But not only the mining companies, this gold rush has also changed some of the lives of the Mongolian poorest. Thousands of people, called the “Ninjas”, have left home to take up digging and sifting for gold full-time.

Extreme cold in Mongolia has killed so much livestock that the United Nations is starting a programme to pay herders to clean and collect the carcasses.

More than 2.7m livestock have already died and another 3m carcasses are expected by June.

The UN Development Programme cash-for-work programme aims to produce income for herders whose livelihoods have disappeared due to the weather.

The two officials are being sent to Mongolia as World Bank consultants under a $500,000 program created by the global financial body to help the country modify and strengthen its financial systems. Mongolia has received financing from the International Monetary Fund, much as Korea did more than a decade ago.

Known locally as a "dzud," the unfolding disaster stems from naturally occurring factors that are combining to wipe out livestock. The summer of 2009 was particularly dry, hampering the ability of many herders to gather sufficient supplies of fodder and hay. And this winter is proving to be one of the harshest in living memory, with heavy snowfall, chilling winds, and temperatures averaging minus 35 Celsius (-31 Fahrenheit).

The fierce weather so far is responsible for the deaths of over 2 million animals since the start of winter, says Rana Flowers, the United Nations’ Acting Resident Coordinator.

But the prime minister made clear at a press conference on Monday that he would prefer to abandon the auction. He said: “We have not ruled out foreign mining companies having a stake but our preferred option is complete state control.” 

Five people were killed and more than 200 were hurt in the riots over alleged election fraud. It was the worst violence since the impoverished but resource-rich country tucked between China and Russia shook off communism nearly two decades ago.

Amnesty International in a statement released Friday said police shot at least nine people in the July 2008 rioting, killing four.

The typed letter, described by the New York auction house as "the utmost rarity", is countersigned by Soviet foreign minister Vyacheslav Molotov. It is expected to fetch $15,000-25,000.

Prime Minister Sukhbaatariin Batbold said that the poor, landlocked country is first studying the creation of three companies -- one for mining assets, another for energy assets and a third for infrastructure holdings.

The government would then look to float shares in these companies in London, New York or Hong Kong, before bringing them to Mongolia's domestic stock market, he said.

Ivanhoe is considering a schedule that envisions construction of the initial open-pit mine completed in 2012 and commercial production begin in 2013, said its chief executive, John Macken, in a statement.

The WHO sent over 45,000 doses of Tamiflu to Mongolia, which has had a rapid rise in reported cases of H1N1 since the first were detected in mid-October.

Mongolia has confirmed 859 cases of H1N1 and six deaths, with cases reported in its far-flung aimags, or provinces, as well as the capital Ulan Bator.

The Mongolian Maritime Administration, based in a city located about 1,400 kilometres (850 miles) from the nearest ocean port, has registered more than 1,600 ships since it opened its doors in 2003.

Lovecraft's major inspiration and invention was cosmic horror, the idea that life is incomprehensible to human minds and that the universe is fundamentally alien. Those who genuinely reason, like his protagonists, gamble with sanity. Lovecraft has developed a cult following for his Cthulhu Mythos, a series of loosely interconnected fiction featuring a pantheon of human-nullifying entities

With another US$500-million in its pocket, SouthGobi will accelerate plans to expand production at Ovoot Tolgoi from 1.5 million tonnes a year to eight million, and build a mine at its nearby Soumber deposit. The company also wants to develop a rail link between Ovoot Tolgoi and the Mongolia-China border that could eliminate some congestion at the oft-closed border crossing.