Mongolia Mining Report Q3 2011 in terms of coal production report forecasts an annual average growth rate of 17.0% reaching 27.0mntpa by 2015

Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/7bfe20/mongolia_mining_re) has announced the addition of the "Mongolia Mining Report Q3 2011" report to their offering.

Mongolia Mining Report provides industry professionals and strategists, corporate analysts, mining associations, government departments and regulatory bodies with independent forecasts and competitive intelligence on Mongolia's mining industry.

Mongolia is set for a rapid increase in production of gold, copper and coal leading to fast growth in the mining sector. BMI expects that mining sector output will grow to US$11.5bn by 2015, marking a fourfold increase from 2010 levels of US$2.6bn. Most of this rapid growth will occur in 2012 and 2013 as the Oyu Tolgoi mine comes online.

Rapid Growth Across All Metals

BMI expects a dramatic reversal of the trend of static growth in mining output, with rapid rates of growth across the mining complex over the coming years. From 2011 to 2015, BMI forecast an annual average growth rate of 31.4% in gold output to reach 791kozpa (thousand ounces per annum), and 46.2% growth in copper production to 720ktpa (thousand tonnes per annum). The phenomenal rates of growth in copper and gold output will be largely driven by the Oyu Tolgoi mine, a joint venture (JV) between Rio Tinto and Ivanhoe Mines, which is due to come online in 2013. This mine is set to be one of the largest copper and gold mines in the world and will make Mongolia a significant producer of both metals.

In terms of coal production, BMI forecasts an annual average growth rate of 17.0%, reaching 27.0mntpa (million tonnes per annum) by 2015. This increase will be driven by South Gobi, a subsidiary of Ivanhoe, which is increasing production at Ovoot Tolgoi, the country's largest coal mine, to 6.5mntpa by 2014. This growth will reverse the decline experienced over the last three years. There are substantial upside risks to our coal outlook as the Tavan Tolgoi mine, currently owned by the Mongolian government, is due to commence output by 2015.

The annual production figures have yet to be released, but the mine is believed to contain 6bnt (billion tonnes) of reserves, making it one of the world's largest untapped coal deposits. Aside from these developments, Mongolia has great potential for further growth in mining output across all metals as very little of the country has been mapped. Therefore, it is likely that significant deposits of minerals are yet to be discovered.

Regulatory Environment

Mongolia has made significant progress over the last decade to improve its business environment. Most importantly, the government recently rescinded the 68% windfall tax which had been a great impediment to foreign investment into the country. The repeal of the tax led to a wave of investment including the completion of the Oyu Tolgoi agreement, which will bring billions of dollars of investment into the country. Recently, however, there has been a slight deterioration in the country's business environment as the government suspended almost half of the country's mining licenses on environmental grounds, having previously cancelled two exploration licenses for the Canadian miner Khan Resources.

Companies Mentioned:

Ivanhoe Mines Ltd
Erdene Resource Development Ltd
Centerra Gold

For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/7bfe20/mongolia_mining_re

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Source: Business Wire