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Friday, April 22, 2011

[cpsinewswire] [CPSI NewsWire: Temporary Suspension No Effect on Sales Targets: MMC]

CPS International is a marketing arm of CPS Securities in Mongolia. CPS Securities is a Perth, Western Australia based AFSL License Holder. To trade ASX and international stocks, feel free to contact me at mogi@cpsinternational.mn or +976-99996779.

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Close: Mongolia Related ASX Listed Companies, April 21, 2010

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Bid

Offer

Open

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Volume

VOR

 0.061  Down

 -0.001

 0.061

 0.062

 0.062

 0.062

 0.061

 2,472,399

HUN

 1.595  Down

 -0.005

 1.585

 1.610

 1.600

 1.615

 1.580

 692,173

HAR

 0.465  Down

 -0.010

 0.465

 0.470

 0.465

 0.470

 0.465

 139,951

AKM

 0.990  Up

 0.050

 0.990

 0.995

 0.940

 0.990

 0.940

 1,447,154

ALG

 0.550  Down

 -0.050

 0.520

 0.600

 0.550

 0.550

 0.550

 40,400

BDI

 0.027  Up

 0.002

 0.027

 0.028

 0.026

 0.033

 0.024

 66,563,736

BKM

 0.007  Up

 0.001

 0.007

 0.010

 0.008

 0.008

 0.007

 1,405,000

CEO

 0.075  Up

 0.011

 0.074

 0.075

 0.070

 0.086

 0.064

 284,440,337

GMM

 0.195  Down

 -0.005

 0.190

 0.195

 0.200

 0.200

 0.195

 37,267

GUF

 1.195  Up

 0.055

 1.175

 1.195

 1.185

 1.200

 1.150

 4,914,854

LRL

 0.290  Up

 0.005

 0.290

 0.295

 0.285

 0.300

 0.285

 143,475

XAM

 0.550  No change

 0.000

 0.550

 0.565

 0.560

 0.565

 0.550

 124,474

LEI

 24.850  Up

 0.350

 24.840

 24.860

 24.700

 24.980

 24.330

 1,264,738

RIO

 84.100  Up

 0.980

 84.100

 84.110

 83.800

 84.340

 83.480

 2,786,523

BHP

 47.320  Up

 0.090

 47.320

 47.330

 47.640

 47.640

 47.170

 13,459,400

Source: asx.com.au

           

MMC: TEMPORARY SUSPENSION OF COAL HAULING

April 21, Mongolian Mining Corporation (HK:975) --

On 20 April, 2011 (after trading hours), Mongolian Mining Corporation (the “Company”, together with its subsidiaries, the “Group”) received a notification (the “Notification”) from the Inspector of the Umnugobi Aimag (South Gobi Province) Professional Inspection Agency on temporary suspension of all coal hauling on the road from the Tavan Tolgoi area to Tsagaan Khad (“TKH”), effective from 21 April, 2011 (the “Temporary Suspension”).

This suspension will not apply to coal hauling on the road used for cross-border transportation from TKH, Mongolia to Ganqimaodu (“GM”), China. The agency has issued the notification primarily to address its transportation safety concerns. Its intention is to improve safety standards on the gravel road whilst reducing negative environmental impact on the surrounding areas.

As of the date of this announcement, the Company is continuing its normal mining operations as well as its planned maintenance of the gravel road as scheduled. The Company has approximately two weeks of export coal stockpiled at TKH, which will enable the Company to continue to deliver coal to its customers at GM in the coming two weeks. During the suspension, the Company’s coal mining operations will not be affected, and the Company will continue mining at the UHG mine in a normal course as planned. With its coal handling and processing plant (“CHPP”) expecting to commence operations in May 2011, the Company has started stockpiling raw coal at the UHG for the startup of CHPP operations. The Board of Directors (the “Board”) believes that the Temporary Suspension will not materially affect the Company’s processed coal production or sales targets for the year ending 31 December, 2011.

