Korea Coal begins coal production in Mongolia

Korea Coal Corp. (KOCOAL), South Korea's state-run coal mine developer, said Tuesday that it has begun production of bituminous coal in a coal mine in northwestern Mongolia. KOCOAL said that it has finished a test run and plans to produce 300,000 tons of bituminous coal in 2011 at the Khotgor coal mine, located in Bukhmurun, Uvs Province. KOCOAL purchased a 51 percent stake in the open-pit mine in December last year. The company said that it will raise the annual capacity to between 1 million and 2 million tons in the future. The Mongolian coal mine is estimated to have about 109 million tons of coal reserves. KOCOAL said that it is in talks with Mongolia's neighboring regions, including the Tuva Republic of Russia, to supply coal. Mongolia has the world's fourth-largest coal reserves, and there are more undeveloped mines in the country, according to KOCOAL.