World Placer Journal – 2009,

9, v
volume 9, pages 24-47. www.mine.mn
EMI Environmental Paper #2 – September 2009

Purpose of study
Remote sensing
of the coal sector in The overall purpose
rpose of the study iis to
assist the reader to gain a better visual
China and Mongolia
Mongoli understanding of Mongolia
Mongolia’s Coal Rush
and to draw attention to lessons that can
Robin Grayson MSc be learned from China’s’s coal industry.
industry
and Chimed-Erdene
Erdene Baatar MBA
Eco-Minex International Ltd., To achieve this, we searched for coal
Apt.14, Bldg. 40, 1/40000 Microdistrict, Sukhbaatar
activities in northern China to serve as
District, Ulaanbaatar 210644, P.O.B. 242, Mongolia.
E-mail: emiweb@magicnet.mn
models – good and bad – to help guide
About the authors Mongolia in managing its spate of new
coal mines.

The value of Google Earth in highlighting

environmental issues is illustrated by
images of coal seams on fire
fire, acid mine
waters contaminating streams
treams, and coal
dust affecting the
e nomadic pastures of
the Gobi Desert.

Chimee completed her Masters Degree in Business Administration

in 2004 with the Maastricht School of Management, and has
analysed Mongolia’s ‘coal rush’ by fieldwork and remote sensing.
She has a special interest in the complex relationships between
mining companies and artisanal miners, and is an officer of
Ulaanbaatar Rotary Club.
Robin is a qualified geologist and ecologist, and has prospected
for coal in the South Lancashire Coalfield, Hindu Kush and the
Gobi Desert. He produced new structural maps of the coalfields of
northern England for the oil industry, and was an expert witness
at several major UK public inquiries into opencast coal mining
mining.
A surprise wass the ease of track
tracking spills
from
rom coal trucks on dirt roads across the
Gobi Desert, often many kilometres from
the mine source.
The study presents evidence from Google
Earth of the merit in insisting on rail
transport of coal on environmental,
health and safety grounds, rather than
trucking by road, and for adopting rail in
transporting waste to the dumps.

An unexpected outcome was the

detection of a system of open fractures
along a 5.5.km wall of a large coa
coal mine in
Xinjiang, indicating serious
rious collapse
collapse.

Special thanks are due to Lotus Resources

PLC for technical and logistical support.

Figure 1. images of the coal mining industry

TOP – New railail loading facility at the Shivee Ovoo Mine on the
Trans-Mongolian Railway. (photo: Chimed
Chimed-Erdene Baatar)
UPPER MIDDLE – A new mine shaft being sunk by a Chinese
company at Nailakh. (photo: Chimed-Erdene
Erdene Baatar)
Baatar
LOWER MIDDLE – A new mine shaft being sunk by informal
miners (‘ninjas’) att Nailakh. (photo: Chimed-Erdene
Chimed Baatar)
BOTTOM – Satellite image of a traffic jam of coal trucks at the
entrance to the Nariin Sukhait Coal Mine e in the Gobi Desert
Desert. All is
destined for export via dirt roads to China
China. (image: Google Earth)

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World Placer Journal – 2009, volume 9, pages 24-47. www.mine.mn

Contents
Purpose of study...........................................................24 With dwindling cash and profits too low to warrant
1: Coping with a coal rush ........................................25 investment, the large mines became inefficient, production
2: Coal mines on Google Earth..................................26 targets unrealistic and unit costs rocketed. Notoriously the
3: Coal dust and ‘other’ dust .....................................26
4: Is coal detectable on Google Earth? ......................26 Sharin Gol mine “went on strike” and refused to sell coal
5: Large mine in Xinjiang – lessons for Mongolia .......27 to the power stations of Darkhan or Erdenet cities at the
6: Collapse of north face of Sandaoling Mine .............27 uneconomic price set by the Government.
7: Dumps of Sandaoling Mine ...................................28
8: Dust prevention....................................................28
9: Risk of dump fires ................................................29
10: Risk of open pit fires.............................................30
11: Risk of virgin coal fires .........................................30
12: Coal fires in China ................................................31
13: Coal fires in Mongolia ...........................................31
14: Risk of acid mine drainage....................................32
15: Options for waste transport ..................................33
16: Options for coal output.........................................34
17: Coal transport – rail option ...................................35
18: Issues at rail loading sites.....................................36
19: Coal transport – road option .................................37 Figure 2. coal mine on strike
20: Coal haul roads from mines ..................................38 A banner over the locked gate of Sharin Gol Coal Mine proclaims:
21: Haul road issue – coal spills ..................................39 “2007.09.01 – some Sharin Gol miners are on strike, to stop coal
being transported to the Darkhan and Erdenet power stations
22: Haul road issue – multi-tracks.................................40 from this date”. (photo: Chimed-Erdene Baatar)
23: Coal-burning power plants in Ulaanbaatar .............41
24: Pulverised fuel ash (PFA) in Ulaanbaatar ...............42 Such dire confrontations are eventually settled or the
25: PFA and radon gas in Ulaanbaatar ........................42 cities’ residents and infrastructure would perish in the
26: Time series on Google Earth .................................43 harsh Mongolian winter. But the low prices and
27: Coal seams on Google Earth .................................44
uncertainty have deterred investment into the ex-Soviet
28: Coal briquettes in China........................................45
29: Discussion............................................................45 flagship mines of Sharin Gol and Baganuur [2]. Today
30: Recommendations ................................................46 both struggle with antiquated equipment and try to open
31: Acknowledgements...............................................46 up blocks of reserves without sufficient funds.
32: References ...........................................................46

1. Coping with a coal rush

Mongolia only began to gain an industrialized
economy decades after the Soviet Union industrial-military
complex had matured. Late Soviet investment was barely
sufficient to barely meet Mongolia’s modest need for heat
and power. By the time the system collapsed, Mongolia
had scant experience in financial, technical, environmental,
regulatory or socioeconomic issues of large coal mines.
Yet the Soviets did prove large coalfields whose
reserves were added to the ‘State balance’ and
voluminous tomes filed in the then-secret State archives.
Disintegration of the Soviet Union caused economic
collapse and Mongolia de-industrialised rapidly. In
response, the Government made public the State Geofund
and with the assistance of the World Bank and IFC
introduced a fast-track first-come first-served mineral
cadastre. This triggered a Gold Rush in placer mining
which as part of the Government Gold Plan pumped
liquidity into the banking system and nascent private
sector and stabilised the national currency.
In contrast, Mongolia’s coal sector developed in a
lob-sided manner. Private companies opened small coal
mines near Ulaanbaatar and close to rural markets. But
large mines were cash-starved by Governments capping
coal prices to hold down prices of electricity and heating.
Figure 3. inefficient mining
The draglines have insufficient reach to fling waste out of the
open pit of Baganuur Coal Mine. (photo: Bernd Braeutigam)
Yet Mongolia has to shift from this byzantine scenario
to manage a Coal Rush of global importance, driven by
China’s insatiable appetite for energy and fuelled by a
Soviet Geofund that archived billions of tons of coal. Yet
few Mongolians are aware of what a modern coal mine
looks like or how it can produce low-cost coal profitably
year-after-year with minimum impact. Mongolia risks
repeating serious mistakes that have cost the west billions
of dollars and a century to unravel; and today these
mistakes are in evidence in China where ‘Coal is King’.
To assist the debate, we present visual evidence
from China of how to stimulate the coal sector – and
pitfalls to avoid! Finally we present some strong
recommendations for Mongolia’s policy makers.

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2. Coal mines on Google

oogle Earth
Coal mines were detected in Google Earth (GE) and
plotted as normal kmz files. Pins were chosen
hosen from the GE
selection, and coloured from the GE colour palette. To
avoid clutter, pins and text were downsized. ‘Flag pins’
were added for artisanal coal mining sites,, and black truck
pins used where coal trucks were seen. Special pins were
added for indications of acid mine drainage (AMD), coal
fires, coal-fired
fired power plants, coal briquette plants. In
addition, pins were added for signs of coal
oal exploration by
drilling and pitting, coal spillages from trucks and multi-
multi
tracking of coal haul roads.
4. Is coal detectable
on Google Earth?
We have detected coal seams on high high-definition
Google Earth in northern China and southern Mongolia,
particularly in rocky desert regions. This is made possible
by solid coal having a dull blackish colour, in sstark contrast
with the pale sandstones, siltstones and shaley clays with
which coal so often is associated. Where clay rocks
predominate, or where sandstones are soft, then the coal
seams can be the hardest local rock in the sedimentary
sequence and so the seams may sometimes stand proud
as ribs through the thin desert soils.
When coal is disturbed by mining, including artisanal
and small-scale
scale mining (ASM), then the inevitable spillages
of powdery broken coal form tell-tale tale black to blackish-
blackish
blue areas on Google Earth.