As stated in the Notification, the Temporary Suspension will remain effective only until road conditions are improved. The Company is currently assessing the potential impact of the Temporary Suspension on its business and will issue a further announcement to inform the public as soon as the Company has more clarity as to when the Temporary Suspension would be lifted. The Company expects that, in light of the current progress of gravel road renovation and maintenance work, the Temporary Suspension will be lifted and the usage of the gravel road resumed within a short period of time.

The Temporary Suspension reaffirms that the Company’s strategy to develop and sustain an international-standard coal transportation link to market is in line with the agency’s growing focus on the safety and environmental conditions of gravel roads in Mongolia. At the Company’s own initiative, the Company commenced construction of an approximately 245 kilometres paved road under a Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) Agreement signed with the Ministry of Road, Transportation and Urban Development of Mongolia in June 2010, which will cover an operation period of 10 years from the date of the operation of the road. As of 31 December, 2010, the road construction was approximately 65% completed, and its completion is expected to be in the second half of 2011.

Upon completion, the paved road will be primarily used for the Group’s own transportation needs, while its capacity will be sufficient to support the Group’s mine expansion plans, without the use of the gravel road.

Within the framework of the railway network development policy of the Government of Mongolia, the Company is also planning to build a railway directly fr

om Ukhaa Khudag (“UHG”) to Gashuun Sukhait (“GS”). The railway will further contribute to increased reliability, operational efficiency, and cost savings as well as the reduction of any negative environmental impact.

Shareholders and potential investors of securities of the Company should therefore exercise caution when dealing in the securities of the Company.

Link to announcement

 

Prophecy Submits Formal Request to Mongolian Government to Build Chandgana Power Plant

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwire - April 21, 2011)Prophecy Resource Corp. ("Prophecy" or the "Company") (TSX VENTURE:PCY)(OTCQX:PRPCF)(FRANKFURT:1P2) is pleased to report that after 8 months of due diligence, research and study, the Company has submitted the formal request with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Energy ("Ministry") to build the Chandgana Power Plant.

`In August 2010, Prophecy engaged local Mongolian experts to initiate a Feasibility Study for the Chandgana mine mouth power plant with capacity of 600 MW, based on Prophecy's Chandgana coal deposit located in Khentii province, central Mongolia. With further assistance from Evonik Industries of Germany, the Prophecy team completed the necessary technical and financial analysis, including an Environmental Impact Assessment which was approved by the Mongolian Ministry of Nature and the Environment in November 2010 (see Prophecy news release dated November 15, 2010) and a Feasibility Study completed in accordance with Mongolia policies for the granting of a permit to construct and operate a power plant in Mongolia.

Upon receiving Ministry's endorsement, Prophecy would then proceed to work with the Mongolian Energy Regulatory Authority ("ERA") for the issuance of the Power Plant Permit. Prophecy began comprehensive discussions with the Ministry and ERA since last October culminating in positive feedback for Prophecy to continue with its objectives. The anticipated time frame for the power plant permitting application process is 3 to 6 months.

John Lee, Chairman of Prophecy states that: "Prophecy officers, directors and advisors have a solid track record of constructing, operating and financing large energy projects. Chandgana Power Plant represents modern industrialization and energy independence for Mongolia, new potential energy supply to China, and further accretion of significant value for Prophecy's shareholders."

Link to release

 

SouthGobi Resources: 2010 Annual Report

April 21, SouthGobi Resources Limited (TSX:SGQ, HK:1878)

Link to Report

 

Mongolia Rail Boom Eases China Rare Earth Grip: Freight Markets

April 21 (Bloomberg) -- Mongolia’s aim of quadrupling its rail network will send coal, copper and rare earths to nations such as Japan and South Korea under a plan to reduce dependence on the Chinese market and boost economic development.

