Mongolia Brief April 1, 2014 Part III
Ulaanbaatar
to reveal names of blacklisted companies
April 1 (UB
Post) Ulaanbaatar City Mayor E.Bat-Uul has recently assigned his deputy in
charge of social development to make a public list of the blacklisted companies
in Mongolia.
The names of
all executor companies that haven’t fulfilled their contract obligations to
complete construction projects will be announced to the public, as part of the
Mayor’s “Improving Investment Projects Monitoring” ordinance.
Members of the
State Special Commission who approved the sub-standard construction projects
for operation will also have their names publicly revealed and will be held
accountable through the project.
The State
Specialized Inspection Agency, Auto Road Authority and Agency for General
Planning are currently collecting information on blacklisted companies and
commission officials.
The lists will
be complete by April 15 and will be discussed at the Ulaanbaatar City Council
meeting for public announcement approval.
Mongolia
Mining 2014 launches this month
April 1 (UB
Post) The 4th edition of Mongolia Mining 2014 International Mining and Oil/Gas
Exhibition will be held for three days from April 10 to 12. In addition to the
traditional mining industry, this year’s expo adds the oil industry to its
profile.
This year’s
expo will be larger than all previous editions. To accommodate the large number
of high profile exhibitors, organizers decided to move the venue of Mongolia
Mining from Misheel Expo Center to the much larger Buyant-Ukhaa Sports Palace,
which offers convenient parking and large grounds.
Mongolia Mining
2014 is organized by Minex Co., Ltd, in cooperation with Expo Mongolia Co., Ltd
and International Expo Bureau of Mongolia. The Ministry of Mining of Mongolia,
Mongolian National Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Mineral Authority of
Mongolia, and the Oil Authority and Nuclear Energy Agency supports Mongolia
Mining as the most important technological event in the country.
Honorary
Consulate of Mongolia opens in Albania
April 1 (UB
Post) In the framework of the 65th anniversary of diplomatic relations between
Mongolia and Albania, the opening ceremony of the Mongolian honorary consul was
held at the Sheraton Hotel in Tirana on March 27. J.Jargalsaikhan, honorary
consul of Mongolia to Albania and head of the Culture and Art Development
Foundation of the Ministry of Culture, Sport and Tourism organized the event.
Tumen Ekh, a
Mongolian national song and dance ensemble, performed morin khuur, contortion
and biyelgee (Mongolian folk dance) for guests, and introducing throat singing
(khuumii) to Albania with the Mongolian song “Snowy Flower”. Fifty prints by
E.Khartsaga, photographer for Unuudur Newspaper, capturing Mongolian
landscapes, culture, art, sport, society and its mining industry, were also on
exhibition for the event.
Albanian
Parliament Speaker Ilir Meta; the Albanian Minister of Integration, Minister of
Education, and Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs; parliament members; over 100
delegates representing Mongolian art, culture and business; Mongolian Deputy
Minister of Foreign Affairs D.Gankhuyag; N.Naranbat; director of a European and
Middle East organization, Sh. Odonbaatar; the Ambassador of Italy to Albania;
B.Chela, honorary consul of Mongolia to the Republic of Albania; and J.
Jargalsaikhan, honorary consul of Mongolia to the Republic of Albania
participated in the event.
In 1949,
Mongolia established diplomatic relations with Albania. Since Yu.Tsedenbal’s
visit to Albania in 1957, this is the first time that Mongolia has visited
Albania with such a broad range of delegates.
Albania is located
in south-eastern Europe. It borders with Montenegro, Kosovo, Macedonia and
Greece. It has a territory of 28,748 square kilometers and a population of
three million. Albania became an independent country in 1912, and after World
War II, Albania became a socialist republic until 1991. Albania is working to
improve its energy and transportation infrastructure, and attract foreign
investment. It is also considered to hold middle economic status due to its
well-developed industry and agriculture.
S.Ganbaatar:
There can’t be a righteous society if a group of people own and plunder public
wealth
April 1 (UB
Post) The following is an interview with
MP S.Ganbaatar about present issues.
-In connection to inflation, the government
increased the minimum wage and pension by thirty percent. In reality, an
addition of 20 thousand MNT is barely enough. As days pass by and the
purchasing capacity of citizens degrades, is it alright for you to sit and
claim that you’ve increased benefits?