Figure 4. coal mines in the study area

oal mines in Mongolia and north China visible in high definition
Coal
image: Google Earth)
Google Earth and used in the study. (image:

3. Coal dust and ‘other’

’ dust
As a prelude to this paper it is useful to clarify what
is meant by dust in the context of coal mining. Coal mines
commonly produce three different types of dust. Figure 7. coal visible on Google Earth
Coal’s dull black colour dominates this view of the coal yards west
Coal dust: blown from the mine floor and face, or of Beijing. Stockpiles of coal are surrounded by coal-covered
coal
from coal stockpiles and trucks. Less obvious but often ground (image: Google Earth)
more serious is the paler low carbon silica-rich
rich dust blown
from dumps of stripped overburden and flung into the air
from haul tracks by coal trucks.

Figure 5. coal dustt excursion from a coal mine

Coal dust at Shivee Ovoo Coal Mine. (photo: Robin Grayson)

Figure 6. Silica dust in a gentle dust-storm

storm
Silica-rich dust blowing across a road. (photo: Robin Grayson)
The coal dust and silica dust often become mixed
along haul roads to form a bright pale grey cover of dust.
Inter-seam dust:: blown from dumps of inter-seam
inter
waste with variable carbon and often high clay content.
Silica dust:: dust blown from overburden dumps or
flung into the air from dirt roads by coal trucks.
Figure 8. coal contrasts with arid ground
The black colour of coal
oal is often in sharp contrast to the pale
background colour of dry humus-poorpoor bare soils
soils, as here in the
informal coal mines at Nailakh. (photo: Robin Grayson)
Caution is required, for coal is mimicked by spillages
of oil, areas of black shale or slate, aand by wet organic-
rich clays. However, a characteristic of coal is a tendency
to powder once disturbed and so streaks of coal dust on
the ground can often be seen.

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World Placer Journal – 2009, volume 9, pages 24-47.
5. Large mine in Xinjiang
– lessons for Mongolia
The Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region produces
about 40% of China’s coal, and includes a wide range of
coal mines in terms of size, age and mining method.
Xinjiang’s large Sandaoling Mine is instructive for
Mongolia. For, although the mine is over 50 years old, it
demonstrates issues that can arise when developing a
large open-pit coal mine in a harshly continental arid
environment. The main open pit is about 50 metres deep
and up to 200 metres wide, and traces a narrow and
gently sinuous course along the strike of Jurassic coals
[31] for about 5.5 kilometres. These parameters are
within the size range anticipated for several open pits
envisaged for Mongolia’s Gobi desert in the short-term.
Figure 9. Sandaoling Coal Mine
High-definition Google Earth image with a cloudless sky, revealing
the entire layout of Sandaoling open-pit coal mine and its dumps.
Sandaoling city is visible at the top-right. (image: Google Earth)
Google Earth reveals mining is by a series of six to
eight benches being excavated by large electric-powered
face shovels with 11m bodies and 13m booms. These feed
rail wagons on a fleet of dedicated merry-go-round trains
that ply to-and-fro the dumps or coal stocking areas.
Figure 10. benches of Sandaoling Coal Mine
A view down inside the open pit showing seven of the mine
benches. The lighter benches are of overlying overburden that is
being stripped, while the darker lower layers are of the coal
seams and associated beds. (image: Google Earth)
Haulage is entirely by steam locomotives although
these are expected to be withdrawn and replaced by
diesel traction in the near future [30, 34].
www.mine.mn
6. Collapse of north face
of Sandaoling Mine
A remarkable feature of the Sandaoling Mine is that
the entire north face of the mine is in a state of general
instability and wholesale collapse along a 5.5-kilometre
system of open cracks. It is apparent that 100-metre wide
masses of material have episodically slipped onto the floor
of the mine, with potentially profound implications for
mine safety and efficiency. Many open fissures are
present, often generating blocks of rubble of 5 to 10
metres in size.
The precise cause of the collapse is not apparent, but
a contributory factor may be the gentle but steady surface
gradient estimated from Google Earth to be about 20
metres per kilometre. It seems that a low-angle
detachment surface has formed at or below the junction
of the dark Jurassic coal-bearing deposits with the cover
of pale overburden. Detachment would be facilitated if as
expected the coal-bearing sequence is an aquaclude with
clays of low-shear strength, whereas the cover sequence
is assumed to be a highly porous aquifer.
Figure 11. collapse of north face
Looking west to view the dramatic slide of pale overburden onto
the floor of the open pit. (image: Google Earth)
Figure 12. collapse of north face
A higher view, showing the layout of the arcuate open fissure
system. (image: Google Earth)
The openness of the fissures makes it unlikely that
the collapsed masses might be a rollover on a listric
detachment. Instead it seems to be a valley-camber
collapse, whereby the more it cambers then the more the
fissures open up.
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World Placer Journal – 2009, volume 9, pages 24-47.
7. Dumps of Sandaoling Mine
The energy expended in hauling trainloads of waste
out of the Sandaoling Mine is evident. The round-trip is a
considerable distance. Yet this is a desert environment
with no physical, cultural or land value constraints.
Accordingly the mine has enjoyed the freedom to spread
the dumps over a large footprint. This reduces the
haulage gradient so trimming haulage costs.
The operating cost of rail haulage is unknown, but is
thought to compare very favourably with that of the large
fleet of dump trucks that would otherwise be required.
Figure 13. lateral accretion of the dumps
The main dump accreting sideward by fresh material being
delivered by rail and piled neatly into arcuate ribs by a large
earth-moving machine. This may be face shovel or a walking
dragline. Note the carpet of rubble blocks that have tumbled onto
the ground at the base of the slope. (image: Google Earth)
Figure 14. vertical accretion of the dumps
A large earth-moving machine that appears to be raising the
surface of the dump by using fresh material delivered by the
railway track to its immediate right. (image: Google Earth)
www.mine.mn
8. Dust prevention
While the mine footprint might be deemed excessive
by some environmentalists, a bonus is that the evolving
landform is consistently more streamlined than would
otherwise be possible, and therefore wind erosion and
dust generation are reduced. Once a dust excursion has
begun it would be virtually impossible to stop until all the
fines had blown away and a protective lag carpet of gravel
inhibited further excursions of dust.
Figure 15. smooth landform of the dumps
The overall shape of the main dumps presents a reasonably
streamlined outline to wind. (image: Google Earth)
Using rail trucks as the sole means of transport to
the dumps generates far less dust than would be the case
if a large fleet of dump trucks were shuttling to-and-fro.
While dust suppression is theoretically possible, in practice
this is rarely satisfactory in a desert environment, not only
due to a lack of sufficient water and the evaporation of
whatever water is sprayed, but also due to spillages of
excessive uncovered loads, the jolting of laden trucks on
dirt roads, the bouncing of speeding empty trucks
returning to the mine, and not least due to the dust-
generating turbulence in the wake of every truck.
Likewise, using face shovels instead of dozers and
scrapers for modelling the surface of the dumps means
that dust generation is significantly reduced.
Figure 16. smooth landform of the dumps
The leading edge of the main dump showing the ribbed near-
horizontal top, and the steep leading edge. (image: Google Earth)
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9. Risk of dump fires

The extensive dumps of the Sandaoling Mine bear Tracing the burning material on the dumps back to
few signs of significant combustion. This is remarkable for its source reveals large areas of reddish-brown material on
the mine is in China’s ‘coal fire risk region’ [1, 11]. the floor of the open pit. We interpret this as being burnt
The reason that the dumps have large avoided fires coal that is now clinker and ash, plus associated
is evident on Google Earth. The dumps are seen to be carbonaceous clayey material that has combusted to
dominated not by dark coaly waste but by spreads of pale create ‘red shale’. As usual in coal fires worldwide, the
overburden waste that has very low carbon content and tell-tale orange-red brick colour is due to iron oxides such
so no tendency to combust. Indeed it could be used as an as haematite produced by thermal oxidation of pyrite.
inert blanket to inhibit or suppress coal fires – a clear
advantage over the new mines planned for Mongolia that
have little or no inert material in the overburden.
Nevertheless a spectacular fire raging on the dump
of Sandaoling Mine is clearly visible on Google Earth. The
fire is not in normal dumped waste, and appears to be
burning masses of train-loads of smouldering coaly
material evacuated from the mine on a contingency basis
to the dumps. Here it is free to burn itself out safely
without unduly imperilling the mine or its workers.