The landlocked nation’s drive to lay 5,700 kilometers (3,542 miles) of track across the country and to Russia’s Far Eastern ports stands to benefit such companies as Australia- listed Aspire Mining Ltd. and Canada’s Prophecy Resource Corp., said Richard Harris, chief executive officer of Hong Kong-based Quam Asset Management. His firm has raised $20 million for a Mongolia-focused fund that will start investing in a few months.

“The missing link in the Mongolian gold rush now is transportation infrastructure,” said Roland Nash, who helps manage about $150 million of Russian stocks at Moscow-based hedge fund Verno Investment Management Ltd. “The key for the Mongolians is to attract investments from as many different countries as possible to lessen their dependence on China.”

A mining boom in the world’s most sparsely populated nation promises the greatest influx of wealth for Mongolia since Genghis Khan conquered much of the known world in the 13th century. Mongolia’s benchmark MSE Top 20 Index is the world’s best performer in the past 12 months and its currency, the tugrik, the fifth-biggest gainer against the dollar.

Economic growth may surge to 23 percent in 2013, more than twice the forecast expansion in China, as large mining projects begin production, the International Monetary Fund says.

Giant Neighbors

Agriculture and mining each account for about 20 percent of gross domestic product. Aside from coal and copper, the country also holds oil, potash, iron ore and uranium, as well as rare earths used in electronics, wind turbines and smart bombs.

Mongolia has grown increasingly dependent on commerce with China’s 1.3 billion people since the 1991 breakup of the Soviet Union: More than 75 percent of exports went to its giant neighbor in 2009, according to European Union figures.

The relationship hasn’t always been easy. During a 2002 Mongolia visit by the exiled Tibetan leader, the Dalai Lama, trains were held up near the China-Mongolia border, a reminder of the country’s vulnerability to pressure from the rulers of the world’s second-biggest economy.

“Using the Russia route, Mongolia will have better access to a global market rather than just dealing with China,” said Chris Weafer, Moscow-based chief strategist at UralSib Financial Corp. “You need that to maximize the commercial value of its goods. Otherwise China dictates prices.”

Precious ‘Necklace’

Mongolia this year is to start building a 400-kilometer link from the Tavan Tolgoi coal basin and Oyu Tolgoi copper deposit, two of the world’s biggest untapped resources, joining with an existing rail line north to Russia and south to China.

The planned network eventually will stretch directly from Tavan Tolgoi to China and Russia and extend the railroad west and north to link with untapped metals deposits, according to Eurasia Capital, Mongolia’s biggest investment bank.

“A necklace of resource deposits lies across the south of Mongolia and the idea is to connect it to rail, connect it to China, and have options with a route via Russia,” said Eurasia Capital analyst Dosbergen Musaev. “It’s a policy that defines what Mongolia will do over the next decade.”

To prove Russia offers a realistic outlet, trucks filled with coal from Tavan Tolgoi drove to Ulan Bator, where their cargo was loaded onto a maiden 30-car train that left for Russia’s biggest Far East port, Vostochny, on Oct. 28 last year.

‘Historical Event’

The “historical event” shows that Mongolian coal can travel via Russia to South Korea and Japan, OAO Russian Railways Chief Executive Officer Vladimir Yakunin, who attended a launch ceremony for the train, said in a statement posted on the company’s website.

For now, Mongolia trucks its output into China. That won’t be possible when production at Tavan Tolgoi and Oyu Tolgoi comes onstream, Musaev said, given the scale of the projected output.

Tavan Tolgoi’s owner, state-controlled Erdenes MGL LLC, expects coal production of as much as 30 million tons a year, according to a presentation made in Moscow in November. That’s more than the record 25 million tons from all of the nation’s coal mines in 2010.

Copper production at the Oyu Tolgoi deposit will reach about 600,000 tons a year in its first decade, says Ivanhoe Mines Ltd., which is developing the site with Rio Tinto Group, the world’s No. 2 mining company by sales, and the Mongolian government.

