Mongolia shows preparedness in mining future
Mongolia’s mining industry has seen major improvements in recent years, with its contribution to the nation’s GDP growing to nearly 30 percent in 2008. Now, the nation is making moves that indicate it is gearing up for a massive mining boom, according to the Daily News-Miner. On Wednesday, October 19, the U.S. ambassador to Mongolia traveled to Fairbanks, Alaska, where he reportedly sought to forge a relationship between his native America and Mongolia. Despite being a world apart, Ambassador Johnathon Addleton says, the two areas share the commonalities of cold weather, sparsely populated regions and large mineral resources, making it an ideal location from which to outline Mongolia’s mining future.Many believe the trip was planned so that Mongolia could learn from Alaska’s well-established mining sector. Rajive Ganguli, chairman of the University of Alaska Fairbanks Department of Mining and Geological Engineering, says he has been working to build a relationship between Mongolia’s mining industry and the school for more than four years. The technological advancements in the mining industry that are being developed by the school would greatly benefit a country like Mongolia, which is only now beginning to realize the potential of its wealth of minerals, the media outlet states.
The nation’s massive Oyu Tolgoi mine, expected to begin production in 2013, is estimated to produce 1.2 billion pounds of copper and 650,000 ounces of gold each year in its first 10 years of operation.
If Mongolia were to create formal ties with Alaska’s mining industry, the country’s mining sector could quickly take off.
“They’ve always had mines there, but now they need Western productivity,” Ganguli said. “I think we have a lot to offer.”
According to a report released by Eurasia Capital, coal output from Mongolia doubled in 2010, reaching 25 million tons, increasing from 13 million tons in 2009. This marked the first time in the country’s history that coal exports surpassed copper exports, with the value of coal reaching $877.6 million. The agency predicts that in the next ten years, coal production will surge to more than four times what was seen in 2010, to more than 100 million tons by 2020.
To tap into its vast mineral resources, Mongolia has contracted Macmahon and Operta mining companies to being operations at its Tavan Tolgoi mine in a five-year deal worth $490 million.
“This is an exciting new project that will see Macmahon at the forefront of one of the world’s largest emerging mining regions,” Macmahon chief Nick Bowen stated.
The nation’s massive Oyu Tolgoi mine, expected to begin production in 2013, is estimated to produce 1.2 billion pounds of copper and 650,000 ounces of gold each year in its first 10 years of operation.
If Mongolia were to create formal ties with Alaska’s mining industry, the country’s mining sector could quickly take off.
“They’ve always had mines there, but now they need Western productivity,” Ganguli said. “I think we have a lot to offer.”
According to a report released by Eurasia Capital, coal output from Mongolia doubled in 2010, reaching 25 million tons, increasing from 13 million tons in 2009. This marked the first time in the country’s history that coal exports surpassed copper exports, with the value of coal reaching $877.6 million. The agency predicts that in the next ten years, coal production will surge to more than four times what was seen in 2010, to more than 100 million tons by 2020.
To tap into its vast mineral resources, Mongolia has contracted Macmahon and Operta mining companies to being operations at its Tavan Tolgoi mine in a five-year deal worth $490 million.
“This is an exciting new project that will see Macmahon at the forefront of one of the world’s largest emerging mining regions,” Macmahon chief Nick Bowen stated.
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