Figure 18. removal of burning material

The ‘red shale’ areas of the open pit indicate where coal fires
have occurred. The ‘active fires’ are interpreted as being burning
material hauled by train out of the pit. (image: Google Earth)
Figure 17. mine dump on fire
Part of a one kilometre ribbon of fire on the Sandaoling Mine
The overall evidence suggests that rail haulage has a
th
dumps on 17 September 2004. (image: Google Earth) clear advantage over truck haulage in efficiently and
safely evacuating burning material from a large open pit.

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World Placer Journal – 2009, volume 9, pages 24-47.
10. Risk of open pit fires
The Sandaoling Mine has a long history of dealing
with extensive fires in its large open pit. This struggle has
continued in recent years, with many visitors taking
photos and videos of the fires [34]. The images are
commonly of small smouldering fires scattered across the
floor of the open pit, typical of internal combustion. A few
night-time images indicate flames are present.
Flames, smoke and steam are not convincingly visible
on Google Earth, and it is presumed that the fires are too
small, too dry and too scattered. But clearly visible are
areas of ‘red shale’ that indicate extensive fires have
occurred. This does not, in itself, mean that such fires are
recent, for ‘red shale’ in Inner Mongolia has also been
produced by large coal fires triggered by natural internal
combustion thousands of years ago [19].
Of interest is ‘red shale’ with the collapsed east face
of the open pit. This may be coincidence, but a history of
coal fires would be expected to produce considerable
voids in the burnt zones rendering the pale overburden
liable to crack and slide into the open pit. Such cracks,
albeit smaller, have been mapped around the Wuda coal
fires of Inner Mongolia [35].
Figure 19. red shale next to collapsed face
The most prominent ‘red shale’ areas seem to be juxtaposed with
some of the most severe collapses visible along the north wall of
the open pit of Sandaoling Mine. (image: Google Earth)
www.mine.mn
11. Risk of virgin coal fires
Evidence of coal fires affecting virgin (unmined) coal
is common in Inner Mongolia [25, 26, 33] and Xinjiang
[38], and is also reported at Tavan Tolgoi, Nariin Sukhait
and Ukhaa Khudag in Mongolia [19].
While flames, smoke, steam and sulphurous smell
are to be expected this is not always so. Virgin coal fires
may reach an equilibrium state of quiescence for long
periods during which few such signs are manifest.
During periods of quiescence, one tell-tale sign may
still persist, namely the presence of a chain of crown holes
along the strike of the coal seam. Crown holes are roughly
circular collapses of the ground surface triggered by
upwardly migrating caverns produced by collapse of the
overburden due to reduction in volume of the coal. The
volume of coal is reduced by the loss of its carbon and
sulphur content by combustion, the driving off of moisture
content, and general shrinkage of clays.
Good examples of crown holes are visible on Google
Earth along an 800m long zone beyond the western
margin of the open pit of the Sandaoling Mine. We
attribute the crown holes to natural collapse of the ground
above ancient underground coal fires. Crown holes are
also commonly created by collapse of underground mine
workings particularly those using pillar-and-stall (= room-
and-pillar) methods of partial extraction. However the
crown holes observed on Google Earth are quite large,
often in excess of 10-15m in diameter demanding the loss
of volume underground to be in excess of what might be
expected from normal underground coal mining.
Figure 20. crown holes along the strike of the coal
Crown holes beyond the advancing western end of the open pit
of Sandaoling Mine. A group of eight fresh crown holes are visible
on the right, presumably triggered by the advancing pit, as
evidenced by the largest crown hole now acting as a focus for
open fractures extending to pit. In the top centre is a large but
somewhat indistinct crown hole that is ringed by open fractures in
the ground bending down into the cavern below. In the top left is
a string of as-yet stable crown holes. (image: Google Earth)
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12. Coal fires in China 13. Coal fires in Mongolia

While the Sandaoling Mine is instructive regarding Coal fires in Mongolia have been, and remain,
coal fires and how to combat them, many more exist common in Jurassic and Cretaceous coals that
elsewhere in China and are much more serious. Some of predominate in most regions. Coal oal fires have
hav occurred in
the worst in the world are in the Wuhai coalfield, where a the open pits or dumps of Sharin Gol Mine, Maanit Mine,
pall of smoke and acidic vapour from coal fires hides much Baganuur Mine, Shivee Ovoo Mine, Chandaltal Mine and
of the ground surface in a haze of pollution. While much Aduunchuluun Mine plus unconfirmed reports elsewhere.
of the hazard is due to industrial pollution from coal- A risk analysis is needed,, bearing in mind the many
burning power plants, heating plants and metallurgical new mines that are currently planned to open soon in
plants, a large amount is due to out-of-control
control fires at coal similar strata, and a few are likely to be of very large size
mines and on coal waste dumps. while some intend to be hybrid mines nes producing coal and
Coal fires in China were estimated to have consumed oil shale so increasing the risk of ‘difficult’ fires.
100-200 million tons of coal in 1992 [12].
]. If so, then these
fires released 2-3% of the world’s output of CO2 from
burning fossil fuel. But this figure has been revised down
to 10-20
20 million tons per year due to the red burnt shale
of paleo-fires
fires being mistaken for signs of active fires [24].
[
In Xinjiang Province red burnt shale has been dated as
forming at intervals over the last 2 million years [38]. [
Nevertheless active ‘wild’ coal fires remain a significant
contributor to global warming.
Coal fires in China have a voluminous literature;
therefore our paperper seeks merely to show something of
what can be seen of the fires by using Google Earth.

Figure 23. red shale at Maanit CoaCoal Mine

The red-orange
orange colour on the left are bricks produced in a coal
coal-
fired brick kiln at the Maanit Brickworks by heating carbonaceous
pyritic shales from the Maanit Coal Mine in Tov aimag. The mine
is the open pit in the centre right where orange tinged areas are
tell-tales
tales of coal fires. (image: Google Earth)

Figure 21. black smoke from small coal mines

Black smoke belching from a small coal mine near Wuda in Inner
Mongolia. (image: Google Earth)
Black smoke belching from coal minesmin is rather
uncommon; for it indicates only partial combustion of the
coal has occurred with huge concentrations of carbon
particles flung into the atmosphere. Black smoke is more
typical of fires in oil shale, oilfields and in the
petrochemical industry. However coal seams can be
intimately associated with oil shale, as in large parts of
Mongolia. Should a coal seam and its overlying oil shale
catch fire then a ratchet effect occurs whereby each fire
feeds the other and containment is exceptionally difficult
difficult. Figure 24. red shale at Chandaltal Coal Mine
A coal dump at Chandaltal Coal Mine east of Ulaanbaatar. The
dump caught fire years ago and is now an unsalable mass of red
ash. Some coal remains and attracts diggers
d as shown by the
convergent tracks. (image: Google Earth)
We are unaware of any coal fires at new mines in the
South Gobi and western Mongolia. However it is likely that
major coal fires will occur as large natural coal fires have
destroyed much Permian coal at Tavan Tolgoi in
prehistoric times producing burnt rock 50 metres thick,
and natural
atural burnt shale has also been reported from
Nariin Sukhait and Ukhaa Khudag coal areas [19].
Figure 22. white smoke from small coal mines
White smoke belching from small coal mines near
nea Wuda in Inner
Mongolia. (image: Google Earth)

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14. Risk of acid mine drainage