Moving those commodities by truck will be costly. The price of coal sold by Tavan Tolgoi Co. more than doubles to about $61 per ton by the time the fuel arrives at the Chinese border, according to a presentation by the Mongolia Mineral Resources and Energy Ministry made in Moscow in November.

Road, Rail Costs

On top of the $28 per ton in mining costs, the company pays $32.50 for trucking, road charges and loading, the presentation shows. Even with a rail connection, the cost of exporting via Russia versus through China would be higher given the distances involved, Musaev said.

The price will be worth it because the option offers advantages to Mongolia, including the opportunity to further develop its deposits, according to UralSib’s Weafer. Processing Mongolian freight will also help Russia boost its isolated Far Eastern economy, which suffers from labor shortages, he said.

“The future of Russia and modernizing the economy of Siberia and the Far East is closely tied with the Asia Pacific region,” President Dmitry Medvedev said April 15 in Boao, China. Integration in the region “should be comprehensive and involve all countries, without creating new dividing lines.”

Russian Help

In December last year, Russia wrote off about 98 percent of Mongolia’s $172 million debt. Russian Railways owns a stake in AO UlanBator Railways, Mongolia’s national operator, and guaranteed a loan for it from Russian state-controlled VTB Group in October 2010 to buy locomotives.

Russia plans to sell shares equal to about 12 percent of Russian Railways, a company Weafer said stands to benefit from Mongolia’s railway plans. The business may be worth several times its share capital of more than 1.5 trillion rubles ($53 billion), Yakunin said last year.

Aspire Mining is partnering with SouthGobi Resources Ltd. for a coking-coal project, while Prophecy Resource in February was given a license for its Chandgana Tal coal deposit.

“The opening of the rail line is really important for some of the mines to the north,” said Quam Asset Management’s Harris.

Still, while the economy has been growing at an average 6 percent rate during the last 10 years, the expansion has fluctuated “sharply” from 1 percent in 2000 to 10 percent in 2007 and minus 1.6 percent in 2009, the IMF said in a research paper this month.

Boom and Bust

The transition to a market economy in the early 1990s, severe winters and a collapse in copper prices after a sharp rise in 2006-2007 help explain some of the country’s “boom- bust” cycles, it said.

“You have to really do your homework” to pick Mongolian equities, said Javier Garcia, lead manager at Swiss & Global Asset Management of the 70-million-euro Julius Baer Black Sea Fund, 4 percent of which is in Mongolia. “I’m not bearish but I would be extremely selective.”

The nation must avoid developing “Dutch disease,” where the financial benefits of a commodity boom lead to a hollowing out of other sectors, according to the World Bank. In the Netherlands, the discovery of gas in 1960s drove up inflation and damaged manufacturing.

Balanced Growth

Mongolia needs to find a more balanced model of growth, Prime Minister Sukhbaatar Batbold said in Ulan Bator in March. He is trying to boost living standards in a nation where about a third of the 2.7 million population lives below the poverty line.

UlanBator Railways, the company Russia helped, was established in 1949 as a joint venture between the Soviet Union and Mongolia, creating a legacy that includes a shared rail gauge. That gauge, which refers to the width between the tracks, differs from China’s.

The volume of cargo between Russia and Mongolia grew 10 percent to 1.15 million tons in the first nine months of last year over the same period in 2009. The volume of Russia-China rail freight, which transits Mongolia, was 2.3 million tons in 2009, according to Russian Rail.

In Russia’s Far East, Vostochny port plans to expand its coal-handling capacity, according to the terminal’s website. Eurasia Capital estimates Russia will need to spend $2 billion over three years to cope with major coal and ore export volumes from Mongolia.

By striving to boost transport connections with Russia, “Mongolia is making a geopolitical choice and gaining a stronger bargaining position,” Musaev said.

