Mongolia's Borteeg coal deposit, located in the Tavan Tolgoi coal field in South Gobi province, officially started production on June 20, according to a government announcement. The commencement of mining operations at Borteeg marks a new chapter for Mongolia's mining industry development.

The project is managed by Erdenes Tavan Tolgoi JSC (ETT) in cooperation with domestic firms for stripping and mining operations, following a 2025 parliamentary resolution and a government decision on June 3, 2026.

ETT holds five main mining blocks at Tavan Tolgoi — Tsanghi, Borteeg, Oortsog, Onchharaat and Bortolgoi — with past operations concentrated only at Tsanghi, where ETT has produced 200 million tonnes of coal over 16 years since 2010.

Borteeg is the second-largest block by reserves at Tavan Tolgoi coal field, with 424.2 million tons of proven reserves for open-pit mining, of which 95% is coking coal and 5% thermal coal, based on current exploration data.

Once fully operational, the mine can produce 15 million tonnes of coal annually. Mongolia's total coal output in 2025 reached 95.45 million tonnes, up 0.37% year on year, according to the National Statistics Office.

In the first 10 years of operation, the project is expected to generate 4.4 trillion tugrik in taxes and fees for national and local budgets, equivalent to about 13% of Mongolia's consolidated fiscal revenue.

Cooperation with domestic firms for mining, drilling, blasting and transport will inject 10.2 trillion tugrik into Mongolia's economy over the same period.

The Tavan Tolgoi coal field is one of the world's largest undeveloped coking coal basins, with Borteeg estimated to hold over 300 million tonnes of high-quality hard coking coal.

Published Date:2026-06-25