To form coal,, plant material generally has to be
preserved by anaerobic (oxygen-less) less) conditions as found
in most waterlogged swampss and bogs. Such peaty
environments not only preserve coal-forming forming materials,
but are also ideal for sulphur bacteria. As a result, coal is
often found in association with biogenic pyrite (iron
disulphide FeS2). Pyrite is a very stable mineral unless and
until
ntil it is brought into contact with aerobic (oxygen
(oxygen-rich)
groundwater.. Then the pyrite is rapidly decomposed to
yellowish-brown
brown iron oxides (rust, ochre) and the sulphur
is released as acids causing water to have very low pH.
Once pyrite has decomposed then hen ‘acid mine
drainage’ (AMD) occurs, with ochreous acidic water
issuing from the he mine mouth, dumps, springs and wells. wells
Apart from its orange-brown colour being offensive, the
ochre can damage wildlife by clogging the eggs and gills
of fish and invertebrates and by retarding photosynthesis
Figure 26. ochre water flowing from a coal mine
by aquatic plants by blotting out the sun. The extremely
View of the surface layout of a medium
medium-sided underground coal
low pH of AMD eliminates many species of marginal, mine in northern China. A stream of yellowish
ellowish-brown ochre water
floating and submerged vegetation and only a restricted is issuing as ‘acid mine drainage’. (image: Google Earth)
number of acid-tolerant species survive. Furthermore the We are unaware of any remedial treatment of AMD in
high acidity of AMD renders groundwater water capable of Chinese coalfields. An example from the UK Lancashire
leaching out heavy metals to produce highly toxic water. Coalfield is shown below [21].
Acid mine drainage (AMD) is the norm orm for ‘black coal’
mining districts in the British Carboniferous
boniferous and orange
streams are sometimes visible on Google Earth; Earth while in
mainland Europe a feature is the swathe of acidic flooded
brown coal open pits that extends from Germany to Czech
and Poland [10].
Paradoxically ochre streams are rarely visible in
Mongolia or northern China’s coalfields – apart from the
vicinity of Wuguantun where orange streams are common.
We suggest that the scarcity of ochre streams is due to
arid regions having alkaline ‘calcrete’ soils capable of
buffering acidic mine waters. In contrast many of the Figure 27. treatment of AMD in the UK
coalfields
lds of Europe have topsoil rich in humic acids from Treatment ponds for neutralising AMD and removing precipitated
ochre from the 400-old
old coal mines in Haigh Plantations, Wigan.
partly decayed lush vegetation and have enough rainfall to (image: Google Earth)
leach carbonates from the subsoil. If confirmed, then this
Acidic ochreous water can issue from coal mines for
can explain why AMD can have a marked effect in Europe
centuries as seen at Worsley near Manchester [21].
but little discernable effect in the Gobi.

Figure 28. 500 years of AMD from a UK coal mine

Figure 25. ochre water flowing from a coal mine
AMD from ancient coal mines discolouring the Bridgewater Canal
brown water downstream of a small coal mine in north
Yellowish-brown at Worsley near Manchester. The orange colour is now part of the
China. (image: Google Earth) tourism character of the village. (image: Google Earth)

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15. Options for waste transport

With exceptions such as parts of the Gobi, open pit
coal mines have substantial amounts of waste that has to
be stripped and dumped. The waste is two-fold fold:
a) overburden material that is younger than the coal
strata and poses no risk of dump fires due to a
general absence of coaly material, e.g. lateritic clays,
loess silt, river gravel.
b) more variable waste material from between the coal
seams, such as carbonaceous shale, sandstones,
seatearth clays, unsellable poor quality coal
coal, and thin
unrecoverable coal. The presence of much carbon
and pyrite renders these dumps vulnerable to coal
fires from spontaneous combustion
combustion; and to the
Figure 30. conveyors in German brown coal mine
triggering of acid mine drainage AMD.
Integration of large-scale
scale stripping machines with conveyor
Dump trucks and tippler trucks are the current systems has eliminated any need for trucks. Mirash Mine.
Mine (image:
norms in Mongolia a and China for transport of material Bernd Braeutigam from Google Earth)
from open pits to waste dumps – not only for coal mines vi) Draglines are the norm for stripping and dumping
but also for hardrock gold, placer gold, iron and copper. material from large open pit coal mines in Mongolia
The main options for transporting waste to dumps dump are: notably: Sharin Gol, Baganuur and Shivee Ovoo. All
i) dump trucks, ii) tippler trucks, iii) dozers, iv) scrapers, are highly efficient ‘walking draglines’ but hampered
v) conveyors, vi) overhead cableways, vii) draglines, or by having too short a reach and therefore costs
viii) railways. escalate as dumps are put on reserves, demanding
i) Dump trucks offer many advantages, notably: double or treble handling or sterilization of reserves.
flexibility, versatility, readily available spares, ease of
finance, ease of subcontracting and overall simplicity
for management.

Figure 29. dump trucks in a placer mine

Dump trucks at the Ar Naimgan Mine of Altan Dornod Mongol Ltd.
(photo: Robin Grayson)
ii) Tippler trucks are popular for while not as efficient for
short-haul to dumps, they offer the flexibility of being
able to also transport coal on dirt roads to railheads
or direct by hard roads to end-users.
iii) Dozers are useful in stripping and for grading dumps, Figure 31. draglines in Mongolian coal mines
but are not cost-effective
effective for pushing material long Insufficient reach of draglines is apparent:
apparent
TOP – Sharin Gol Coal Mine (photo: Chimed
Chimed-Erdene)
distances [22]. BOTTOM – Shivee Ovoo Coal Mine (photo photo: Robin Grayson)
iv) Scrapers are rarely seen for, although again useful in
vii) Railways were the norm in China and Mongolia for
stripping and for grading dumps, these machines are
hauling waste from large open-pit
open coal mines to
designed for shorted haul than dump trucks or tippler
dumps. Powerful coal-fired
fired locomotives kept energy
trucks [22].
costs low and predictable. Sometimes the tracks to
v) Conveyors are rarely used for removal of waste from
the dumps are of mainline gauge, enabling coal to
open pit waste to dumps, in spite of their
heir low energy
also be transported directly from the mine face to the
costs, low manning levels and ability to span soft
main railway network. Some mines such as
ground, water, slopes and irregular areas. For these
Sandaoling are switching to diesel haulage, but others
reasons, long-distance
distance conveyors are a feature of
like Sharin Gol have scrapped rail in favour of o trucks
dozens of large brown coal open pit mines in
and draglines for hauling waste, while still using rail
Germany, Czech, Poland and Kosovo and have hav
for shifting coal. Rail generatess far less spillages and
completely eliminated trucks. Stacker
tacker conveyors are
dust than road haulage of waste,
waste and throughout the
increasingly common in Mongolia’s placer mines and
mine-life the waste dumps are essentially ‘level top’,
have begun to replace fleets of dozers and trucks for
albeit ribbed. Road
oad haulage creates irregular dumps
the transport of waste by virtue of the much lower
more prone to dust generation and more challenging
capital and operating costs, and faster better
to rehabilitate. Rail also is able to respond effectively
rehabilitation [22].
to pit fires whereas road trucking has to halt.

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World Placer Journal – 2009, volume 9, pages 24-47. www.mine.mn

16. Options for coal output

Large coal mines require high capacity output to be Small wintertime unlicensed coal mines operated by
profitable as coal is a bulk mineral commodity of low unit informal ‘ninjas’ play an essential role in keeping
value. Output is complicated by having to respond to Ulaanbaatar supplied with coal for heating during winter.
seasonal peaks and troughs in demand. Indeed in winter About 1,100 coal ninjas operate over 100 unlicensed
Ulaanbaatar is the world’s coldest capital and has an acute mines in wintertime at Nailakh, a satellite of Ulaanbaatar.
peak demand for coal for heating and power generation. While there are serious safety, health, environmental and
In response the larger coal mines (Baganuur, Shivee child labour issues [4, 32], our field observations show
Ovoo, Sharin Gol etc) try to build up summer stockpiles of that since about 1995 their seasonal activity has filled a
coal when demand is low, but this strategy has three serious fuel gap for over many thousands of households in
inescapable weaknesses: Ulaanbaatar’s ger areas that the formal mines have
a) working capital is often exhausted in financing the difficulty in supplying. The alternative would be for an
growth of the summer stockpile; acceleration of the already serious deforestation of the
b) stockpiling risks spontaneous combustion which not Ulaanbaatar region by cutting trees for faggots.
only has health, safety and environmental issues but
also destroys coal, cuts essential coal supplies to
winter clients, and drains the mine’s cash-flow; and
c) delivering peak amounts in winter puts a serious
strain on the capacity of track, wagons and rolling
stock of the Ulaanbaatar Railway Company.
These factors exert strain on the large coal mines by
increasing capital expenditure (i.e. more equipment) and
demanding more working capital (i.e. more stockpiling),
compounded by the Government’s desire to hold down
coal price contracts for generating electricity and district
heating. The large mines are therefore ill-equipped to fully
meet the winter peak for coal.
Small wintertime licensed coal mines operated by
private companies for the winter peak, specialise in
supplying coal to half of the population who live in gers
(felt tents), and to facilities such as brickworks, schools
and industries that have seasonal heating plants. Small Figure 33. adits of informal coal mines
A string of 20+ adits in a seam at Nailakh, Ulaanbaatar. The coal
private licensed mines require little capital expenditure on seam is dipping south (bottom). (image: Google Earth)
equipment and can be mothballed in summer when its
laid-off workers can find seasonal work in other industries
such as summer-only placer gold mining.

