Mongolia”s coal exports are
expected to keep posting exponential gains and reach some 50 million tonnes by
2015, a government official has told Reuters, though infrastructure constraints
are seen remaining a hurdle for the country”s booming mining sector. Total coal
exports are expected to jump 50 percent from a year ago to 25 million tonnes
this year and rise further to between 30-35 million tonnes in 2012, A.
Erdenepurev, general-director of the fuel policy department at Mongolian”s
Ministry of Mineral Resources and Energy, has said.

Mongolia”s coal sector, which
accounts for a third of the country”s earnings, has grown rapidly in the past
few years to become an important coking coal supplier to China. However, a
severe lack of roads, rail lines, electricity, water and skilled workers in the
impoverished nation of 2.7 million people pose formidable challenges to
Mongolia”s mining boom.

“There are 5,000 trucks
per day on the road linking the southern Gobi region to the Chinese border
right now and that number is going to grow and cause congestion,”
Erdenepurev said. “There is a serious need for new infrastructure but it
also demands huge investments.”