Mongolia wants a state-run enterprise to own a "significant percentage" of the country's Tavan Tolgoi deposit, the largest undeveloped coking coal deposit in the world, so as to retain control of it, while a second tranche is to be operated by a group of foreign and domestic companies, Bloomberg has reported, citing Mongolian Minister for Minerals and Energy Dashdorj Zorigt.
Accordingly, Mr. Zorigt declined to give details of what percentage of Tavan Tolgoi would be controlled by a state-owned company, but said that shares in Tavan Tolgoi would initially be sold on the Mongolian stock exchange. Parliament may decide on the matter by mid-July, Zorigt said, adding that the bidding process for the group and the names of foreign companies will also be discussed by parliament.
As for the Tavan Tolgoi project, over ten bidders have expressed interest. Among the companies that have publicly said they are interested in developing Tavan Tolgoi is the biggest Chinese coal producer China Shenhua Energy Co. In addition, Mongol 999 Consortium, a consortium of Mongolian companies, has also expressed interest.
The Tavan Tolgoi mine, with estimated coking coal reserves of 6.5 billion metric tons, is located in the province of Ömnögovi in the south of Mongolia.