Figure 34. hauling coal at an informal adit

An empty home-made tub being dragged back underground for
again filling with coal and then winching back to the surface.
Ninja ‘winter-only’ mine at Nailakh. (photo: Robin Grayson)

Figure 32. sells coal in the winter, gold in summer

Unique mine near Zaamar. It produces coal in the winter, and
then switches to washing the overlying Neogene gravels for
summer to produce placer gold. (photo: Professor Minjin)
Small all-year-round licensed coal mines operated by
private companies are scattered nationwide, serving
Figure 35. head-frame of informal ‘ninja’ shaft
customers who are remote from rail and too far from the Preparing a new head-frame over a vertical shaft ready for winter
large mines for trucking to be affordable. mining at Nailakh near Ulaanbaatar. (photo: Robin Grayson)

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World Placer Journal – 2009,
9, v
volume 9, pages 24-47. www.mine.mn

17. Coal transport – rail option

Exceptionally large coal mines require exceptionally
high capacity transport facilities.. Rail is the preferred
option, fed by stockpiles able to tolerate rail interruptions
and respond to seasonal peaks and troughsghs in demand.
demand
Large coal mines still demand high capacity rail
transport facilities fed by stockpiles capable of responding
to seasonal peaks and troughsghs in demand
demand.

Figure 38. efficient loading of coal trains

train
Rail wagons being loaded from all-weather
weather overhead conveyors at
the Shivee Ovoo Coal Mine. (photo: Chimed-Erdene
Chimed Baatar)

Figure 36. most efficient loading of coal trains

train
round trains with
A new facility able of swiftly loading merry-go-round
Mongolian coal close to the China border. Yet the lack of a wind-
wind
break may make this otherwise neat facility acutely vulnerable to
liberating excessive coal dust over a wide area. (photo: website
of South Gobi Coal Inc – www.southgobi.com )
However the sheer size of the rail loading facilities,
and the large mine-site
site stockpile necessary to consistently Figure 39. efficient loading of coal trains
train
supply them, can cause significant impacts. A particular A dump truck is dumping coall onto a rail-side
rail stockpile, managed
concern is the excessive release of coal dust from tthe by a red conveyor-crane.
crane. Coal dust is blowing from the dump
truck and stockpile. (photo: Chimed-Erdene
Erdene Baatar)
large coal stockpiles, the risk of coal fires in the stockpiles,
and dust and multi-tracking
tracking if road trucks supply the However the unsustainable low coal price set by
stockpile. This is considerably aggravated if road trucks Government for supply to power plants has often deterred
also transport a proportion of the coal from the stockpile investing in modern rail loading facilities.
to customers, as is possible south of Narin Sukhait. At Sharin Gol Coal Mine the rail loading facilities are
degraded, inefficient and expensive to operate.

Figure 40. inefficient loading of coal trains

train
60-ton rail wagons being loaded at Sharin Gol Coal Mine by a
large electric face shovel.. (photo: Robin Grayson)
MAK Eldev Coal Mine’s rail-side side stockpile is poorly
designed affecting a wide area with coal dust, and coal
loading facilities are inefficient and expensive to operate.

Figure 37. most efficient loading of coal trains

train
scale coal stockpile south of Nariin Sukhait at anew
A new large-scale
railhead inside China. After only a couple of years in operation,
the ground to the SE of the facility is now covered
cove in a thick Figure 41. inefficient loading of coal trains
train
carpet of coal dust for more than 3km, km, and a thin plume is 60-ton
ton rail wagons being loaded from the rail
rail-side stockpile of the
apparent for a further 7km downwind. (image: Google Earth) Eldev Mine by a front-end loader.. (photo: Chimed-Erdene Baatar)

35
World Placer Journal – 2009, volume 9, pages 24-47.
18. Issues at rail loading sites
Coal is hauled by 50-ton road trucks along a 23km
dirt road from MAK’s Eldev Coal Mine to its stockpile
alongside the Trans-Mongolian Railway at a settlement
known as Railway Station #25.
From the stockpile, the coal is loaded inefficiently
into 60-ton rail trucks by a front-end loader. Coal is
delivered by rail to Erdenet Copper Mine, Khutul Cement
Factory, Ulaanbaatar Power Plant #2 and some is perhaps
destined for export to Erlian city in China.
Figure 42. rail loading facility - 8th June 2004
The coal stock-pile of Eldev Coal Mine. (image: Google Earth)
Figure 43. rail loading facility - 8th June 2004
Closer view of the stockpile with open land still present on most
sides. The mine has only been operating for a short time but coal
dust covers much ground to the south-east – see bottom right.
The haul road from MAK’s Eldev Mine is in the top corner and
reaches the stockpile via a level crossing. (image: Google Earth)
www.mine.mn
Although full output commenced at the Eldev Mine
Coal as recently as 2005, Google Earth shows that by 8th
June 2004 its impact had become considerable at the
railhead, and that by 29th March 2007 this impact had
become excessive, causing a nuisance from coal dust over
a wide area. Meanwhile, several industries had expanded
in the immediate vicinity of the railhead – rail ballast
mining, chemical grade fluorspar and gypsum. Coal dust is
not appropriate next to fluorspar or gypsum processing.
Figure 44. rail loading facility - 28th March 2007
The same view 32 months later. (image: Google Earth)
Figure 45. rail loading facility - 28th March 2007
Closer view with the stockpile now much enlarged and hemmed
in by new mining developments – A) rapid expansion of industrial
mining for railway ballast; B) mine camp of a new gypsum mine;
c) fluorspar upgrading plant; D) fluorspar rail loading area. The
coal dust now covers a much larger area. (image: Google Earth)
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World Placer Journal – 2009,
9, v
volume 9, pages 24-47. www.mine.mn

19. Coal transport – road option

Exceptionally large coal mines require exceptionally
high capacity transport facilities. Road trucks are an
option are most cost-effectively
effectively fed directly from the floor
f
of an open pit and delivered directly to customers.
Exceptionally large fleets of road trucks are essential for
the round trips. Compared to rail, the extra burden of fuel
and staff is severe – for instance a single train with a 4-4
man crew might haul 100x60 ton rail trucks, matched by
100 road trucks and at least 100 drivers.

Figure 49. road trucks being loaded on mine floor

12-wheel 60-ton
ton road trucks being filled by a hydraulic excavator
on the pit floor of the Nariin Sukhait Mine in the South Gobi.
(photo: website of Ivanhoe Mines – www.ivanhoe-mines.com)
www.ivanhoe
Figure 46. road trucks in large fleets
Part of a fleet of new 12-wheel 60-ton ton road trucks at an
exceptionally large coal mine in the South Gobi of Mongolia.
(photo: website of South Gobi Coal Inc – www.southgobi.com)
www.southgobi.com
A fleet of road trucks is more difficult to schedule
than a coal train. An even flow of road trucks is frustrated
by variations in travel-time due to variations
ions in speed and
mechanical trouble, and due to chaos theory when
vehicles attempt to travel nose-to-tail. In addition the haul
Figure 50. road trucks being loaded on mine floor
roads on a pit floor are often so narrow that a single 12-wheel 60-ton
ton road trucks being filled by front
front-end loaders on
vehicle can cause a massive tailback. the floor of the Nariin Sukhait Mine in the South Gobi. These
trucks are high-sided,
sided, suitable for coal transport. (photo: website
of South Gobi Coal Inc- – www.southgobi.com)
www.southgobi.com

Figure 47. queue of coal trucks at mine entrance

ent
Coal trucks delayed at the entrance to the Nariin Sukhaait Coal
Mine in the South Gobi of Mongolia. (image: Google Earth)
Attaining a steady flow of road trucks down a haul
road onto a pit floor is not easy,, especially in snowstorms, Figure 51. traffic jam of trucks on mine floor
dust-storms, hailstorms,
ailstorms, cloudbursts and high winds. TOP – Nariin Sukhait Mine seems to be shadow of no interest.
BOTTOM – adjusting with Picture Manager reveals the mine
min floor
Trucks may become boggled down, lose traction, slide into to be packed with coal trucks. (image: Google Earth)
one another or topple.

