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Good morning! COP17 has officially kicked off, and with it comes a few temporary traffic and lifestyle restrictions for Ulaanbaatar residents, including the odd-even license plate rule. The government’s message is simple, be patient and bear with it for the next 2 weeks. So, UB, this one’s for you. “Patience” by Guns N’ Roses. 😌

What’s inside today’s edition…

• 🏦 ADB appoints a new Country Director

• 🌏 Week recap: Bill Gates, deep-mining experts & COP17

• 🛢️ Petro Matad begins oil sales in Mongolia

We’ve got a lot to cover, so let’s get moving. 🐐

MARKET

WHO: Mongolia received approximately S$630,000 from WHO, funded by the Government of Japan, to expand HPV-based cervical cancer screening and early treatment. The support includes 20,000 HPV DNA tests and $531,720 worth of diagnostic and treatment equipment.

ADB: ADB appoints John Juhyun Jeong as new country Director for Mongolia. 

GOV: Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources G. Damdinnyam will pay a working visit to China starting this week, following his visit to Russia. 

🗞️ WEEK RECAP: Bill Gates Visits, Mining Giants Gather & COP17 Nears

Last week brought a series of high-profile events to Mongolia. Here is the breakdown.

🌍 Caving 2026 Puts Mongolia on the Global Mining Map

From 11–13 August, more than 300 deep-mining experts from over 20 countries gathered in Ulaanbaatar for Caving 2026, the 6th International Conference on Block and Sublevel Caving. It was the first time the conference was held in Asia.

• 🧩 Hosted with Oyu Tolgoi and Rio Tinto as host sponsors, the event put Mongolia’s underground mining expertise in the spotlight. More than 100 technical presentations were delivered, including 17 focused on Oyu Tolgoi’s operations, technology and research. The conference underscored Mongolia’s growing role in advanced underground mining and its place on the global caving map.

✈️ Bill Gates’ Quiet Visit Goes Viral

Meanwhile, Bill Gates quietly arrived in Mongolia on 9 August aboard his private Gulfstream G650ER. He spent 2 days in Bayan-Ulgii near Tsambagarav Mountain, taking in the local landscape and lifestyle. His itinerary reportedly also included Dundgovi and Dornod provinces.

• 🛫 While the visit itself remained low-key, photos and videos of his aircraft and movements quickly spread across Mongolian social media, sparking widespread speculation about the purpose of his trip. No official explanation has been released so far.

🌱 COP17 Puts Mongolia at the Centre of the Global Land Agenda

And now, Ulaanbaatar is hosting COP17 of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, which opened today and runs through 28 August under the theme “Restoring Land. Restoring Hope.”

• 🫱🏻‍🫲🏼 The summit brings together world leaders and experts to address land degradation, drought resilience and climate finance at a time when drought risks are intensifying globally. Saudi Arabia is formally handing over the UNCCD presidency to Mongolia, giving the country a prominent role in shaping the global response to a drying planet.

So, only within a week, Mongolia had enough international headlines to keep everyone busy, a global mining conference, a high-profile private visit, and a major UN summit. But if you think that was the whole story, think again. The local news had plenty of plot twists of its own, as is tradition.

⭐ Selected for you

ECONOMY & BUSINESS

• IMF Wraps Up 2026 Art­icle IV Talks with Mon­go­lia. (PressReader) 

• Rio Tinto Accused of Withholding Oyu Tolgoi Revenue Figures from Mongolians. (ZMS) 

• Korean Hospitals Expand Medical Outreach in Mongolia, Shift Focus to Local Capacity. (KoreanBiomedicalReview) 

POLITICS

• The Helicopter that Helped Topple Mongolia’s Prime Minister Linked to Lex Oil Scheme. (Eureporter)

• Production of Main Equipment for CHPP-5 in Mongolia Completed by 30%. (gogo)

• Mongolia PM, Top Brass Visit India-Constructed Oil Refinery Project Construction Site. (TheIndiaEYE)

• Mongolia Says Russia Agreed to Send Emergency Fuel Supplies Amid Shortages. (TheMoscowTimes) 

CULTURE & LIFESTYLE

• Mongolia: Eurovision Asia 2026 Participation Confirmed. (Eurovoix) 

• Top 10 Best Universities in Mongolia. (Sekolapedia)

• What the World Can Learn from Mongolia’s Drylands. (Nature)

• The Hu: “Hunnu Rock Is West And East, Tradition And New”. (MGM)

• Developing Pediatric Palliative Care in Mongolia. (eHospice) 

 🛢️ Petro Matad Begins Oil Sales in Mongolia 

London AIM-listed Petro Matad has moved from pure exploration into commercial oil sales in Mongolia, marking a major shift for the company and a small but meaningful addition to the country’s limited domestic production.

🕵️ Company Operations in Mongolia

Petro Matad holds 100% working interest and operatorship of 2 Production Sharing Contracts. The core producing asset is Block XX in the Tamtsag Basin in eastern Mongolia. Production began at the Heron-1 well in October 2024, making Petro Matad only the third oil producer in the country. The Gazelle-1 well came online in late October/early November 2025 after a successful test that flowed over 400 barrels of oil per day.

• 💭 Crude is trucked to nearby PetroChina facilities for processing and export to China. In 2025, Block XX’s 2 wells averaged 168 barrels per day, generating about 61,000 barrels in sales at an average $61.8/barrel and roughly $2 million in net revenue. Cumulative production surpassed 100,000 barrels by April 2026.

• 🧐 In January 2025, Petro Matad signed a PSC for the 41,000+ km² Borzon Block VII in southern Mongolia, an early-stage exploration area near producing basins in China. The company also owns 50% of SunSteppe Renewable Energy, developing utility-scale solar, wind, battery and hybrid projects.

🎯 What Petro Matad Aims For?

The company aims to maximise shareholder value through a balanced portfolio of Mongolian energy projects. In oil, it plans to optimise production, add wells, acquire 3D seismic and farm out stakes in Block XX and potentially Block VII to accelerate development and reduce capital needs. In renewables, it is advancing large-scale projects toward construction, targeting Mongolia’s growing demand for energy independence and clean power exports.

Finally... Mongolia offers frontier oil potential, supportive energy policies, and easy export access to China. Petro Matad has built expertise there since the mid-2000s and secured the country’s third exploitation licence, enabling commercial production.

But regular oil sales now mark its shift to a cash-generating producer. The 2026 Oil Sales Agreement unlocks 48,000 barrels for export and payment, improving liquidity. Longer-term success depends on stable operations, better PetroChina contracts, higher oil prices, and progress on farm-outs or renewables.

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Publisher: Ts.Ankhbayar
Writer: M.Khulan
Graphics by: Ts.Tselmeg

Disclaimer: The information Inside Mongolia provides is for educational and informational purposes only. It is not intended to be or constitute financial advice, trading advice, or any other advice. The decision whether to consider the information we provide is solely our readers' independent decision.