Link to article                                                 

 

Mongolia targets global mining role as investments soar

For centuries the Gobi Desert has been regarded as a place to avoid.

April 20 (BBC) Its harsh landscape of barren plains, freezing winters and scorching summers has kept human habitation to small number of nomadic camel breeders eking out a solitary existence.

But with the recent discoveries of copper, gold and coal, the era of isolation is rapidly coming to an end.

The Gobi is now seeing a flood of geologists, miners, investors and speculators, all in search of the enormous mineral wealth lying below its desolate surface.

"Mongolia has finally arrived on the global mining scene," investment banker Bold Baatar recently told a delegation of coal mining executives attending a conference in the capital Ulan Bator.

"Over the next five to 10 years we are going to produce a world class mining industry that will rival Chile or Brazil."

Broadening horizons

Until recently, Mongolia's nascent mining industry had been based on artisanal gold mining, small-scale oil joint ventures with China and a 50-year-old copper mine built by the Soviets.

But a tidal wave of bigger deals is transforming the entire industry.

Canada-based Ivanhoe Mines is currently building a $5bn (£3bn) mine, with production set to start within 18 months.

The Oyu Tolgoi deposit has the potential to become one of the world's top three copper producing mines and could single-handedly boost Mongolia's gross domestic product (GDP) by one third.

But despite the magnitude of the deal, Oyu Tolgoi has fallen out of the headlines as the government is moving onto equally spectacular mining projects.

Teed up next is Tavan Tolgoi, a high-grade coal deposit with six billion tonnes of reserves.

The deposit is rich in coking coal, a necessary element in the production of steel, convenient for Mongolia as the world's largest steel industry lies just across the border in China.

The Chinese market is the obvious one - but in order to diversify its clients, the government is pursuing a plan to build a 1,000km (621-mile) rail link to Russia, where the coal can be sent along the Trans-Siberian railway to Far East ports, providing Mongolian coal with access to Japan, Korea and Taiwan.

And the supply chain is lining up to fill in other gaps created by Mongolia's basic infrastructure.

Power plants, coal washing plants and oil refineries are planned.

Banking, transport and service industries are all just waking up to the potential.

"Mongolia lags behind in many areas," Deputy Prime Minister Altanhuyag Norov told the conference delegates.

"But the government is striving to offer a favourable investment environment. We are reducing bureaucracy, building up mining-related infrastructure and striving to ensure transparency and international standards."

Reaping rewards

Some of the world's biggest mining companies are courting the Mongolian government to get a piece of the action at Tavan Tolgoi.

A tender process will determine which company has the right to join the state-owned Erdenes Tavan Tolgoi (ETT), which holds the mining license.

Peabody Energy, Xstrata and Vale are a few of the mining companies still in the fray.

Billions are needed to construct the mine so plans are under way to sell shares of ETT on the open market.

Average Mongolians could also reap benefits from the initial public offering of the shares as the government has promised every citizen 536 shares of common stock in the mining company.

If successful, the dividends could lift thousands of Mongolians out of abject poverty.

"There is no question that GDP will double in five years and triple in 10 years," says Bold Baatar, a one-time Wall Street banker who recently returned to Mongolia to explore new opportunities here.

Baatar predicts that in a decade per capita income could exceed $10,000, well above the current per capita GDP of about $3,200.

Road bumps

But as a developing country with entrenched graft and an inexperienced democracy, there are clear obstacles ahead.

Many fear the nation's wealth will remain in the hands of a small class of the mega-rich.

"Whether we end up as Norway or Nigeria remains an open question," says Mr Bold, referring to oil-based wealth distribution schemes developed by the Norwegian government.

The key, says Mr Bold, is to avoid rash decisions.

"It's not a slam dunk - but I think over the long term as long as we are not rushing to develop these resources, I think the country will be prosperous."

