Asia Energy

autumn session that year, a group of legislators called on the government to seek a renegotiation of the OT deal. At issue was the point at which the government has the right to increase its stake in the mine from 34% to 51%. According to the initial agreement, Mongolia can boost its stake to 51% once Rio Tinto has recovered the costs of developing it, or after 30 years....

Mongolia’s reputation as a suitable destination for foreign investment suffered in 2012, as mining companies along with those in other sectors came under a new and restrictive legal regime: the Strategic Entities Foreign Investment Law of Mongolia, which passed in May. This legislation, combined with a high-profile merger, the government’s...

With ageing facilities, constraints that discourage efficiency and growing demand, Mongolia’s energy sector faces a number of challenges. Geography makes it reliant on one supplier for refined fuels, with a tenuous supply and a high purchase price. Several projects in the works now have the potential to reverse this trend, if they are successful....

Though largely part of the informal economy, Mongolia is nevertheless no stranger to renewable energy – solar panels are a common sight perched outside gers (herders’ felt tents) across the country, used to power televisions and lamps. These account for only an estimated 0.1% of the country’s electricity mix, however. Yet the renewables story...

With the economy growing 17.3% in 2011, the numbers show a broad-based expansion, but ultimately the mining sector was and will continue to be Mongolia’s main GDP driver. The country is on the verge of breaking through as the next major resources economy, and is perfectly situated just to the north of perhaps the world’s most resource-hungry economy...