Steppe Metal Powder (SMP), the first metal powder plant in Mongolia, officially commenced its production and held an opening ceremony on 11 April 2022. The opening of the plant which produces a variety of metal powder, an important material for advanced industries such as additive manufacturing, metal injection molding and powder metallurgy, signifies a successful international and domestic collaboration in the support  of the New Revival Policy announced by the Government of Mongolia in December 2021. With the commissioning of this high-tech, modern plant, Mongolia’s metallurgical capability reached a level akin to that of developed countries, paving the way for export diversification, production of high-end industrial products, and further development of skills and knowledge new to Mongolia.

SMP team, Mongolian engineers and technicians worked side by side with experts from the United Kingdom to build a European-standard metal powder plant in the span of three years.

The project was initiated by a Mongolian national investor Steppe Copper LLC in 2018 and received majority of its required funding  the International Investment Bank (IIB), a prestigious international financial institution based in Budapest. The development, construction and installation of the plant and laboratory facility involved the collaboration of more than 50 local companies. Also, 15 international enterprises including GGP Metalpowder AG from Germany and Grace Metal Powders, Thomas Halliwell, Jack Sharkey, AJM Polyfilters, Taylormade Induction, JLI Leach & Co Ltd from the UK participated as technological partners and equipment suppliers.

Having expressed his gratitude to the project lender, partners, subcontractors and individuals involved in the project, Mr. Tsagaan Puntsag, Chairman of the Board of Directors of SMP and the initiator of the project, said “An unindustrialized nation may be likened to a poor, dim, and dependent household. Industrialization has many benefits, such as technological advancement, high productivity of engineers and technicians, value-added products, export variety, and import substitution. Our team has laid the foundation of powder metallurgy, taking a huge step for Mongolia toward the Fourth Industrial Revolution”.

Mr. Amarsaikhan Sainbuyan, Deputy Prime Minister of Mongolia, congratulated and wished success to SMP for having established the plant and making a valuable contribution to the industrialization of Mongolia. He noted, “At a time when the global social and economic situation is difficult, the government has adopted the New Revival Policy to reinvigorate Mongolia’s industrial sector. It is a great pleasure to know that a plant demonstrating a technological progress and the skills of Mongolian engineers is being put into operation at a time when we are trying to revive our industrial  and manufacturing capability. This plant has raised the level of domestic metal processing by one step and set a new stage for the development of the country’s industrial development by producing new value-added export products”.

Mr. Yondon Gelen, Minister of Mining and Heavy Industry of Mongolia, remarked, “In line with the Government’s policy, the creative and constructive team of SMP has commissioned a brand-new export-oriented plant based on advanced equipment and technology with a capacity of processing copper cathode and copper scrap up to 3,000 tonnes per annum. As the Minister of Mining and Heavy Industry, I congratulate SMP , its partners and financiers for having tenaciously overcome the difficult period of the pandemic and related hardships with great effort and successfully completed its plant in a short period. Metal powder can be used to produce high-precision products and materials with special properties for various applications, such as automobiles, aerospace, diamond tools, and electronics, as well as to produce coins, jewelry, electrical and electronic products in 3D printing and powder metallurgy. We believe that your company is creating opportunities, accessing to a higher efficiency from natural resources and starting a whole new industry.”

Mrs. Enkhjargal Danzanbaljir, a member of the Board of Directors of International Investment Bank (IIB), presented the official greetings of the project lender, “IIB’s loan agreement with the respected company SMP  was concluded a little over a year and a half ago. And today, after a very short time, we are participants in a historic event, the opening of a super-modern high-tech enterprise to produce copper and metal powders from copper alloys. The implementation of this project allows us to solve a number of tasks that are extremely essential for the economic and social progress of Mongolia since it contributes to a direct and indirect increase in the level of employment of the population and gives a powerful impetus to the development of a modern metalworking enterprise with high international standards of environmental and industrial safety”. During the presentation of SMP project, Mr. Askhar Bakyei, Executive Director of SMP, noted that “The IIB’s decision to fund the metal powder project in April 2020, when the global and national investment conditions had been worsening against the backdrop of COVID—19 pandemic, represented not only a significant catalyst for our project, but also meaningful contribution to the economy of Mongolia.