Figure 48. road trucks descending to pit floor

Figure 52. small truck matched to small adit
trucks struggling to descend onto the
A convoy of Chinese trailer-trucks
floor of the Nariin Sukhait Mine. The trucks are robust, but not A small truck reversed into the adit of a small private licensed
designed for this demanding task. (photo: website of Ivanhoe coal mine at Nailakh. Loading of coal is achieved easily even in an
Mines – www.ivanhoe-mines.com) outside air temperature was -40C. (photo:
photo: Robin Grayson
Grayson)

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World Placer Journal – 2009, volume 9, pages 24-47. www.mine.mn

20. Coal haul roads from mines

Exceptionally large coal mines using road haulage The glowing grey carpet associated with haul roads
generate exceptionally large volumes of truck traffic. This can be traced for at least 30km from large coal mines in
demands as a minimum a well-designed haul road plus the Gobi Desert to the vicinity of the China border.
traffic management measures to reduce bunching and
prevent traffic jams.
Traffic jams may arise at the mine exit, especially if
gradients are steep or if there is a delay at a weighbridge.

Figure 53. traffic jam of coal trucks at mine exit

Coal trucks struggling in a queue at the exit of the Nariin Sukhaait
Coal Mine in the South Gobi of Mongolia. (image: Google Earth)
Coal trucks are easy to see with Google Earth when
they are on haul roads on the dark grey desert gravels of
the Gobi. The constant stream of heavy trucks soon
creates a bright pale grey carpet on both sides of the haul
road where a ‘hybrid dust’ has been deposited consisting
of fine black coal dust plus fine white silica-rich dust.
The coal dust originates from gentle excursions from
the top of the trucks plus coal dust cast from the wheels,
chassis and bodywork of each truck.
The silica-rich dust is due to the vortex and wind-
shear associated with every truck, especially if the trucks
are travelling fast or nose-to-tail.

Figure 54. coal trucks on a glowing grey carpet
Coal trucks on a haul road south of Nariin Sukhait coal mines.
The haul road is well-built but both sides have a bright pale grey
carpet of hybrid dust. The glow is stronger and wider to the east
(left) due to the prevailing wind direction. (image: Google Earth)
Figure 55. coal trucks on a glowing grey carpet
A 30km stretch of a coal haul road from Nariin Sukhait (top left)
trending SSE towards the China border. The coal dust content of
the hybrid dust seems to fade with distance causing the hybrid
dust to brighten after 20 to 30 kilometres. (image: Google Earth)

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World Placer Journal – 2009, volume 9, pages 24-47. www.mine.mn

21. Haul road issue – coal spills

Issues associated with coal haul roads are plainly
visible in China, and more recently in Mongolia.
Issues include: multi-tracking, coal spillages, coal
dust excursions and silica-rich dust generation. In
addition, while traffic jams may seem to be solely a
financial concern due to excessive delays, it is also likely
that traffic jams of trucks on mine floors will cause poor
air quality for truck drivers and miners alike. From the
trucks the release of exhaust fumes and diesel fumes will
supplement the sulphurous fumes, coal fire fumes, coal
dust and silica dust typical of mine floors.
When haul roads are non-existent, or when used
over a period of years, then severe ground contamination
may accrue from the shedding of coal dust and fragments.

Figure 58. long-distance haul road

A convoy of 11 coal trucks from Mongolia travelling SE towards
Linhe in China. The well-engineered dirt road as yet has few coal
spills and is attracting non-coal traffic. (image: Google Earth)
We have traced a trail of coal spillages from Nariin
Sukhait across the border into China for a total of 200
kilometres, with over 100 coal spills detected. This has
occurred in only a few years and before the truck traffic
has peaked. It suggests that the impact of coal spillages
on the desert floor is destined to increase considerably.

Figure 56. haul road with large coal losses

A haul road for trucking coal about 15km from mines to a power
plant in Laoshidan, China. The road is irregular, causing trucks to
spill coal as dust and lumps. (image: 5th Oct 2006 - Google Earth)

Figure 59. trails of coal spillages far into China

A trail of coal spills tracked from Nariin Sukhaait Coal Mine across
the border splitting SW and SE in China. (image: Google Earth)

Figure 57. haul roads with coal losses

A network of haul roads for trucking coal to Qi Ketaicun and Figure 60. trails of coal spillages far inside China
neighbouring small towns in eastern China. (image: Google Earth) The 100th coal spill tracked SW into China. (image: Google Earth)

