Joseph
King Jun-chih, 43 and an accounting graduate from the State University of New
York, and a friend founded North Asia Resources, which was acquired by Green
Global Resources in July last year. Green Global, which used to be an
agricultural and information technology firm, appointed King chairman in March.
A month later it reverted to the name North Asia Resources, focusing on mining.
Since Green Global”s acquisition, North Asia has been busy in Mongolia which
has large reserves of minerals.

North
Asia owns and operates an iron ore and copper mine and two gold mines in
Mongolia. The Oyut Ovoo iron and copper mine in south-central Mongolia has
already produced 20,000 tons of iron ore for trial production,  King said, while 1,200 grams have been dug out
from the gold mines. North Asia has big ambitions. It is aiming to position
itself as the BHP Billiton of Mongolia, and be the gateway for the transfer of
resources from Mongolia to China, according to a report in The Standard, Hong
Kong.

“No
pain, no gain” is King”s motto as he tries to steer the firm into a
leadership role. To achieve this the management team has to be on its toes. So
two of the three executive directors are based in Mongolia to keep a firm grip
on supervision and management. “We have to be there to learn about the
local environment, law, local conditions and customs,” King said. “We
want to send a strong signal to our partners that our management team is not
there for sightseeing. We are committed.” The firm has an advisory board,
packed with world-class mining experts.

Although
Mongolia is a developing country, it will be a mega resources producer in 20 to
30 years, the World Bank predicts. “It is a golden opportunity for
us,” King noted, “considering that Mongolia is next to China.” North
Asia has an office in Ulaanbaatar, and King said he is satisfied with the
mines” operations. “Oyut Ovoo is an open-pit mine, easy for exploitation
and the cost is low too.” North Asia is looking to expand production
starting next spring.

“It
took us only six months, from the acquisition to the initial blasting. We have
legal and government approval to proceed,” King said, noting that projects
can get off the ground quickly in Mongolia because of the government”s keen
interest in foreign investment. “Mongolia is a mining-friendly country
with laws that allow co- production and joint ventures for mining
projects,” he said.

But not
all is rosy. The biggest problem for doing mining business in Mongolia is
transportation, King said. “Most of the country is uninhabited and there
used to be only one railway built by the Russians decades ago.” The gauge
of the track in Mongolia is wider than in China, “so the iron ore couldn”t
go anywhere if we did not solve the transportation problem.”

North
Asia then decided to team up with China Railway Mongolia, a subsidiary of China
Railway. Under their agreement, China Railway Mongolia will purchase 1.5
million tonnes of iron ore from North Asia at the prevailing market price each
year and transport at least 2.5 million tonnes for North Asia to Erenh on the
Mongolian-China border every year.

King
said North Asia will focus on developing its business in Mongolia by acquiring
several more iron mines in the future. China needs large quantities of iron to
feed its growing industries. “That”s why I am so bullish about our
future,” King said.