The funny thing about ALL these articles on the huge decade of growth ahead for Mongolia is when I was there in May, I think I hit EVERY bar and restaurant listed in these articles.

It shouldn't come as any surprise that mineral- and natural resource-rich Mongolia has plenty of "rare earths" ... that is, precious metals that are utilized in a wide array of defense weapons and technology and energy product like cell phones, wind turbines, hybrid cars and PCs. Now the country is about to set up a Rare Earth Exchange.

One way to play rare earths now is with this new U.S.-based ETF

In the first half of July, foreign trade in Mongolia surged 83.6%. Imports doubled and exports rose 57% year-over-year, bringing in almost 900 million (USD).

Heck, I wish the U.S. had that much cash to spare! Can they spot us a few bucks?

Simply getting ready to mine is supercharging Mongolia's tiny economy. Its GDP grew 6.1 percent last year and was up 9.7 percent in the first quarter of 2011 from a year earlier.

“The mining sector could very well carry Mongolia for the next 50 years,” says Parmeshwar Ramlogan, the Ulaanbaatar-based resident representative for Mongolia at the International Monetary Fund.

We know Mongolia has untold riches in the form of untapped natural resources. We also know that the coming infrastructure build-out will be what gets those metals and minerals to the countries that are willing to pay top dollar for them. But ... where's the money for that nonexistent infrastructure coming from?

In a joint statement, the U.S. President Barack Obama and Mongolia President Elbegdorj Tsakhia expressed their commitment to nurturing a pre-existing economic partnership and developing an energy partnership whereby the U.S. recognizes the Mongolian Nuclear Initiative and applauds the company for a nuclear-weapons-free commitment.

Read the full White House statement here.

There's been much ado about bonds these past few years, what with many countries' ratings in danger of dropping to "junk" or near-junk levels. 

But Mongolia is not one of those tired and broken countries that's struggling to stay afloat. Quite the contrary -- it's got a fresh slate and a new start, and its central bank expects it can raise $700 million before year-end from an international bond issue.

Mongolia's Tavan Tolgoi mining project is home to 6 billion metric tons of coking coal reserves. And with China's (and other emerging markets') need for infrastructure and, of course, steel, that means global interest in the Tavan Tolgioi project.

You know you've arrived as an emerging-market economy when an Exchange-Traded Fund is under development to help investors in other markets to trade your country. And so, it should come as no surprise that a Mongolian ETF is in the works thanks to Van Eck, which has created a number of emerging-market trading vehicles.

Everyone in Mongolia is about to be the proud owner of a little over 500 shares in a local coal company.

I wrote to you after my recent trip to Mongolia about the Erdenes-Tavan Tolgoi mine IPO -- which includes a move by the government to do right by its citizens before the mining industry explodes in that country.