39
World Placer Journal – 2009, volume 9, pages 24-47.
22. Haul road issue – multi-tracks
Mongolia’s dirt roads are notorious for becoming
multi-track, particularly as few receive proper
maintenance. Usually the most severe multi-track is
between towns but can peak with mining activity.
Figure 61. multi-tracking by coal trucks
Multi-track exceeding 100-metre width by trucks off the haul road
between Narin Sukhait and China. (image: Google Earth)
Figure 62. multi-tracking by coal trucks
Multi-track peaking at 500-metre width by trucks converging on a
ford between Narin Sukhait and China. (image: Google Earth)
Figure 63. multi-tracking by coal trucks
Multi-track peaking at 400-metre width by trucks on a small hill
east of Eldev’s well-engineered haul road. Many coal spills are
visible due to trucks struggling on the hill. (image: Google Earth)
www.mine.mn
Figure 64. multi-tracking by coal trucks
Multi-track peaking at 150-metre width by coal trucks converging
on a ford east of Nariin Sukhait. The brightest tracks are the most
recent. (image: Google Earth)
Figure 65. multi-tracking by coal trucks
Multi-track peaking at 750-metre width by trucks using the full
width of a valley south of Baruun Naran from Tavan Tolgoi, and
the route is long-established. (image: Google Earth)
Multi-tracking is so blatant that truck routes, haul
road construction and environmental management
measures to prevent multi-tracking are ineffective in
Mongolian Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs). This
merits scrutiny and some research has been published on
natural re-vegetating of multi-tracks in the Gobi [27].
Multi-tracking often damages a larger surface area than
the actual mine and its dumps.
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World Placer Journal – 2009, volume 9, pages 24-47.
23. Coal-burning power plants
in Ulaanbaatar
Ulaanbaatar has three main coal-burning power
plants, all combined heat and power plants, and known as
‘Thermal and Electrical Stations’ TES #2, TES #3 and TES
#4. The three are clearly visible on a time series of high-
definition Google Earth. Also visible is the original TES #1
which has been disused and derelict for many years and is
an issue of concern regarding contamination.
Figure 66. coal stockpile of Ulaanbaatar TES #2
Coal is delivered to the stockpile via a short spur line from the
Trans-Mongolian Railway. (image: Google Earth)
Figure 67. coal stockpile of Ulaanbaatar TES #4
The shadow of the 500m tall stack points at the stockpile and
train-loads of coal are in the siding. (image: Google Earth)
Figure 68. Ulaanbaatar TES #2 and TES #4
The short stack of #2 partly conceals the 250m tall stack of #4.
Heating pipes supply the city. (photo: Chimed-Erdene Baatar)
Figure 69. Ulaanbaatar TES #4
ABOVE – small plumes from the cooling tower and smoke stack.
BELOW – large plumes in cold weather. (images: Google Earth)
Figure 70. thermal inversion over Ulaanbaatar
Emissions of vapour and dust from TES #2, TES #3 and TES #4
contributing to poor air quality. (photo: Chimed-Erdene Baatar)
www.mine.mn
Ulaanbaatar is the world’s coldest capital city in
winter when its air quality plummets due to thermal
inversion over the valley and air pollution from coal fires.
Half the residents live in ger districts and every ger
has a central stove fuelled by coal or sometimes by wood.
The coal is lump coal and is mostly from about ten
licensed and 100 unlicensed small seasonal mines at
Nailakh [32], the coal being delivered in small trucks. In
contrast the power stations use coal delivered by rail from
Baganuur and Shivee Ovoo coal mines, and at the power
stations it is blended and pulverized. According to Dr.
Badarch and colleagues [5] if coal cleaning facilities
operated at Baganuur and Shivee Ovoo then the calorific
content would be boosted before delivery to TES #4. This
would save 134,000 tons of coal a year, cut the work of
the electrostatic precipitators in removing ash, conserve
scarce space in the PFA settling ponds, cut air pollution
significantly in Ulaanbaatar and reduce rail congestion.
All Mongolia’s industrial towns endure low air quality
in winter, and most have thermal inversions with various
degrees of smog. Sharin Gol sometimes has spectacular
fogs that roll in from the hills that ring it, the fog soon
turning to smog from carbon and ash liberated by
domestic fires and the thermal plant of the coal mine.
Figure 71. thermal inversion over Sharin Gol
Cold dense air off the hills fills the town with white fog that
becomes smog due to smoke from domestic coal fires and the
mine’s power station. (photo: Chimed-Erdene Baatar)
Figure 72. dust plume of Sharin Gol power plant
A dense plume of hot vapour and smoke rising vertically then
forming a sub-horizontal layer. (photo: Chimed-Erdene Baatar)
A new 400-500mW Thermal Electricity Station is
planned for the east side Ulaanbaatar [6]. This may make
Ulaanbaatar’s air quality worse, deplete the city’s
underground water supply, obstruct the emergence of a
healthy competitive capital and strain the hairpin rail
bottleneck of the eastern approach to the city.
We favour a bolder solution, to close all but one of
the power-plants and bring power to the city by a stronger
national electricity grid from new distant coal-burning
power stations. Then the western half of the city could be
developed for thousands of jobs, for instance as a rail-rail
hub between the Trans-Mongolian railway and a standard
gauge line to China via Tavan Tolgoi and Oyu Tolgoi.
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World Placer Journal – 2009, volume 9, pages 24-47.
24. Pulverised fuel ash (PFA)
in Ulaanbaatar
Pulverised fuel ash (PFA) is normal waste from coal-
burning power stations and is settled out in lagoons.
Figure 73. slurry of PFA arriving from TES #3
Being derived from pulverized coal, the ash is easy to transport to
the lagoon by pipeline. (photo: Chimed-Erdene Baatar)
Figure 74. PFA settling lagoons for TES #4
Several lagoons are required to enable periodic clearing out of
the settled pulverised fuel ash (PFA). (image: Google Earth)
PFA is strongly alkaline and often has high levels of
heavy metals. Ideally PFA lagoons should be sited away
from water courses [23] and sealed from aquifers.
Unfortunately all the PFA lagoons in Ulaanbaatar are sited
above the aquifer that is the city’s sole supply of water,
while the PFA lagoons of TES #3 are next to the main
channel of the Tuul River.
Figure 75. PFA settling lagoons for TES #3
The lagoons are well-designed but are so close to the Tuul River
that a major pollution event is possible. (image: Google Earth)
To minimise ash being vented into the sky, as much
PFA as possible is removed by electrostatic dust
precipitators and piped as slurry to settling lagoons where
it settles out. The PFA has an economic value, being sold
to local makers of PFA-cement blocks who sell them in
huge quantities to Ulaanbaatar’s construction industry.
www.mine.mn
25. PFA and radon gas
in Ulaanbaatar
All coal is very slightly radioactive but rarely sufficient
to affect human health. However Mongolia’s coal basins
have sediment-associated uranium occurrences and some
may prove to be world-class U deposits. For instance the
Geofund records U occurrences close to some coal mines,
notably Shivee Ovoo Coal Mine [14] which is one of
Ulaanbaatar’s main suppliers of power station coal.
A risk may arise if power stations burn coal that has
above-normal radioactivity. We believe this is likely to be
the case for power stations in the capital. When such coal
is burned most of its radioactive traces remain locked in
the residual ash. Hence ash is slightly more radioactive
than the coal it came from [3, 20].
The risk is not from ash discharged as smoke to the
atmosphere via the power station’s stack. Although this
contributes to Ulaanbaatar’s poor air quality in winter,
‘dilute and disperse’ of the airborne ash will render its
already low radioactivity extremely low indeed.
The risk is from PFA-cement blocks incorporated into
interior walls of thousands of new buildings in
Ulaanbaatar. Such buildings are double glazed, insulated
and centrally heated in winter, encouraging traces of
radon escaping from the PFA-cement blocks to accumulate
in rooms and perhaps exceed international safety norms.
Figure 76. building blocks being made from PFA
One of many small factories making building blocks from PFA
near Ulaanbaatar’s power stations. (photo: Robin Grayson)
The risk to human health of radon in buildings has
become better understood since 1996 when the World
Health Organisation (WHO) recommended a maximum
exposure of 1,000 Becquerel’s/m3. In September 2009 the
WHO slashed the recommended maximum level tenfold to
100 Becquerel’s/m3 [37] and presented evidence that
radon exposure causes in the range of 3-14% of all lung
cancers. The WHO now advises that if a country cannot
meet the new standard, levels should not exceed 300
Becquerel’s/m3, noting that the risk of lung cancer rises
16% per 100 Becquerel’s.
The task now is to do radon assessments of
thousands of houses and apartments in Ulaanbaatar.
Mongolian scientists possess the know-how [13], but
funding is weak although preliminary studies have been
published [18]. Some tests have already been made on
the soils around TES #4 and on the coals it uses [7, 8, 9].
We suggest a special risk may exist for caretakers
and their families in gers and sheds constructed on
ground covered in PFA in fenced yards of PFA processors.
The WHO claims that radon exposure adds to the risk of
lung cancer from cigarette smoke. In highly insulated gers
with radon entering from PFA soil, the risk of lung cancer
among smokers and passive inhalers is apparent.
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9, v
volume 9, pages 24-47. www.mine.mn

26. Time series on Google Earth

Since early 2009 the latest free update of Google A good example of a time series is Ulaanbaatar’s first
Earth includes a button to display a time series of old and coal burning power plant known as TES #1 #1, for many
new high-definition images one-by-one.
one. As yet only about years a derelict ruin. The time series confirms that nothing
a sixth of Mongolia has any high-definition
definition Google Earth has been done and the dereliction
liction remains.
and within that there are few time series. The potential is
considerable, as shown by comparing the images below.
below

Figure 80. # - 18th Oct 2007

UB Power Station #1

Figure 77. informal coal mines – 11th Nov 2001 Figure 80. UB Power Station #1 – 14th Apr 2007
A string of 20+ adits in a seam at Nailakh, Ulaanbaatar. The coal
west. (image: Google Earth)
seam is dipping south-west.

Figure 81. - st Mar 2006

UB Power Station #1 -31

Figure 78. informal coal mines – 25th Feb 2007

Six yearss later the 2001 adits have been abandoned and two new
strings of adits are active to the north. (image: Google Earth)

Figure 82. UB Power Station #1 – 20th Oct 2005

Figure 79. informal coal mines – 25th Feb 2007 Figure 83. UB Power Station #1 – 22nd Oct 2004
Each year there are deaths of informal miners at Nailakh near Example of a time series. (images: Google Earth).
Ulaanbaatar (photo: Mongol Messenger newspaper).

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9, v
volume 9, pages 24-47. www.mine.mn

27. Coal seams on Google Earth

Mongolia has perhaps a hundred coal basins of
Carboniferous, Permian, Jurassic and Cretaceous age [15,[
17]. We find Google Earth of immense value in studying
them and clarifying the socio-environmental
environmental issues [[16].
An example is the Baruun Naran Coalfield of Late
Permian age, a south-westerly
westerly extension of the Tavan
Tolgoi Coalfield which is Asia’s largest deposit of virtually
un-mined high-quality
quality bituminous coal and coking coal. A
1.5km wide belt of low ground in a hilly district delineates
the Baruun Naran Coalfield on Google Earth..

