Exports via the border points of Gashuunsukhait, Shiveekhuren, Bichigt and Bulgan will all be stopped, the commission said. The body is also recommending that Mongolia’s Tsagaan Sar new year celebrations be suspended, it said.

Mongolia has already stopped any foreign national from entering the country via China. The country has not yet reported any cases of infection.

Reporting by Suvdantstseg Tsagaanbaatar; Writing by David Stanway; Editing by Alex Richardson

Our Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

The perpetrator from Ulaanbaatar posted on Facebook that first coronavirus case was confirmed in Mongolia on January 25.

In order to combat fake news, amendment to article 6.21 of the criminal code of Mongolia was made so that the perpetrator was fined.

As of February 10, no coronavirus case was confirmed in Mongolia according to officials.

"Different routes of the line are currently discussed, including via Mongolia, which demonstrates interest in the project. An assessment of feasibility of pipeline deliveries of gas from Russia to China across the territory of this country is currently underway," Novak said.

The Russian Ministry of Energy and Gazprom were instructed to set up a working group to prepare a feasibility study of a gas pipeline via Mongolia to China, the Russian government official said in December of the last year.

“The total in-country spend has substantially contributed to the country’s economic development through taxes, fees, national and local procurement, salaries and other contributions provided to communities and the society during the past 10 years.” the Oyu Tolgoi’s press release reads.

“For instance, 76 percent of the total spend has been with the purchase of goods and services from hundreds and hundreds of Mongolian suppliers. Oyu Tolgoi has worked collaboratively with national and local suppliers to increase capability and capacity to ensure the highest international standards.”

Armando Torres, CEO of Oyu Tolgoi said, “We have invested heavily in building and developing the capacity of our national and local supply chain. For example, if you look at a typical employee at the Oyu Tolgoi site, their uniforms are manufactured by a sewing factory operating in Khanbogd, their gloves are made in Dalanzagdad; and, their work boots were made in Ulaanbaatar. Our copper concentrate is packed in bags made in Manlai soum and Ulaanbaatar, and loaded onto trucks operated by local transportation companies.”

The company has made a significant investment in people through not only employment but also the development of human capital. Over 93 percent of Oyu Tolgoi’s workforce are Mongolian nationals, who are professionals and young graduates from universities and colleges. Many national employees have been given the opportunity to work at Rio Tinto operations in Australia, the United States, UK, Canada, and Singapore.

“We are building the next generation of mining expertise to contribute to Mongolia’s competitiveness,” said Mr. Torres.

The Umnugobi community, in the region whereby the mine is located, has benefited through the investment in infrastructure and social development programmes. Oyu Tolgoi has funded and built -together with community partners - key infrastructure such as an airport, roads, schools and kindergartens, community facilities, power, water treatment and heating infrastructure in the province.

When the underground part of the mine is completed, Oyu Tolgoi will be the third largest copper and gold mine in the world. In terms of its safety and productivity, the company is already recognized as a globally leading competitive Mongolian business.

Researcher L.Dugerjav thanked the Ministry of Environment and Tourism for providing financial assistance for the establishment of Mongolian Antarctic research station. “Only 29 of the 54 countries that perform research in Antarctica have research stations on the continent. Mongolia is setting up its station on Livingston Island together with accommodation for six persons, while carrying out geological mapping and installing an automatic weather station,” he said.

Expressing his pleasure at the establishment of research station, Minister N.Tserenbat undertook to support the researchers involved in their future endeavors.

The 27-year-old N.Tugstsogt, who fights out of Los Angeles, competed for his first world title in just his 12th pro fight and combines a legitimate amateur pedigree with heavy hands and an aggressive style.

Russell (31-1, 18 KO) won on scores of 115:113 against King Tug (11-1, 9 KO).

“The following restrictions, effective from February 5 until March 2, 2020, are being imposed on foreign nationals and stateless persons who visit Mongolia in accordance with the resolution No.39 of January 31, 2020 by the Government of Mongolia and the State Emergency Commission’s decision of February 5, 2020.”

- Foreign nationals and stateless persons, who have not travelled to/or arriving from the territories of the People’s Republic of China (including Hongkong, Macao and Taiwan) after January 1, 2020, and those possessing valid Mongolian visas (does not apply to visa-free countries), are allowed entry into Mongolia through Buyant-Ukhaa airport (Chingis Khaan International Airport) as normal.

- Visa applicants, who meet the abovementioned requirement, may obtain Mongolian visas as normal at the Mongolian Diplomatic missions.

The abovementioned information was notified to IATA and the airline companies operating in Mongolia.

MFA Mongolia

Former ExxonMobil, Shell and Total executive Daniel Worrall has been appointed as the mining company's chief executive and country director for Mongolia, which hosts the company's most important growth asset, the Oyu Tolgoi copper, gold and silver mine.

Mr Worrall's appointment fills a vacuum that has existed for almost a year since Mongolian national Munkhtushig Dul stepped down as the company's top representative in the nation.

Mr Worrall has spent the past decade with Exxon, and between 2014 and 2017 was part of the oil giant's government relations team in Papua New Guinea overseeing the start of the massive PNG LNG gas project.

Prior to that he was responsible for government and stakeholder relations across Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan for Royal Dutch Shell and Total.

That experience in jurisdictions prone to "resource nationalism" will come in handy in Mongolia, where politicians regularly talk up their desire for taxpayers to have a greater share of wealth from Oyu Tolgoi.

Not surprisingly the mine is always politically contentious, and Mr Worrall joins Rio just months before parliamentary elections in mid-2020.

2019 was a testing year for Rio's relationship with the Mongolian government, meaning the lack of a dedicated country leader was far from ideal.

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Rio announced massive cost and schedule blowouts on the underground expansion of Oyu Tolgoi in July, and those blowouts negatively affect the timing and size of dividends the Mongolian government will receive from the mine.

Rio also had to deal with a Mongolian administrative court making a non-binding ruling that a crucial 2015 investment agreement was not valid.

The Mongolian Parliament also spent much of 2019 working on suggested reforms to Rio's Oyu Tolgoi investment agreements, and by December the Mongolian government had signalled it may be willing to exchange its 34 per cent equity stake in the mine for higher royalty rates.

The Mongolian government has also placed a 12-month moratorium on the issuance of new mineral exploration licences, in a blow for those trying to discover the next generation of copper and gold deposits.

Rio's exposure to Oyu Tolgoi comes through its 50.79 per cent stake in Canadian company Turquoise Hill Resources.

Turquoise Hill owns 66 per cent of the Mongolian company that owns the mine.