-It’s a huge
toll on citizens, especially for those who have small salaries, because the
prices of products and goods increase from day to day. This is heavily
affecting women and citizens receiving pensions. One section of the government
shouldn’t handle this problem through public relations while another section
complains. In order to resolve this, trilateral negotiations should be done
soon.
In other words,
the government sets prices, and representatives of business entities and normal
citizens doing labor – who may face losses due to the increase in product
prices – should discuss state agreements of the Trade Union Committee. While
one group says the prices of goods hasn’t increased, another claims that their
original salary of 300 thousand MNT has become 200 thousand MNT.
The state’s
trilateral negotiations would examine this issue, and if necessary, harsh
comments would be said and the issue discussed according to calculations and
combined research. Unfortunately, this negotiation isn’t taking place. It’s
important that a trilateral negotiation is organized urgently and publicly, in
front of citizens. I used to do trilateral negotiations in my six years as the
Head of the Mongolian Trade Union. This is a mechanism for the fair
distribution of goods. In professional terms, it is a salary, pension,
allowance and tax mechanism to righteously allot goods produced by society back
to society.
-Does that mean current allotment
principles aren’t righteous?
-Exactly. The
price of goods has increased by 30 percent and the increases are going into the
pockets of a handful of people. There’s an issue of increased rates not going
to workers. Starting trilateral negotiation as soon as possible is the main
solution for the present situation.
-The Mongolian Trade Union has repeatedly
demanded trilateral negotiations. They still haven’t been organized. Is it
because they are making plans poorly, or is the government approaching the
matter irresponsibly?
-The Trade
Union is setting requirements very well. The government must accept these
requirements. Representatives of employing businessmen, the Trade Union and
governors should gather together to discuss the exact percentage of increases
in prices, how to include the private sector in salary issues, and hear the
arguments of the minister in charge of minimum wage, pension and allowances for
people associated with the government.
Now, we should
approach the matter by reporting that they mustn’t use this opportunity to
increase the prices of goods and products, or else their licenses will be
confiscated. Businessmen are required to get license approval to do business.
They aren’t people who take sides. By holding three-way discussions and signing
agreements, laws are approved. The most important thing is to implement this
law.
-Not holding negotiations is a violation of
the law, right?
-In situations
when the exchange rate of the MNT has fallen due to increases in price,
urgently holding meetings and making decisions is stated in the law. If the law
is violated, it’s required that those affected go on strikes and do
demonstrations. This is included in the law. Therefore, all of these things
should be done in the near future. It’s also my duty to report on these
methods. In my case, instead of leading the Trade Union and setting
requirements for the government, my work is to demand urgent operations for
this mechanism.
-The government announced that they
increased minimum wage and pensions in connection to inflation and will not
increase them again. What do you think of this?
-If the state’s
trilateral negotiations begin, it’s decided that calculations and research will
be shown to give evidence and rationale for the reasons for the presently
difficult situation. It doesn’t mean that salaries, pensions and allowances
will increase whenever there’s a negotiation. The most important thing is to
understand each other. Only markets running without any price management is the
biggest problem. It’s stated in article 5.4 of the Constitutional Law that the
government will manage the economy. Mongolia has an economy with government
management. The fact that all of this isn’t being implemented means that the
mechanisms of these negotiations aren’t functioning properly.
- What has to be resolved before the
negotiations can be settled?
-The government
needs to be intellectual. They can’t sit by and watch trade. The owners need to
meet their social responsibilities. The government has losses. Instead of
discussing losses, they need to analyze and evaluate them and operate
mechanisms to come up with solutions that work. Without the operating
mechanisms of trilateral negotiations and only disparaging others, they are
becoming people unaware of values. All I can say is to begin trilateral
negotiations urgently.
-You’re one of the people who protests for
modification of the Oyu Tolgoi contract. You published a book that proposes
things that need to be done for a country to be a country. In other words,
you’ve found a new solution. What is that solution?
-First,
Mongolians are on the verge of losing their independence. The present situation
is as if Mongolia has already lost it. What this means is that the World Bank,
International Monetary Fund and banks and funding organizations now make
decisions for Mongolia in the name of counsel and showing support. In
particular, decisions connected to mining resources are sometimes made by
Mongolian ministers with the influence of foreign councils and advocacy
organizations. This is dangerous.
Secondly, there
must be national resource debate. Mongolian resources are becoming ownerless.
