Mongolia exports over 31,000 tons of meat in first three quarters www.xinhuanet.com

ULAN BATOR, Oct. 31 (Xinhua) -- Mongolia exported more than 31 thousand tons of meat and meat products in the first three quarters of 2018, an increase of roughly 20 percent compared to last year, official data showed Wednesday.

Mongolia, Russia, Balkans Spooked by Halloween www.tol.org

Ulaanbaatar bans celebrations in schools, while Russian parliamentarian warns that it can “draw children to mysticism, Satanism, and suicide.”
31 October 2018
Beloved and widely celebrated in the United States and some other parts of the world, Halloween and its traditions have been slow to be embraced elsewhere. Despite its growing popularity among Mongolian children, the authorities have prohibited its celebration in the country’s educational establishments through a directive sent to all schools by the Ministry of Education, Reuters writes.

“Generally, it’s all about the children’s attitude. Some may get into their roles too deeply or misuse [Halloween] and have a negative social effect. For this reason, it has been decided not to celebrate,” G. Erdenechimeg, a social worker at a school in the capital Ulaanbaatar, told Reuters.

The ban might also have its roots in fears that the adoption of such a holiday could be detrimental to the preservation of the traditionally nomadic and Buddhist Mongolian culture.

Similar arguments were wielded by Russian conservatives and religious groups that called for a ban of Halloween celebrations in their country, The Moscow Times writes. An archpriest from the Moscow region told Orthodox believers not to go “into those stinking taverns and get drunk among all those pumpkins with candles” on such a day intended for “unscrupulous and brainless people.”

Parliamentary member Vitaly Milonov echoed such views and asked for a ban, state-owned RT.com writes. “This holiday has pagan, anti-Christian roots,” Milonov said. “It’s well-known that it’s based on worshiping dark forces and Satan as well as glorifying the grim Celtic cult of death.”

Russia is not the only country in TOL’s region where such opinions can be found. Last year, Bosnia’s Republika Srpska forbade kindergartens and elementary schools in the majority-Serb and majority-Orthodox entity to celebrate the holiday, Balkan Insight writes. Traditionalist groups that successfully lobbied the Ministry of Education in favor of such a ban said that it “celebrated the pagan cult of death," and that, by using "innocent children's games," it leads young people to "sectarianism and Satanism."

A municipality in Bulgaria, a fellow Balkan and Orthodox nation, also banned the celebration of Halloween in schools, kindergartens, and cultural centers in 2017, The Sofia Globe wrote at the time. Bulgaria celebrates Day of the Enlighteners on 1 November, which honors prominent cultural figures. However, some children believed that they had a day off on that occasion because of Halloween, the mayor of the municipality said while speaking about the ban.

In their turn, some Mongolian traditions have raised eyebrows elsewhere in the world. Human rights groups and international organizations have criticized the Mongolian custom of using child jockeys because the dangers the participants face while racing. Children as young as five compete in hundreds of races each year, although seven is the minimum age.

Halloween draws its roots from Samhain, a three-day ancient Celtic pagan festival symbolizing death and rebirth, which marked the end of summer and the beginning of the Celtic new year, Time Magazine writes. Participants in the celebrations accompanying the festival often wore costumes of animals or beasts, in the belief that such disguises would keep away potentially harmful, otherworldly spirits.

According to EU statistics agency Eurostat, Poland is one of the top five producers of pumpkins and gourds in the EU, ranking fifth with a harvest of 75,000 tons produced in 2017. The Central European country was followed by Bulgaria and Romania, each of them with a yield of around 20,000 tons during the same year.
Compiled by Ioana Caloianu

Concession on constructions of three route from Tavantolgoi approved www.zgm.mn

Cabinet approved to sign three concession agreements on road construction from Tavantolgoi during its regular session yesterday. Accordingly, a concession on establishing 250 km long heavy duty road in Tavantolgoi-Gashuunsukhait route with Tal Nutgiin Khugjiliin Zam LLC under “Design-build-use-transfer” terms. The company is obliged to construct the road within 2.5 years once the agreement enters into force and will transfer to the State after using for 12 years. The Government will not issue any financial support or guarantee for Tal Nutgiin Khugjliin Zam LLC in constructing the road. Cabinet views that the establishment of the road is expected to increase in and outflow of the coal export route, which accounts for 50-60 percent of total coal export, and reduce environmental impact. Furthermore, another concession on establishing 270 km road from the end of Tavantolgoi-BaruuNaran route to Tsagaan Del border checkpoint will be signed with Undrakh Gobi LLC under “Design-build-use-transfer” terms. As the previous agreement, the Government will not be providing financial support or guarantee. After discussing the process of Tavantolgoi-Khanbogd-Khangi route road, the Cabinet ordered the Director General of National Development Agency Bayarsaikhan Banzragch to establish a concession with Nako LLC as specified on the Parliament’s 73rd resolution of 2018.