Link to article

 

Mongolian Airlines to Launch Hong Kong Flights

April 20 (ASIA Travel Tips) MIAT Mongolian Airlines, the national flag carrier of Mongolia, has chosen Hong Kong as its second flight destination in China after Beijing.

The airline will launch scheduled direct services between Hong Kong and Mongolia’s capital city, Ulaanbaatar, on 2 June 2011.

The non-stop route between Hong Kong and Ulaanbaatar will be served by a Boeing 737-800 aircraft every Thursday and Sunday, providing 12 seats for business class and 150 seats for economy class.

On Thursday, the flight departs Hong Kong at 11:55am and departs Ulaanbaatar at 6:25am; on Sunday, it departs Hong Kong at 1:05pm and departs Ulaanbaatar at 7:40am.

The best time in a year to visit Mongolia is from May to October when its weather is warm and pleasant. HKSAR passport holders can enjoy the convenience of visa-free access to Mongolia and stay for up to 14 days.

Travel Trade Event in Hong Kong

Mongolian Airlines will hold an Inaugural Appreciation Event on 28 April 2011 at the InterContinental Grand Stanford Hotel. Representatives from Mongolian Airlines and a number of travel trade professions from Mongolia will introduce the airline and offer other useful travel information during the event. Trade partners are welcome to attend. Contact Mongolian Airlines for more information.

Link to article

 

First Mongolian air advisory team ends tour, sets standard

April 21 (dvids.com) KABUL – The first Mongolian air advisory team to participate in NATO Air Training Command-Afghanistan’s efforts in building the Afghan Air Force recently handed over responsibility to a new group of troops at the AAF Base in Kabul.

Spending six months training Afghan airmen on how to service Mi-17 transport helicopters, the inaugural six-man team built a training program from the ground up, developing the Mi-17 helicopter engine and body maintenance course. A fundamental building block for the AAF, the course helps strengthen serviceability and skill within the AAF maintenance corps working with the highly invested-in Mi-17.

Link  to article

 

<Mogi & Friends Fund A/C>

-0.7% QtD

Mogi & Friends Fund is a tiny fund of A$20.8K I created in late September with a few friends to put my own (and a few friends’) money where my mouth (just mine) is.

Mogi

 

Disclosures

·         I personally and through my “Mogi & Friends Fund” hold 75,000 HAR shares in aggregate.

·         Jason Peterson, CPS Securities Director, holds shares (approx. 6,500,000) and options (1,000,000) in HAR.

·         CPS holds 500,000 options in HAR for corporate advice provided to HAR – Jason Peterson is a 33% shareholder in CPS.

·         CPS and CPSI directors and employees hold shares in HAR and may buy and sell these shares as and when they see fit.

·         CPS has received an IPO management fee of $250,000 and a 5% fee for any funds placed to its clients under the prospectus.

·         HAR has paid for Jason Peterson’s travel and accommodation expenses to and in Mongolia – this must be disclosed as a soft dollar commission.

 

 

---

"Mogi" Munkhdul Badral

Executive Director

CPS International LLC

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Telephone/Fax: +976-11-321326

Mobile: +976-99996779

Email: mogi@cpsinternational.mn

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Central Tower · 12th Floor · Left Wing · 2 Sukhbaatar Square

Sukhbaatar District 8 · Ulaanbaatar 14200 · Mongolia

 

CPS International is a marketing arm of CPS Securities in Mongolia. CPS Securities is a Perth, Western Australia based AFSL License Holder. To trade ASX and international stocks, feel free to contact me at mogi@cpsinternational.mn or +976-99996779.

 

Disclosure/Disclaimer

CPS Securities, its directors and employees advise that they may hold securities, may have an interest in and/or earn brokerage and other benefits or advantages, either directly or indirectly from client transactions mentioned in correspondence from CPS International.

CPS International advise this email contains general information only and does not include advice. In preparing this communication, CPS International did not take into account the investment objectives, financial situation and particular needs of any person. As with any speculative mining company there are significant risks.

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