The issues of why the nation’s people can’t profit from owning their national
resources need to rise up.
Thirdly,
Mongolia is a sacrificial lamb for the liberal political view that shows how
wealthy countries can stop the economic growth of poor countries, named
neo-liberalism and originating from America.
They started
wars and made factions fight each other in countries rich in resources and
ended up with their property, or implemented programs where properties were
managed by new owners. In other words, wealthy foreigners made normal citizens
suffer losses through crafty measures. Mongolia has become its victim now.
In addition,
five methodologies are included. A solution to get out of this is evident in
the example of Norway. It’s stated that no single group of people, a few elites
connected to politicians, have the right to control the society of Norway, its
people and mining resources. This is why Mongolia needs a righteous society. We
aren’t becoming a righteous society because a small group of people are
possessing and plundering public resources.
-It seems that by publishing this book, you
may face a considerable amount of opposition and criticism?
-I explained
and bravely wrote about all of this, and what I needed to do in the future, in
my book. The Mongolian state is filled with children trained by neo-liberalism
in America. They will noisily rise up. Very strong and deadly publicists will
lead campaigns to criticize me in a frightening manner just for writing this
book. Writing is my duty. If an MP doesn’t do this then who else will? An MP who
has gained the trust of many citizens has an obligation to write about what
sort of state Mongolian citizens want and methodologies for how to reach it.
This is why I wrote this book.
‘Mongol’
book launches in London
April 1 (UB
Post) Scotland-based Mongolian writer Uuganaa Ramsay has published her first
book named “Mongol.” The book’s launch ceremony took place in London on March
25.
Her book was
also launched in Edinburgh and Glasgow cities of Scotland.
Uuganaa Ramsay
was born in Zavkhan Province, Mongolia and grew up in a ger, living a nomadic
life eating marmot meat and distilling vodka from yoghurt. After winning a
place on a teacher-training course, she moved to the UK and married a British
man and now lives in Scotland.
Her son Billy
was diagnosed with Down’s syndrome and died shortly afterwards due to the
condition.
She wrote about
Mongolians, Mongolian’s custom, and traditional life. She said that she wants
to give a conception about Mongolians to foreigners and that she wrote her book
“Mongol” for the memory of her son Billy.
She was named
as the Woman of the Year for Mongolians in Europe in 2012 by the Association
for the Development of Mongolian Women in Europe.
Her book won
the Janetta Bowie Chalice Non-Fiction Book Award from the Scottish Association
of Writers.
‘Geothermal
Energy and Mongolia’
By Paul Sullivan,
Georgetown University
The earth gets
more amazing the more one learns about it. For example, the earth is a massive
source of heat. That heat is partially from the left over heat from its
creation. Now, isn’t that amazing? Most of it, about 80 percent, is from
radioactive decay of isotopes of thorium, uranium and potassium. When
radioactive isotopes decay they throw off heat. Most of this is happening in the
earth’s crust, which is kind of a radioactive thermal blanket for the world.
Don’t worry we are not being zapped by lots of neutrons from this all day. The
crust also works as a barrier to the radiation, hence we get heat.
Traveling from
the center of the earth to where we are standing (or sitting reading this) we
can see extreme temperatures and extreme temperature changes. Without getting
too technical, the earth is made up of the inner core, which is molten
iron-nickel, the mantle and the crust. The inner core is solid due to
pressure-temperature combinations and what it is made of. The outer core is
liquid. The entire core is about 3,500 kilometers thick. If we could travel
from the innermost point of the core to its outermost point we would go from 7,500
degrees Celsius to about 3,700 degrees Celsius. Above the core is the mantle,
which is about 2,800 kilometers. The mantle’s temperature goes from about 3,700
degrees Celsius near to its “edge” with core to about 870 degrees Celsius as it
gets nearer to the crust.
As we travel
further to the surface things are getting cooler, although these sorts of
temperatures are hotter than most of us could imagine. The crust is the next
stop on this trip to the surface of the earth from its core. The crust is about
six-12 kilometers thick under the oceans. It can be as much as 20-90 kilometers
thick under the continents. As we travel from the deepest part of the crust to
the surface, the temperatures get cooler. Another interesting fact, the soil
and rocks of the crust acts as insulators to solar heating radiation, which we
will see later in the article, for example, dig deep enough in the hot sands of
a desert in the summer and you will reach cool sands.
