Operations at Tavan Tolgoi come to a halt

Coal mining operations at Mongolia’s Tavan Tolgoi mine have ground to a halt, amid a disagreement between the mine’s operator and contractor.

Contracting firm, Macmahon Holdings Ltd said that operations at the mine had been suspended due to a “a range of disagreements” with state-owned mine operator, Erdenes Tavan Tolgoi JSC.

In a statement, Australia-based Macmahon said about AU$ 22 million in progress payments for completed work was overdue, and that Macmahon had been in talks with Erdenes Tavan Tolgoi (ETT) over the payments.

Macmahon said both parties were “engaging in discussions to see whether the matters can be resolved by agreement.”

Macmahon has been operating at Tavan Tolgoi since 2012 and its contract is due to expire in 2017. It won a bid in August 2011 to work as a contract miner at the east pit at Tavan Tolgoi, Mongolia’s largest coal deposit. The pit contains 1.08 billion t of coal reserves and 78% of these reserves are metallurgical coal.

Most of the coal mined at Tavan Tolgoi is delivered to the Aluminium Corp. of China. 

Written by Sam Dodson

Read the article online at: https://www.worldcoal.com/coal/20082014/mongolian-coal-mining-operation-suspended-1233/