An Indian
government and business joint delegation on the mines sector, led by the
seniormost bureaucrat at the Ministry of Mines, Ms. Santha Sheela Nair, visited
Mongolia recently. The delegation called on Prime Minister S. Batbold and
briefed him about the proceedings of the Mongolia-India joint working group
(JWG) meeting and identification of specific issues. Batbold urged the Indian
side to aim at mineral-based value addition projects and associated
infrastructure development. The second meeting of the JWG would be hold in New
Delhi by October this year.

The JWG
identified five different forms of cooperation to be pursued to achieve
mutually beneficial results. They are: first, technical cooperation between the
Geological Survey of India and its Mongolian counterpart in the areas of
training, satellite based mapping, targeted surveys and studies; second,
technical cooperation between the Indian Bureau of Mines and its Mongolian
counterpart in the areas of mineral processing, laboratory scale studies and
training, information sharing and computerized ore body modeling; third,
formation of a consortium of Indian companies from both the public and private
sectors to seek mining and mineral concessions from Mongolian authorities for
exploration and/or development; fourth, possible formation of joint venture
companies among Government of India backed companies and development of mineral
and mining assets including uranium and coking coal; and , fifth, conducting
studies on infrastructure issues associated with development of mineral
resources.

Minister for
Mineral Resources and Energy D.Zorigt wanted participation of Indian companies
in different sectors, and the Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade,
B.Bayarbaatar, pledged the support of his Ministry to facilitate movement on
the issues identified.

The
delegation also visited the Mongolian University of Science and Technology,
where the University President expressed interest in collaborating on mining
and geology R&D projects, exchange of scholars and students and industry
specific research.