Mongolia’s livestock population exceeds environmental limits www.news.mn

Herding is a way of life for over a third of Mongolians, and of symbolic importance to the whole country. As for 2017, the number of head of livestock in the country reached 66.2 million. However, the increasing animal population has surpassed its environmental limits, resulting in the now widespread degradation of grasslands. According to a study, the number of livestock has now exceeded the safe environmental-balance line by 25 million head.

Mongolia – world’s biggest renewable energy exporter of tomorrow? www.news.mn

Energy experts believe that Mongolia has the potential to become the biggest exporter of renewable energy in the world. According to an international study, Mongolia has the ability to provide 40 percent of its energy needs by renewable energy resources such as solar, wind and hydroelectric power. China, South Korea and Japan have a huge demand for imported energy; whilst North Korea faces many difficulties in producing its own power. Earlier today (31 October), an international discussion on the possibilities of Mongolia exporting energy to the world was held at the Corporate and Convention Centre.

Mining Minister meets Australian Minister for Resources www.montsame.mn

Ulaanbaatar/MONTSAME/ Mongolian delegation headed by Minister of Mining and Heavy Industry D.Sumiyabazar is attending the International Mining and Resources Conference (IMARC-2018) taking place in Melburn, Australia from October 29 to November 1.

Cold spell to hit the country starting from November 1 www.montsame.mn

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/ The National Agency for Meteorology and Environmental Monitoring has issued cold weather warning across the country.

Oyu Tolgoi announces Q3’18 performance www.ot.mn

Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia – Oyu Tolgoi today announced an update on its performance for the quarter ended September 30, 2018.

Oyu Tolgoi’s workforce reached 17,000 making it the largest private employer in Mongolia. At the end of the third quarter, 93 per cent of Oyu Tolgoi’s employees were Mongolian, 19.4 percent of which were from the Umnugovi province and 53.9 per cent were underground workforce.

As of the end of the third quarter of 2018, Oyu Tolgoi achieved an All Injury Frequency Rate (AIFR) of 0.19 per 200,000 hours worked and was injury-free for 83 out of 92 days for the three months ended September 30, 2018.

Oyu Tolgoi paid US$1.6 billion in taxes, fees and other payments to the Government of Mongolia between 2010 and the third quarter of 2018 including US$152 million in the first three quarters of 2018.

Underground update

Second annual re-forecast shows the capital cost of the underground project remains on track, first draw bell is on schedule for mid-2020 and the project remains on schedule to complete by 2022. The re-forecast did indicate that there may be a delay in sustainable first production from the first quarter of 2021 to late in the third quarter 2021 due to difficult ground conditions and challenges in the construction of Shaft 2.

Oyu Tolgoi maintained its world-class environmental performance in this quarter, with only 0.35 cubic metres of water per tonne of ore processed – three times less, compared to similar operations worldwide - and achieving an average water recycling rate of 89 per cent over the period.

Education and training are major focus areas for Oyu Tolgoi. Delivering our vision to create enduring value, knowledge and skills, Oyu Tolgoi provided 215,503 man hours of training to nearly 10,301 employees and contractors in the third quarter of 2018.

Oyu Tolgoi collaborated with 793 suppliers in the first three quarters of 2018, 562 of which are national businesses that account for 79 per cent of total operations procurement spent. Between 2010 and the third quarter of 2018, Oyu Tolgoi spent US$2.6 billion on national procurement of which US$379 million was spent on procurement from Umnugovi suppliers.

Q3’18 Production report

Third quarter mill throughput decreased 5.0 per cent over Q2’18 due to increased processing of harder Phase 4 ore as well as a planned maintenance shutdown during the quarter. Copper production was flat over Q2’18 as higher grades and recoveries were partially offset by lower throughput. Gold production increased 54.0 per cent over Q2’18 due to higher grades and recoveries. Third quarter sales volumes were impacted by torrential rain in July and August, which consequentially affected Chinese road and rail availability. Additionally, Q3’18 sales volumes were generally lower than Q2’18, which benefited from the sales of deferred volumes related to the Q1’18 force majeure.

Turquoise Hill has updated Oyu Tolgoi’s expected copper production for 2018 from between 125,000 and 155,000 tonnes of copper to between 140,000 to 155,000 tonnes of copper in concentrates. The company continues to expect production of gold in concentrates from between 240,000 and 280,000 ounces for 2018.

Mongolia President May Go on Hunger Strike to Protest Parliament www.bloomberg.com

Mongolia’s president said he may go on a hunger strike or stage a sit-in as a last resort to pressure the North Asian nation’s parliament to voluntarily disband after he criticized it for failing to stand up to economic challenges.

Mongolia To Crack Down On Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing: Prime Minister www.urdupoint.com

ULAN BATOR, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News, app - 30th Oct, 2018 ) :Mongolia will stand firm on combating money laundering and terrorist financing, the country's Prime Minister Ukhnaa Khurelsukh said Tuesday.
"Money laundering and terrorist financing activities have negatively affected countries' economic growth and efforts to achieve sustainable development and eliminate poverty," he said.