The crust is a
complex place. It is not like the even crust of a piece of bread or the uniform
shell of an egg. It has moving parts, the continental plates, that mostly
slowly drift about and sometimes collide with each other. There are many fault
lines, which are places where earthquakes are more likely to happen than in
other areas. Some of the more famous of these would be the San Andreas Fault
that goes across California. Mongolia has the Bulgan fault line, which was the
location of a massive 8.2 earthquake in 1905. The results of this earthquake
can be seen even today with a fissure that goes on for hundreds of kilometers.
The Amur Plate, the Eurasian Plate and the Indo-Chinese Plate combine around
and through Mongolia.
From 1905 to
1967 there was a series of very strong earthquakes in Mongolia. Earthquakes are
a fairly normal part of things in some parts of Mongolia, especially near the
Russian and Chinese borders and near the area where the fault line go up and
across the center of the country. There are many faults running east-west at
various angles across the country. It is part of the Baykal rift system. There
has been seismic activity especially in the Gobi-Altay and Mongolian-Altay
mountain systems. The northwest near the Russian border has been especially
active at times. Mongolia is a seismically active place, but not like those
areas near the so-called “Ring of Fire” in the Pacific Basin, Japan, Chile, or
Indonesia.
There are many
places where Mongolia’s geological structure can be to its benefit. Many of
these can be found in the hot springs, warm springs and other geothermal zones
that can be found in the northern central part of the country and in the
northwest.
Some of these
springs may be used to produce electricity for the villages and towns near to
them. If the waters are very hot, then flash steam geothermal plants can be set
up. By drilling down to where it is much hotter than at the surface, the hot
water could be used to produce steam, which in turn can turn a turbine, which
turns a generator, which produces electricity. If the ground is not so hot,
then a binary geothermal system could be set up. The less hot water is taken up
from deep in the ground and its warmth is used to boil something like methanol
or ammonia, which boils at a lower temperature than water. The ammonia or
methanol steam then turns the turbine, which turns the generator, which
produces electricity. If producing electricity near warm and hot springs seems
odd to some, it does happen in some areas of the world where the tourism places
produce electricity from the same temperatures that keep the tourists coming
for mineral, warm and hot baths for health and relaxation.
It need not be the case that this can be done at hot springs or even warm
springs. In places in Mongolia where the hotter rocks are near to the surface
at hundreds to even thousands of feet down, injection pipes can bring cool
water from the surface to the hotter rocks. The water can be used in flash
steam geothermal systems when the rock is very hot. Where the rocks are not
that hot the injected cool water can be brought back up as warmer water to be
used in binary geothermal systems that boil off the methane, ammonia and the
like.
Wherever there
is water and hot rocks within economic reach to produce electricity this can be
done. However, it is best to do this near to places where the electricity is
needed. It would be too costly and too much electricity would be lost if the
geothermal generated electricity needed to go over very large distances to
where it will be used.
I am certain
that there are many places in Mongolia that could develop either the flash
system or the binary systems for geothermal energy. It is a matter of finding
the best and most economically and technically possible areas and getting the
infrastructure set up. A lot less CO2 is produced from geothermal energy. There
is surely a lot less air pollution produced from geothermal electricity
generation compared to generating electricity with coal.
There are many
other economic uses for the hot rocks, warm rocks, and warm springs that are in
Mongolia. These include the greater development of health spas, warm swimming
pools, melting snow on roads and other important places, hot water for houses
and other buildings, keeping animals warm, greenhouse warming, even during some
cold times (Iceland does this), food processing, curing concrete blocks and
other construction material, cloth and yarn drying for factories, and hundreds,
if not thousands, of other uses constrained only by one’s imagination and the
technical and economic feasibility of the projects.
Many of these
applications could be used to help develop tourism and industry in the country.
Geothermal energy could be used to replace energy produced by coal, oil and
other fossil fuels. There are many examples in the world of large buildings,
houses, and even large parts of cities that are heated and cooled with
geothermal energy. There are a growing number of places that are using
geothermal energy to produce electricity. Some minerals and oil companies are
using geothermal energy to help recover more of their product from underground
than would otherwise be possible. Some mining and other companies are producing
some of their electricity, and some of their heating and cooling from
geothermal.
Geothermal has
some other fascinating applications. One of them is for geothermal heat pumps.
