25 - 30 June 2023
We arrived in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia on the morning of 25 June after a 12 hour plus flight from Singapore, transiting through Seoul. Bayar whom I met in Bangkok in January this year had established a new company, Clean BotanEco LLC to work with Kinross as the exclusive distributor of Kinross’s products in Mongolia. After picking us up from the airport and sending us for a quick check-in, we were taken on a tour of Ulaanbaatar and to the outskirts where the world famous Chinggis Khan statue was.
The Distribution Agreement between Kinross Pte Ltd and Clean BotanEco LLC was prepared by Kinross’s lawyer, Yusarn Audrey LLC, and was signed on the 26th of June 2023. Bayarjargal Batsukh, the CEO of Clean BotanEco signed on behalf of their company while Dennis Ng, CEO of Kinross signed on behalf of Kinross Pte Ltd.
Signing of the Distributor Agreement between Kinross Pte Ltd and Clean BotanEco LLC on 26 June 2023
The signing was witnessed by Bayar Zorigt, a shareholder of Clean BotanEco LLC. After the signing, Dennis presented Bayaraa, a copy of the book “What Your Food Ate”, written by Professor David R. Montgomery and his wife, Anne Bikle. Professor David R. Montgomery is an acclaimed author on Soil after having written five books on Soil. Professor David R. Montgomery is one of the appointed Scientific Advisors to Kinross as he is an authority on Soil.
Signing of the Distributor Agreement between Kinross Pte Ltd and Clean BotanEco LLC on 26 June 2023
Our Distributor brought us to meet with the General Director from the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Light Industry. We spent about one half hours with him explaining about Kinross and how we could help Mongolia in their food security concerns. We also brought up the possibility of carbon credits through the use of our products that can increase Soil Organic Matter which leads to more Carbon sequestration in the soil. Mr Tsendgombo also told us that Mongolia is moving towards less use of chemical fertilizers and that in 2024 they intend to subsidize farmers 30% of their cost in switching to organic fertilizers. He also mentioned that in the northern part of Mongolia, they have about 1 million hectares of land for Agriculture.
Meeting with Mr Bolorchuluun Tsendgombo, the General Director, Policy Planning Department of the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Light Industry on the afternoon of 26 June 2023.
Before we left the office, Mr Tsendgombo gave us a translated copy of the Mongolian Parliament Resolution on some measures to strengthen food security. This was very helpful information for us to understand the needs of the government and how we can support the Mongolian people. Our products which help to regenerate the soil which is very much in line with their government’s objectives.
Translated copy of the Mongolian Parliament Resolution on measures to strengthen food security
Point 3 under the Mongolian Parliament Resolution is very applicable for Kinross’s products
Following that, we visited Tumen Shuvuut. Tumen Shuvuut JSC is engaged in egg production and organic fertilizer. The company offers products such as chicks for other chicken farmers, animal feed processing plant as well as organic fertilizer manufacturing plant.
Tumen Shuvuut, a Listed Egg Producer on Mongolian Stock Exchange
Meeting with the CEO and Executive Director, Bold Jiglid and the Vice President, Bayarjargal Erkhembayar. Bold did a presentation to us on their company and the business they are in. We were informed they currently have 600,000 egg laying chicken and a compost capacity of just 2,000 tons relying on the manure of just one egg laying farm.
Visit to Tumen Shuvuut, a Listed Egg Producer on Mongolian Stock Exchange, as well as their namecard
We were shown samples of their compost from the egg laying chickens. Their compost has Nitrogen of 3.0-4.2%, Potassium of 2.5-3.0% and Phosphorous of 3.5-4.0%. There is no Humic Acid in their compost. We are told they pre-treat the Chicken Manure for 15 days and then Compost it for 45 days. They can only do the composting during the months of May – September. They use Japanese machinery for their composting. They are selling the 20 kg bag for approximately USD3.60 but apparently the sales are not that good.
Tumen Shuvuut's compost
We presented to them Kinross’s business structure which consists of our Agriculture division and our Environment Division.
We explained that currently our core focus is treating diseased soil, depleted soil and helping to turn deserts into grassland.
We also explained the ingredients of our product which consists of microbes and the need for us also to use organic compost to create a product similar to Black Soil which has a high Humic Acid content.
We later touched on how our microbes were used in collaboration with a company which provides pro biotics to Animal Feed producers in Taiwan.
Presentation of Kinross' business structure
After our presentation, they expressed interest to work with us on the Organic Compost to turn it into a Black Soil equivalent product as well as to try out the pro biotics to see if their chicks can become chickens capable of hatching eggs in a shorter time period.
Presenting them with the book, “What Your Food Ate” which has been autographed by our Scientific Advisor, David R. Montgomery after the meeting.
After that, we visited Oyu Tolgoi's office. Oyu Tolgoi LLC is a Mongolian company, jointly owned by ErdenesOyu Tolgoi LLC on behalf of the Government of Mongolia (34 per cent) and Rio Tinto (66 per cent). Rio Tinto also manages Oyu Tolgoi on behalf of the partnership.
Oyu Tolgoi is led by a Management Team of experts in all aspects of the mining business, and this team drives the strategic agenda for the business. Oyu Tolgoi’s Board of Directors, made up of representatives of all shareholders, plays an oversight and decision making role in support of the strategic direction of the company.
On this visit, we met with Myagmarkav Lkhagvasuren, Superintendent for Biodiversity and Dashnyam Batsuuri, Specialist Biodiversity Research.
