Invited by Prof. MIAO Laicheng, the director of the Joint Research Center for Central-East Asian Earth Sciences of IGGCAS, a Mongolian delegation led by Prof. Munkhtsengel Baatar, the director of the Geoscience Center of the Mongolian University of Science and Technology (MUST), visited our institute from January 15 to 21, 2024.  

The research group led by Prof. MIAO Laicheng has conducted cooperative research with M. Baatar’s group for more than 10 years, focusing on the fields of ophiolites and orogenic evolution, regional metallogeny, and graduate/technician training. The cooperation has yielded significant outcomes, such as identifying the Cambrian Middle Gobi ophiolites on the south side of the Main Mongolian Lineation and the Cambrian Kherlun ophiolite inside the Precambrian blocks in NE Mongolia, the recognition of a >1000-km-long Cambrian eclogite-bearing high-pressure metamorphic belt in central-northern Mongolia, and the discovery of Permian-Triassic ophiolite and a bimodal igneous rock suite in the back-arc extension domain of the Mongol-Okhotsk Ocean. These results are important for understanding the tectonic evolution of the Eastern Central Orogenic Belt (ECAOB) and the Mongol-Okhotsk Belt and for establishing the Paleozoic tectonic framework in the ECAOB. According to these findings, a total of 28 academic papers co-authored by the two parties have been published. At the same time, 4 PhD students have been jointly trained, with 2 graduating and the other 2 studying at the IGGCAS. 

During the visit, the two sides discussed the detailed executive plan for current cooperative projects financially supported by the Natural Science Foundation of China, focusing on the study of the ophiolites and a unified tectonic framework in East Mongolia and Northeast China. They also engaged in academic exchange on the topic of tectono-magma-mineralization in the Mongol-Okhotsk collisional belt. Meanwhile, the Director of the Key Laboratory of Mineral Resources at CAS met and talked in a friendly with the Mongolian guests. They reviewed the cooperative history since 2011 between the IGGCAS and MUST, as well as other Mongolian institutions, expressing satisfaction with the outcomes of cooperative research in Earth Sciences and jointly training graduates by the two sides. They expressed strong desires to deepen and expand cooperation between the two sides in future. To promote personnel and academic exchanges, deepen collaborative research in the field of tectono-metallogeny, and reinforce training for graduates and young technicians, the two sides agreed to sign a long-term cooperation framework agreement. Following the interviews and talks, a brief ceremony for signing the agreement was performed. 

Professors MIAO Laicheng, QIN Kezhang, and SHEN Ping as well as Associate Prof. ZHU Mingshuai and other relevant staff from the Key Laboratory of Mineral Research, CAS, attended the ceremony. 

Prof. CAO Mingjian (left of the front row) and Prof. M. Baatar (Right of the front row), respectively representing the Key Laboratory of Mineral Resources of CAS and the Geoscience Center of MUST, signed the cooperation agreement. (Image by IGGCAS)