These can be developed just about anywhere they are needed. If one were to dig
down into the ground about two-three meters here in Washington the soil would
be a constant 50-60 degrees year round in most places.
In Mongolia one
may have to dig a bit deeper than two-five meters. In Minnesota, way in the
north of my country, depths of three-four meters may be needed in some places
because of how deep frost levels can be in that cold state. However, at
two-three meters the temperatures in many parts of the state are in the 10
degrees C level or thereabout all year round. The depth one would need to dig
depends on the latitude in the world one is at, whether there is permafrost or
not, frost levels for a good part of the year, and whether one is near hot
rocks, hot springs or other sources of heat, such as some mineral mines.
However,
normally there will be a depth that a building developer or home builder
(apartment builder) can dig to find this sweet spot for constant temperature
underground. Why do I call it the sweet spot? Because if you set up pipes with
certain liquids in certain ways in the ground and cover them over properly you
can readily pump that 10-15 degree C temperatures into the building, home or
apartment building.
Let us say it
is 10 degrees C. Each place will have some differences from other places, so
let’s simplify this. Let’s put the piping system down, cover it up with soil
after connecting it to the heat pump and the fan systems which are inside the
building, not outside like many cooling systems. During the warmer summer days,
constant 10 degrees C liquid is pumped to the fans and the fans bring that cool
air into the building via a heat exchanger, a device that conducts the
temperature from one medium to another. Bigger buildings will need larger more
powerful piping and fans systems, but I am sure you get the picture.
That 10 degrees
C liquid and the air resulting from the heat exchanger and fans will naturally
cool the building. If more cooling is needed on some days, then a normal
cooling system can be used in conjunction with the geothermal system. But think
of all of the electricity and more that will be saved. Now think about how much
energy would be saved if the buildings are well-insulated and designed for
energy efficiency with the geothermal-conventional system. It is a lot in most
areas. Some estimates state that typically a geothermal heat pump systems can
save 30-40 percent over the average conventional system. The energy is from the
earth, not just from an electric air conditioner.
Now let’s turn things around. It is now the coldest part of the Mongolian
winter. Homes, gers, apartment complexes, office buildings and more need to be
heated. If there is a building or a home with the geothermal system 10 degrees
C air is being pumped into the building. This 10 degrees C is a lot warmer than
the outside air. The home or other building would want to be warmer than this,
but think of how much energy is saved, and pollution not produced, by brining
the home or building up initially to this temperature using the earth. After
this, warmer air than the air temperature outside is brought in then the other
conventional heating systems can kick in to make up the difference to make a
comfortable home or building. With good insulation in the walls, triple-pane
glass windows, tight building of doors and other opening, and more a huge
amount of energy — and money — could be saved. Using this for gers would be
difficult in a one-by-one basis, but as groups in villages or large families,
this may be possible, if they are to remain stationary. This sort of system is
not for families who move about. Other forms will need to be considered for
those families.
Given that many
people in Mongolia are low or of modest incomes, many would likely not be able
to afford the digging and drilling and fairly expensive systems heat pumps
involve. However, as these systems become more common in the country and in the
world, costs could be driven down by going up learning curves, as well as
having economies of scale in the production of the pipes and other systems. The
Mongolian government may also want to look into some national projects on this
as a use for its newfound wealth. But this needs to be done properly and
carefully, and with the best devices and experts involved.
For now the
pipes and the heat pump systems will have to be imported. Installation at first
will have to be done by outside experts while at the same time training
Mongolians to do this. That sort of offset would be great for any technology
being developed in the country. Mongolians could also find jobs in this from
step one.
Can I see in
10, 20, and 30 years a viable energy industry being developed by Mongolians
educated outside and inside of the country? Yes. Can I see geothermal as an
important part of this development of Mongolian skills and jobs in energy? Yes.
Can I see Mongolians adapting these technologies to their economic, cultural,
and weather environments? Yes? Can I see them exporting these adaptations to similar
and other parts of the world? Yes.
In energy as
with any other industry a country first learns, then adapts, then develops the
industry in its own way — optimally. If Mongolia is really going to develop, it
needs to move forward with its own people and its own ideas eventually, rather
than just relying on outside ideas and people. The chances are there. Doing
this right is vital for the future of the country.
So we have
another reason to be thankful for the wonders of this earth?
Yes.
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