Green Global Resources will start iron ore production in the second half of the year in Mongolia, despite disturbances caused by severe weather. “We”re about two weeks behind schedule now but we are working hard to catch up,” Joseph King, newly appointed chairman of the agribusiness-turned-mining company, has said. Green Global will change its name to North Asia Resources Holdings Ltd following a reverse takeover last year amid a raft of Mongolian mining firms flocking to Hong Kong to list.

It has invested in an iron ore mine in Dundgobi province, about 270 km southwest of Ulaanbaatar, with an estimated 148.9 million tons of iron resources and 174,000 tons of copper resources in the First Mine Area alone, which accounts for about 8.33 percent of the total mine area. “Cash flow will start to come in after production starts in the second half,” King said.

State-owned China Railway Engineering Corp will have an 8 percent stake in the company, and has agreed to buy at least 1.5 million tons of iron ore per year at market prices and provide transportation services for the mine”s output of at least 2.5 million tons per year to Erenhot for 10 years with an option to renew.

King said the company will announce after the Easter holiday a China state-owned company as contract miner for the iron ore project, Golden Pagoda, which holds mining rights in the Oyut Ovoo property. China Railway is building a docking station for the project, with work to be completed in July, which will facilitate transport of the ore between Mongolia and China, he added.

Green Global also has recently announced plans to buy two alluvial gold mines in Mongolia for USD5 million.