The executive director of the Mongol Coal Association, T. Naran, has said that Mongolia exploited 33 million metric tons of coking coal in 2011, of which 23 million metric tons were exported to China, according to local Mongolian media sources.
The association also revealed that there are plans to export coking coal to Japan and South Korea through Tyanjing port in 2012.
Meanwhile, the head of the Mineral Resources Authority's Coal Research Department, S. Altankhuyag, said that Mongolian companies sell cheaper coal compared to global market prices because the country is landlocked and the infrastructure is insufficient. Also, the authority plans to begin processing coal and producing value-added products in the future and thereby reduce their exports of raw coal.
Mongolia has coal reserves of 162.3 billion metric tons. Mongolia's Mineral Resources Council verified 24 new coal deposits in 2011.