in Northeast Asia, giving Washington another channel to deal with the Korean Peninsula nuclear crisis. Mongolia has maintained solid relations with all countries in the region including North Korea, with few historical or territorial issues. Ulaanbaatar wants stronger ties with Washington to earn more respect in the region, at least from Tokyo and Seoul.

Moving closer to the US, Mongolia can reduce its security reliance on China and Russia.

Mongolia proposed a "third neighbor" policy in 1990, aiming to build relationships with countries other than Russia and China, and formalized its foreign policy and legislation. Mongolia has been seeking to reduce its political, economic, and security reliance on the two giant neighbors by this "third neighbor" foreign policy.

As a superpower, the US has been Mongolia's most valuable "third neighbor." In Northeast Asia, Japan and South Korea are Mongolia's "third neighbors" in an economic sense.

Since Mongolia's democratic transition, China has been Mongolia's biggest partner in trade and investment. By cooperating with Japan and South Korea in investment, technology and trade, Mongolia wants to make its economy less reliant on China and Russia.

Beginning in 2000, the US began attaching great importance to Mongolia through people-to-people exchange and cooperation. Washington will continue to infiltrate Ulaanbaatar with its ideology, grooming officials in line with US values.

In the short term, however, it will be difficult for Mongolia to change its interdependent ties with China. As long as the two countries respect the core interests of each other, their bilateral cooperation in politics, economy, culture and military under the framework of China-Russia-Mongolia Economic Corridor and the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) will advance steadily. The border region between the two countries will remain stable and usher in continued development.

The US-launched trade war against China has influenced global economic development.

Washington's unilateralism has not received widespread approval from the international community, while China's BRI and proposal for a community of shared future for mankind have gained global acceptance.

The US development model has encountered multiple challenges and now Mongolia must make a rational stance between the two giants.

The author is director of the Russia and Mongolia research institute of the Inner Mongolia Academy of Social Science. opinion@globaltimes.com.cn

Rio asks Mongolia for clarity as funding challenge mounts www.afr.com

Securing funds to cover billion-dollar cost blowouts on Rio Tinto's Mongolian copper project will be difficult unless lawmakers in the country clarify their stance toward the project, according to the man in charge of the mine.

The comments from Oyu Tolgoi LLC chief Armando Torres came as an outspoken investor in the struggling Mongolian project reduced its exposure, and as Rio and BHP's plan to build a new copper mine in the US state of Arizona took a step forward.

The busy time for Rio's copper division comes as Rio chief executive Jean-Sebastien Jacques travels to Western Australia this week to inspect efforts to recover from poor performance at the Brockman mines this year.

A $US5.3 billion ($7.8 billion) underground expansion of Oyu Tolgoi is now expected to cost between $US6.5 billion and $US7.2 billion on the back of major delays and a design rethink.

Rio and its partners in the mine have started talking to lenders about increasing the existing $US4.4 billion finance package for the project, but Mr Torres indicated that could be difficult amid the uncertainty created by a review of the project agreements by Mongolian parliamentarians.

The parliamentarians are examining multiple aspects of Mongolia's relationship with Rio and the mine, which was formalised in major agreements in 2009 and 2015.

Speaking at a press conference in Mongolia on Thursday evening, Mr Torres urged the parliamentarians to clarify their stance swiftly.

“Timing is of the essence because we need to go to markets,” Mr Torres was quoted as saying by Bloomberg.

''Without conclusions, it’s difficult to secure additional funds.”

Oyu Tolgoi LLC is a Mongolian company that directly owns the mine. It is 66 per cent owned by Canadian company Turquoise Hill Resources, which itself is 50.79 per cent owned by Rio.

While Rio, Turquoise Hill and Oyu Tolgoi LLC are expected to make use of extra debt, the scale of the cost blowouts has raised fears that Turquoise Hill may have to conduct a dilutive equity raising.

Those fears have sparked a savage slump in Turquoise Hill shares, which have lost 81.5 per cent of their value over the past year, and on Friday were trading at their lowest price since December 2000.

Minority shareholders have been frustrated by the level of control Rio wields at Turquoise Hill, and the most outspoken minority shareholder, Sailingstone Capital, has been selling significant amounts of Turquoise Hill shares over the past year.

Regulatory filings suggest Sailingstone held 258.1 million shares in Turquoise Hill on August 31, 2018, but that stake had fallen to 146 million by July 31, with the bulk of the selling occurring within the past five months.

Sailingstone's stake in Turquoise Hill is now 7.26 per cent, according to Bloomberg data.

Rio is hoping to build a copper mine of similar size to the expanded Oyu Tolgoi mine in the US state of Arizona, and those plans took a step forward over the weekend with the publication of a long-awaited environmental impact statement (EIS) for the Resolution copper project.

Rio owns 55 per cent of Resolution, with BHP owning the other 45 per cent, and the project aims to mine a deep underground deposit close to the historic Magma copper mine that BHP acquired in 1996.

The EIS claimed the project would "increase average annual economic value added in Arizona by about $US1 billion", and said it would deliver annual revenues of about $US200 million to the US federal government.

Resolution is expected to produce 40 billion pounds of copper in concentrate over 40 years, including molybdenum byproducts, via a panel cave more than 2000 metres underground.

If the mine produced at a consistent rate over those 40 years, annual production would be about 450,000 tonnes per year.

The project will partially occur on lands that are sacred to traditional landowners in the region, and the EIS suggests some historical artefacts and human burial grounds could be disturbed by the mine.

US presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders has been a vocal opponent of the project, and earlier this year helped to introduce legislation that would reverse a land swap struck under the Obama administration that was crucial for the project to proceed.

Public hearings into the Resolution Copper EIS will begin next month, and US regulators are scheduled to deliver a draft decision in mid 2020.

A final decision from the regulators is expected around Christmas 2020, meaning the project will not have secured permitting when Americans go to the polls for the 2020 presidential election.

While it is not the operator of the Resolution project, BHP told investors in May that it does not expect "execution" of the project within five years.

BHP said it expected its share of capital spending on Resolution to be less than $US3 billion,

With an expected rate of return of about 15 per cent, BHP said Resolution was a relatively "low risk, low return" project with ''attractive'' copper grades.

Copper was fetching $US2.59 per pound on Sunday.

Tank biathlon semi-finals: Russia, Venezuela, Mongolia and Belarus battle it out in Alabino www.live.ruptly.tv

The Army Game’s Tank biathlon semi-finals continue in Alabino on Monday, August 12, as Mongolia, Russia, Belarus and Venezuela compete to show their abilities in different skills, such as driving and firing.