Figure 84. landform of Baruun Naran Coalfield

The relatively smooth low topography of the coalfield contrasts
sharply with the rugged hilly country. (image: Google Earth)
Figure 87. geophysical and geological maps
TOP – geophysical survey of part of the coalfield.
BOTTOM – geological interpretation of the geophysical survey.
(images: website of QGX Ltd – www.qgxgold.com)
www.qgxgold.com

Figure 85. Soviet geological map of Baruun Naran

The Soviet geological map is good, but can be enhanced using
high-definition Google Earth. (map: www.qgxgold.com)
www.qgxgold.com

Figure 88. coal strata on Google Earth

Figure 86. oblique view of Baruun Naran TOP – exploration trenches; note the black streaks of coal.
Regularly spaced prospecting trenches showing coal discoveries. BOTTOM – enhanced image showing coal strata as a series of
(image: Google Earth). sharp V shapes pointing ENE. (images:
images: Google Earth)

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World Placer Journal – 2009, volume 9, pages 24-47.
28. Coal briquettes in China
Coal briquettes are made either from unsellable coal
fragments or from crushing inferior ‘stone coal’ that has
high clay content. The powdered material is mixed with a
binder such as clay or cement and may be mixed with oil
or other calorific supplements. After squeezing in a mould
and dried the resultant briquette is a valuable source of
fuel for heating homes, buildings and light industries.
Artisanal and small-scale coal briquette factories are
found throughout China but are unusual in Mongolia. Such
factories are prominent on Google Earth due to the
crushed coal carpeting the ground. The largest group of
such factories detected on Google Earth are clustered
along a 60-kilometre ribbon extending from the Beijing
district border through Tumu, Hualiali County to Xuanhua.
Figure 89. coal briquette yards for 60 kilometres
Several hundred factories engaged in briquette making and coal
sales stretching WNW from Beijing. (images: Google Earth)
While coal briquettes are usually safe, acute health
issues can arise. The coal may have very high levels of
fluorine that exceeds the safety threshold of 190mg F/kg
coal which gives a scientific basis for ascertaining coal-
burning endemic fluorosis-affected areas and potential
threaten areas [28]. Such briquettes are one cause of
fluorosis in China [36]. Even if the coal has low fluorine
content, the clay used as binder to make the coal
briquette may have very high fluorine levels, and this is a
major cause of fluorosis in China [39].
In some regions, coal is rich in arsenic and such
briquettes are one cause of arsenism in China [29].
www.mine.mn
29. Discussion
Coal is of China’s largest industries and has many
serious environmental, social and health issues, some
affecting the entire planet by global warming.
Mongolia’s coal industry is in its infancy and is
undergoing explosive growth. Mongolian society has yet to
come to terms with the environmental, social and health
issues that will arise, and Mongolian policy makers have
little time to gain experience of how to respond.
Our study draws attention to the following issues that
seem particularly relevant to Mongolia:
1: Coal fires – the biggest environmental risk of Mongolia’s
coal rush is of a series of coal fires that are exceptionally
large and beyond control. Some may have a global impact
due to the exceptional size of the coal reserves that might
burn. Has a risk assessment been made for coal fires been
made for each coal mine specifying how the Government
and mine operators can respond quickly and decisively?
2: Stability of pit walls – we have identified a 5km long
partial collapse of an open pit coal mine in China. Have
sufficient geotechnical tests and precautions been taken to
minimise this risk in Mongolia’s large new coal mines?
3: Dust – extreme dust is expected when using bulldozers,
trucks and scrapers in a desert, against which dust
suppression measures are largely futile. Dust causes
serious health problems such as silicosis and eye injuries
as well as damaging grazing land, reducing the value of
fleeces and rending sheep intestines unsellable as casings.
Has the option of ‘rail only’ for waste haulage and coal
haulage been properly considered and fully-costed as a
simple ‘low-dust’ alternative?
4: Acid mine drainage – AMD is a serious problem in coal
mines worldwide, but we can find little evidence for it in
the desert regions of China and Mongolia. We suggest
that the caliche desert alkaline soils are natural buffers
that arrest AMD. Is the real risk of AMD far less than in
humid regions such as the coalfields of northern Europe?
6: Fluorosis risk #1 – many of Mongolia’s coal basins
formed close to hills with large amounts of fluorine,
notably fluorspar. As in parts of China [28], we predict
some of Mongolia’s virgin coals have unacceptably high
fluorine levels. Has sufficient tests of the fluorine content
been made for all Mongolia’s new coal mines?
7: Fluorosis risk #2 – fluoride is excessive in some
groundwater [28] in China having leached from fluorine-
rich minerals such as fluorspar. We predict that some of
Mongolia’s bricks and coal briquettes have unacceptably
high fluorine content. Has sufficient tests been made of
the fluorine content for all Mongolia’s new brickworks and
coal briquette factories?
8: Cancer risk – some Mongolian coal basins contain
potentially world-class sedimentary-type U deposits, and
uranium occurrences are documented in the immediate
proximity of some coal mines such as Shivee Ovoo. Apart
from a mild risk to the coal miners, an increased risk of
lung cancer may exist for residents of apartments built
from PFA blocks due to the possibility of radon gas. Has
sufficient tests been made of the fluorine content of bricks
and coal briquettes from Mongolia’s new factories?
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World Placer Journal – 2009, volume 9, pages 24-47.
30. Recommendations
In conclusion, we make the following
recommendations to Mongolia’s policy-makers regarding
satisfying the transport needs of the country’s rapidly
expanding coal sector. Our rationale is to benefit the
whole country rather than to merely “solve the problem”
of coal transport.
Recommendation #1: construct two new railways of
standard gauge from Tavan Tolgoi via Oyu Tolgoi to China
and from Nariin Sukhait to China.
Recommendation #2: ensure both railways are non-
exclusive enabling all companies to use rail to export coal,
other minerals and for general movement of goods.
Outcome:
 rail gains more traffic, therefore rail cost falls.
 allows all mines, large and small, to export efficiently.
 encourages start up of small mines for rail export of
industrial minerals such as fluorspar, coltan and mica.
 encourages exploration of oilfields in the Gobi.
 new rail route for export/import of goods.
 for other outcomes, see below.
Recommendation #3: a moratorium on using roads to
transport minerals, goods, people or livestock to China
when the rail routes are available.
Outcome:
 rail gains more traffic, therefore rail cost falls.
 eliminates cross-border hard roads and feeder haul roads.
 cuts dust and eliminates multi-tracking.
 removes need for ‘truck towns’ next to the border.
 better border customs processing without trucks.
 better border security without trucks or ‘truck towns’.
 cuts impact on protected areas and their buffer zones.
Recommendation #4: require large mines to connect to
the rail system.
Outcome:
 rail gains more traffic, therefore rail cost falls.
 cut in trucks, reducing dust and multi-tracking.
 better border customs processing without trucks.
Recommendation #5: require all large mines to use rail
spurs to remove waste to dumps.
Outcome:
 rail gains more traffic, therefore rail cost falls.
 less dust in transporting and dumping waste.
 better able to deal with coal fires at large coal mines.
 minimises expensive imports of fuel.
Recommendation #6: investigate extending a standard
gauge railway from Tavan Tolgoi to a rail-rail interchange
at the western side of Ulaanbaatar.
Outcome:
 creates a new N-S economic corridor.
 better fuel security by giving shorter same-gauge
access to imports of fuel via China.
 Ulaanbaatar gains fast access to the high-speed rail
route to Europe under construction near the border.
 thousands of new jobs created in Ulaanbaatar in
railways, warehousing, manufacturing and tourism.
 western Ulaanbaatar revitalised as a pleasant city.
 rail time to China cut in half, allowing Ulaanbaatar to
compete with Erlian for cross-border trade.
 Mongolia has sovereignty over an international railway.
www.mine.mn
31. Acknowledgements
This study was made possible by made possible by
Eco-Minex International Ltd (EMI) funding many hours
late at night on Google Earth. Special thanks are due to
the encouragement and logistical support with the
fieldwork by staff of the London PLUS-listed Lotus
Resources PLC notably Simon Longworth, Henry Tebar
and Minjin Batbayar.
The authors are pleased to acknowledge the valuable
assistance given by many people and organisations
over the last few years. Special thanks are due to:
Tony Whitten (World Bank); Dr. Baatar Tumenbayar
(San Frontier Progress NGO); Les Oldham (Geologist);
Michael Priester and Jorgen Hartwig (Projekt-consult
gmbH); Bernd Braeutigam (Geologist); Manfred Walle
(Mining Engineer); Dr. Peter Appel (Greenland and
Denmark Geological Survey GEUS); Tsedeegiin Janchiv
(Mining Rescue Service) and members of the Alaska
Gold Forum.
Special thanks from Robin to Iain Williamson of Wigan
Mining College plus Dr. Fred Broadhurst and the late
Dr. Michael Eagar of Manchester University for tutoring
in coal geology; to Donald Anderson and Tony France
for guidance on coal washeries, small mines and ochre;
to Rod Ireland for guidance on acid mine drainage from
coal mines that are four centuries old, and to all
members of the Wigan and District Geological Society
for ten years of visits to a vast number of coal seams
and coal mines in the Lancashire Coalfield.
We express our appreciation to the managers and staff
of over a dozen coal companies for access to their
mining operations; and to the artisanal coal miners of
Nailakh who generously shared their opinions.
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