Visit to Oyu Tolgoi office at Monnis Tower, 12 floor, Chinggis Ave 15, Ulaanbaatar 14240 on 28 June 2023
During this visit, Dennis did a poweporint presentation of Kinross to the Biodiversity team of Oyu Tolgoi, tasked with the rehabilitation of the mining site of Oyu Tolgoi.
After the presentation, Myagmarkav was interested in our microbial technology. He informed us that they have set up a controlled environment facility and have invited various parties to participate in trials to show the effectiveness of rehabilitating the soil of their mining site.
They have a huge task ahead to rehabilitate the soil of the Oyu Tolgoi Copper mine when the project is completed. They were keen upon hearing that our microbial technology can be used to regenerate soil that has been degraded. One of the main questions he asked was if our bacteria would be native to the country of Mongolia and if it would harm the soil. To that question we replied that the microbes were originally extracted from Japan and what we do is to add them to animal manure to turn it into very rich soil with good macro nutrients and high humic acid content. We told him it is unlikely we can make the degraded soil any worse with our product.
Dennis with Myagmarkav
•The meeting also touched on whether our product of KinAqua comprising our liquid bacteria could be added to food waste to manufacture our KinTerra which is high in Humic Acid. They were interested in food waste as they have 6,000 workers at the Oyu Tolgoi site and there is a large amount of food waste
•We were also told during the meeting that Oyu Tolgoi has committed to growing up to 100 million trees in Mongolia as part of the vision of the Mongolian government to grow over 1 billion trees
•We were also told that Oyu Tolgoi has landscaping projects which might need our KinAqua if the trial is successful
•After hearing of their plans, we have expressed interest to participate in the trials to rehabilitate their mining land. We will work with our Distribution Agent, BotanEco to bring in sufficient KinAqua for the trial and to source for local compost to manufacture KinTerra.
•During the meeting, we also showed Oyu Tolgoi a sample of a biodegradable product for early stages of growth for young trees. As the biodegradable product can hold our KinTerra and be soaked in KinAqua for a prolonged period of time, this will ensure a high probability of success for the young trees to grow until ready to be transplanted in the city or in the an area which they are planning to grow the 100 million trees.
•Oyu Tolgoi has expressed very keen interest in this product as well.
•There is a plan to sign an MOU between Oyu Tolgoi and BotanEco for the trial
Visit to National Forest Agency of the Government of Mongolia at Government Building II, Bayangol district, Chingunjav street, 16050 Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
Dennis and the team of Clean BotanEco had the opportunity to meet with the Director-General of the Mongolian National Forest Agency, Mr Oyunsanaa Byambasuren on 28 June 2023.
Dennis presented to Mr Byambasuren on the microbial technology of Kinross, its ability to regenerate soil and to assist in the growing of trees in line with the vision of the Mongolian government. We showed him the biodegradable product for the early stages of growth for trees and how this biodegradable product worked in conjunction with KinTerra and KinAqua.
Meeting with Mr Oyunsanaa Byambasuren, the Director-General of the Mongolian National Forest Agency on 28 June 2023.
•Mr Byambasuren was happy to meet with us and he says the Mongolian government are open to explore new technologies to maintain and expand their forests.
•We were told they have 1.2 million hectares of forest to maintain and they are looking to grow more trees. One of the difficulties they have is transplanting the trees from nursery to forest and to ensure they are able to adapt and survive. So the biodegradable product to ensure the health of the trees during transplanting was of keen interest to him.
•He also said they are looking into a green belt to contain the expansion of the desert so he would like us to do trials on desert soil. We told him we would be conducting trials with Oyu Tolgoi for their soil from the mines which would probably be similar to the soil from the Gobi desert. As such, we asked if they would like to have an observer for the trial instead. He expressed interest to collaborate with us and Oyu Tolgoi.
•Mr Byambasuren says the government is open to support us in all ways for our product to improve the forests and soil in Mongolia and he said they have strong financial support in this aspect from the United Nations as well.
•Mr Byambasuren is an academic with a strong interest in forestry and soil and he was very happy to hear of our Advisor, Mr Montgomery who is an expert in soil. He was delighted to be presented with an autographed book on “What Your Food Ate” after our meeting.
Presenting Mr Byambasuren with a copy of the book “What Your Food Ate” written and autographed by our Scientific Advisor, Professor David R. Montgomery. The introduction to the National Forest Agency was through our Sole Distributor, Clean BotanEco LLC.
We also visited a Nursery owned by Mr Bayarjargal. B, who is the CEO of GreenTrends Environmental Services. The Nursery we visited is about 40 km away from Ulaanbaatar city and the Highway we travelled on was recently built. This Highway would have taken us to the borders of Russia. Mr Bayarjargal has about 6 hectares of land here and planning to expand more. He grows different varieties of trees and they are used as part of his landscaping business and service to clients.
Visit to Nursery of Mr Bayarjargal . B, CEO of GreenTrends Environmental Services
This Nursery is just two months old having moved here from a different part of Mongolia. For most of the trees they grow, it takes about 2-3 years before they are of a size large enough to be sold. Besides trees, they also grow crops that can be made into animal feed.
Visit to Nursery of Mr Bayarjargal . B, CEO of GreenTrends Environmental Services
The soil looks to be of both sandy and clayish quality and perhaps the reason why it takes a long time for the trees to grow. They have a water point where they warm up the water before irrigating the land. Mr Bayarjagal would want to use our KinAqua to see if the growth of the trees can be accelerated.
Sandy and clayish soil found at the Nursery
The greenhouses in the background are also a trial for them to see if they can accelerate the growth of the plants in warmer conditions. They are not heated by electricity but from the heat of the sun in an enclosure. The person with the gray T shirt is the Manager of the Nursery and his family looks after the nursery.
Greenhouses at the Nursery
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