Proposed in August 2018, the so-called East Asian Railway Initiative aims to lay the foundation for cross-border reconciliation as well as boosting economies and security in the region. The targeted countries are the two Koreas, Mongolia, China, Russia and Japan.

KRNA said its chairman and CEO Kim Sang-gyun met President Khaltmaagiin Battulga and other top Mongolian officials, to talk about the "realization" of Moon's initiative.

Kim's meetings with Mongolian leaders were part of his two-nation trip, including Russia, from April 19 to 26.

"Mongolia, located at the heart of the Eurasian continent, is a core partner country of the New Northern Policy," Kim said. "It is expected that a further step toward the realization of the East Asian Railway Initiative will be made soon and a wide range of exchanges of railway technology between the two countries will be incorporated in the coming months."

Kim also met Minister of Mongolian Road and Transport Enk Amgalan and Mongolian Railways President Senggel Volt.

Kim agreed to form a working-level committee to strengthen cooperation with Amgalan, while signing a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Volt.

The MOU includes construction and engineering of the Mongolian Railway Development Master Plan established in 2010, and exchanges of railway technology and personnel.

Accordingly, KRNA will help build the 247-kilometer Tavan Tolgoi-Gashuun Sukhait Railway and the 414.6-kilometer Tavan Tolgoi-Zuunbayan Railway.

KRNA will also co-host the Mongolian Railway Academy with the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) to train railway experts in Mongolia.

Kim took a trial ride on a Trans-Mongolian Railway train and a Trans-Siberian Railway train.

On his way home, he stopped at Khasan and Vladivostok in the Russian Far East.

In August 2018, President Moon said the railroad community would lead to greater cooperation among the concerned nations, comparing it to the European Coal and Steel Community that laid the foundations for the European Union.

He reiterated his visions for improving inter-Korean ties and economic cooperation, saying that improving inter-Korean relations was a "catalyst for denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula."

In April, the Darkhan-Uul and Bayankhongor branches of the BoM bought 9 kg and 3 kg of gold respectively. The gold purchase increased since the adoption of the bill on amendments to the Law on Mineral Resources at the irregular session of the Parliament. Gold royalty was increased from 2.5 to 5 percent.

Throughout April, average price for a gram of gold stood at MNT 108,757.

Within the project funded by the Rotary Foundation of Rotary International, India's specialized and experienced physicians will conduct training on on-site surgery, diagnosis and modern trend of surgical services in collaboration with professional team of the hospital.

This collaborative activity, aiming to improve capacity of surgical services in Mongolia, is being held for the second time at this hospital. The Indian physicians will work at the hospital until May 16.

The report showed that Alibaba's brand value has grown 136 percent over the past five years in BrandZ's Top 100, “outperforming the Top 100 overall which increased 92 percent over the same period.”

Since first appearing in the ranking in 2015 following its IPO, Alibaba's rise to the number one spot in 2019 reflects the growth of a brand which has contributed to transformational changes in the Chinese market,” it said.

Alibaba was followed by investment conglomerate Tencent, which increased to $138 billion in value. Huawei, Baidu and JD were also among the 10 most valuable Chinese brands in the rating.

“China's stock market volatility over the past year has provided a real-life stress test for valuable brands, which continued to outperform the market. Put simply, valuable brands deliver superior shareholder returns..,” said David Roth, CEO of WPP Global Retail Business.

He added that “the threshold to enter the BrandZ China Top 100 has more than doubled from $311 million in 2018 to $681 million in 2019.” That has demonstrated the continued pace of growth for Chinese brands increasingly recognized as leading the way in innovation, according to Roth.

“Against a backdrop of heightened competition and disruption, building stronger brands is what it takes to stay in the game,” he said.

The report noted vast potential for further brand growth overseas “as China moves beyond the industrial focus of its Belt and Road initiative” towards establishing leadership in areas including artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, Internet of Things (IoT) and green energy.

Tavan Tolgoi Fuel (TTF) LLC has commenced the operation of two factors previously. As of May, three production lines are in operation. They are working to expand the lines to seven. The factories have the capacity to produce more enhanced coal after the expansion. The company was established in May 2018 at the Parliamentary Resolution related to the ban on the usage of raw coal consumption.

220,000 households use 1.2 million tons of raw coal per year during the winter in Ulaanbaatar, according to a survey. TTF has the capability to provide those households with 600,000-700,000 tons of enhanced coal. The coal will be available to the public at 107 locations of ger districts in Ulaanbaatar. Also, the project will involve coal sellers.

"As of Today, Tavan Tolgoi Fuel LLC has produced 60,000 tons of enhanced coal. 490,000 tons of coal will be stockpiled and delivered to stores. In addition to supply and back-up, it is important to teach the proper use of these coal to the public. It is more important to increase the participation of citizens to reduce air pollution. We will provide residents with the opportunity to use enhanced coal. The price will be cheaper than raw coal, and then the controls will be very effective. Additionally, low-pressure and other stoves will be properly filtered. We will also discontinue the combustion of other oils, butter, and tires other than coal. The six districts of the capital city, governor's office, the specialized inspection agency, and the police will conduct regular monitoring in Ulaanbaatar city," said Mayor of Ulaanbaatar Amarsaikhan Sainbuyan.

