Ulaan Ovoo Coal Mine
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Ulaan Ovoo Coal Mine (Улаан-Овоо) is an operating coal mine in Tüshig, Selenge, Mongolia.
Location
Table 1: Project-level location details
| Mine Name | Location | Coordinates (WGS 84) |
|---|---|---|
| Ulaan Ovoo Coal Mine | Tüshig, Tüshig, Selenge, Mongolia | 50.317778, 104.973611 (exact) |
The map below shows the exact location of the coal mine:
Project Details
Table 2: Project status
| Status | Status Detail | Opening Year | Closing Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Operating[1] | – | 2010 | 2039 (planned)[2] |
Table 3: Operation details
| Capacity (Mtpa) | Production (Mtpa) | Year of Production | Mine Type | Mining Method | Mine Size (km2) | Mine Depth (m) | Workforce Size |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2.12[3] | 0.519[4] | 2023[4] | Surface | Open Pit | 1.76[4] | 60.0* | 373* |
Table 4: Coal resources and destination
| Total Reserves (Mt) | Year of Total Reserves Recorded | Total Resources (Mt) | Coalfield | Coal Type | Coal Grade | Primary Consumer/ Destination |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 48.0[4] | 2024[4] | – | – | Bituminous | Thermal | Darkhan power station |
Table 5: Ownership and parent company
| Owner | Parent Company | Headquarters |
|---|---|---|
| Silver Elephant Mining Corp [100%] | Silver Elephant Mining Corp [100%] | Canada |
Note: The above section was automatically generated and is based on data from the Global Coal Mine Tracker May 2025 release.
Ownership Tree
This ownership tree is part of the Global Energy Ownership Tracker, a project of Global Energy Monitor.
Background
The Ulaan Ovoo Coal Mine (Улаан-Овоо) is an operating surface coal mine in Tüshig, Selenge Province, Mongolia, located approximately 430 kilometres by road from Ulaanbaatar and 17 kilometres from the Russian border.[5] The mine is strategically situated 120 kilometres by road from the Sukhbaatar railway station, which connects to the Trans-Siberian railway network.[6]
It is an open-cut coal mine owned by Prophecy Coal Corp., a Canadian mining company.[7]
According to the website of mine owner Prophecy Coal, "Exploration drilling work was performed on the deposit during the late 1970s by the Mongolian Ministry of Geology and Energy and again from 1993-1997 by Erdenet, a Mongolian-Russian joint venture mining and processing company."[7]
In 2006, the mine area had an estimated of 174 million tonnes of measured resources, 34 million tonnes of indicated category, and 36 million tonnes of inferred. Production began in 2010. The coal is trucked 120km to to the Sukhbaatar rail siding, which is then is transported by rail to Russian and Mongolian customers.[7][8]
Production
The mine was commissioned in December 2010. Between 2012 and 2014, approximately 500,000 tonnes of coal were produced and sold to 28 Mongolian and Russian customers, including Erdenet Copper Mining Corporation, UB Railway, and Khutul Cement, before the mine was placed on standby. Operations resumed in November 2013 and continued into 2014 before the mine returned to standby.[9]
Deliveries to select customers resumed between 2016 and 2017. In October 2018, an undisclosed lessee entered a three-year lease agreement with Prophecy to operate the mine, with mining activity resuming in March 2019. The lessee achieved a record monthly production of 37,800 tonnes in June 2019.[9] In 2020 and 2021, approximately 22,400 tonnes of coal were exported to China via the Erenhot rail port, though operations were curtailed in 2021 due to low coal prices.[10]
Between December 2022 and May 2023, the mine exported 18,757 tonnes of coal to China via the Erlian port, generating positive cash flow for the company.[11]
Silver Elephant halted production in May 2023 due to declining thermal coal prices and scheduled equipment repairs. In September 2023, the company renewed its Detailed Environmental Impact Assessment (DEIA) licence, required under Mongolia's 2006 Minerals Law and renewed every five years by the Ministry of Environment, to permit a future restart of operations.[12] As of that date, the mine and coal shipments remained on standby while the company negotiated export pricing with potential buyers.[12]
In 2023, the coal mine produced 37,885 tonnes (0.037 Mt).[13] In 2024, the Ulaan Ovoo mine produced 242,980 tonnes of coal.[14]
Mine ownership
The mine was owned by Mongolia Mid Asia International (MMAI) until 2005, followed by Red Hill until 2010. Prophecy Development Corporation assumed 100% ownership of the project in 2010.[15]
In March 2020, Prophecy Coal renamed itself Silver Elephant Mining Corp.[16][9]
Articles and Resources
Additional data
To access additional data, including an interactive map of world coal mines, a downloadable dataset, and summary data, please visit the Global Coal Mine Tracker on the Global Energy Monitor website.
References
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20241202225631/https://akipress.com/news:732204:Silver_Elephant_obtains_license_renewal_to_restart_Mongolian_coal_mine/. Archived from the original on 02 December 2024.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|archive-date=(help); Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20240718173432/https://miningdataonline.com/property/4554/Ulaan-Ovoo-Mine.aspx. Archived from the original on 18 July 2024.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ (PDF) https://web.archive.org/web/20240723012434/https://pubs.usgs.gov/myb/vol3/2019/myb3-2019-mongolia.pdf. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 July 2024.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 (PDF) https://eic.mn/envmng/upload/2024/tamngdocument/17/20240229_8228.pdf.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ "Ulaan Ovoo (Coal)". Silver Elephant Mining Corp. Retrieved Mar 09, 2026.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|access-date=(help)CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Ulaan Ovoo (Coal)". Silver Elephant Mining Corp. Retrieved Mar 09, 2026.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|access-date=(help)CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Prophecy Coal Corp., "Ulaan Ovoo (Coal Mongolia)", Prophecy Coal website, accessed September 2020
- ↑ "Strategy on strategic mineral missing," Mongolia Mining Journal, 2012-09-27
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 "Prophecy Coal Resumes Operations at the Ulaan Ovoo Coal Mine". Silver Elephant Mining Corp. 2013-11-04. Retrieved Mar 09, 2026.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|access-date=(help)CS1 maint: url-status (link) Cite error: Invalid<ref>tag; name "silverelef" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ "Silver Elephant Mining Executes Coal NSR Amendment with Battery Metals Royalties". Junior Mining Network. 2022-05-18. Retrieved Mar 09, 2026.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|access-date=(help)CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Silver Elephant Renewed DEIA License to Restart Ulaan Ovoo Operation". U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. 2023-09-18. Retrieved Mar 09, 2026.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|access-date=(help)CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ 12.0 12.1 "Silver Elephant secures licence renewal to restart Mongolian coal mine". Mining Technology. 2023-09-19. Retrieved Mar 09, 2026.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|access-date=(help)CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "SILVER ELEPHANT MINING CORP. (THE "COMPANY" OR "SILVER ELEPHANT") ANNUAL INFORMATION FORM YEAR ENDED MARCH 31, 2024" (PDF). silverelef.com. June 2024.
{{cite web}}: line feed character in|title=at position 90 (help)CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Management's Discussion and Analysis for the Year Ended March 31, 2025" (PDF). Silver Elephant Mining Corp. 2025-06-30. Retrieved Mar 09, 2026.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|access-date=(help)CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Ulaan Ovoo Coal Project," Mining Technology, accessed Sep 2020
- ↑ Silver Elephant Mining Corp.: Name Change Complete from Prophecy. "ELEF" Commences Trading on TSX on March 19, 2020, Yahoo! Finance, 18 Mar. 2020.