According to Tavan Tolgoi Fuel LLC, the production remains stable. The company is focusing on production and sales at retail spots. “We have set up the first standard store for selling enhanced fuels. In the future, 107 stores will open. There are 503 people and entities engaged in coal sales in Ulaanbaatar. We will deliver these enhanced fuels via these citizens, entities and 107 reference sales points. At the reference point, about 100,000 tons of fuel will be stocked and sold," remarked a spokesperson of the TTF.

Bawdwin, which in a first phase of operations would be running for 13 years, will be the world’s No. 3 producing lead mine and the tenth largest silver operation It’s also set to become a significant zinc producer.

Capital costs were put at $267 million, including $33 million contingency with operating costs estimated at $108 per processed tonne. The mine will process about two-million tonnes a year of ore to produce 118,000 tonnes of lead-in-concentrate per year, more than 10-million ounces of silver-in-concentrate and 49,000 t/y of zinc-in-concentrate.

“Bawdwin’s mineral reserve and mineral resources underpin a very long life mining operation. The PFS represents our plan for Phase 1 of mining operations and this phase of life-of-mine infrastructure is built and paid for,” the company’s chairperson and CEO, John Lamb, said in a statement.

“With the infrastructure paid for in Phase 1, it is clear that future mining operations, including the first two underground mines now under scoping study, have potential to be very value accretive.”

Construction is expected to take about 21 month, after which the starter pit will begin operations. Underground mining is slated to start around year six of the starter pit.

Modern Mining companies are seeing continual pressures and incentives to improve productivity, efficiency, reliability and safety. To meet these needs, companies are looking to innovate. So what role does Automation, AI, Robotics, Lasers, BIG DATA analytics, Internet of Things (IoT), Digitalisation and Digital Transformation play?

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The contract was with construction and engineering company China Gezhouba Group International and China Railway Construction Corp. to build a 550-km railway in northern Mongolia. It will connect the Ovoot coking coal mine that Aspire is developing to Mongolia's Northern Rail Corridor going up to the Russian border.

"It is the cheapest and most efficient way to transport the coal to China and Russia," Paull said. "Transport time and cost will be slashed dramatically. The distance to Russia will be 40 percent shorter."

It will also be an economic route to the vast Chinese market for Russian exporters.

Aspire chose the Chinese companies because of their capability and funding prospects for connectivity projects under the Belt and Road Initiative. "It is an international mix," he said.

In its sixth year, the Belt and Road Initiative is showing several new trends. The first is the internationalization of the projects under its framework. Paull and his project represent the kind of international cooperation in trade and infrastructure development for mutual benefit the Belt and Road Initiative envisions to connect places along and beyond the ancient Silk Road routes.

"The projects are moving away from bilateral agreements between two countries to package deals," Rajit Nanda, Chief Investment Officer at Acwa Power, a Saudi Arabia-headquartered company engaged in power generation, desalinated water production and renewable energy plants, said.

Acwa's top officials were present at the Belt and Road CEO Conference, one of the events at the Second BRF on April 25, to sign three agreements. The first was with China Gezhouba to build a 1,200-MW coal-fired power plant in north Viet Nam that would require about $2.5 billion. The second was with Power China and SEPCO Electric Power Construction Corp., also from China, to construct a $900-million power and desalination plant in Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

"These are megaprojects," Acwa CEO Suntharesan Padmanathan said. "There's no way one country can do them on its own. Through collaboration we have greater strength."

Acwa's footprints in Africa are coinciding with the Belt and Road's. "We are now focusing on Africa and that's why China has become a very important partner for us," Nanda said. "It is a win-win partnership."

The participants of the consultation discussed assessments conducted on Mongolia’s legal and technical readiness for cross-border paperless trade and devised a National Action Plan. The action plan lays out proposed measures and activities to be carried out such as joining the UN treaty titled ‘Framework Agreement on Facilitation of Cross-border Paperless Trade in Asia and the Pacific', fully digitizing domestic and foreign trade activities, as well as updating and harmonizing information technology systems of government trade agencies.

It is worth noting that export and import costs and time can be reduced through acceleration of paperless trade process.

He said that the distribution of the cargo among the most needy groups of Syrian population has already begun.

"This assistance is very much needed by the Syrian people today," said Smolinsky.

"We see that the Syrian people need support, so we are here," Tavacin Khavtar, head of the General Staff of the Mongolian armed forces, said in turn.

Representatives of the Mongolian military department did not rule out that in the future it will arrange another humanitarian mission with the help of Russian colleagues.