Based on a modular design with three modules in total, each module of the plant has the capacity to wash and process 5 million tonnes of coal a year.

The first phase of the plant began operating in June after being successfully accepted by the state commission, while the second module is planned for commissioning in the fourth quarter of 2011 and the third by the end of 2012, with foundation and construction work under way. The plant’s main products will be export coal with an ash content of 8–10 per cent and thermal coal for use by the Ukhaa Khudag power plant. The design and technological solutions of the new plant are based on the engineering design of Sedgman of Australia, a world leader in processing.

The main feature of the washing plant project is that it combines internationally recognised, latest technology with the best domestic experience, and construction of the first module was completed in a comparatively very short time, within around 11–12 months. More than 600 employees from over 20 domestic subcontractors took part in the first phase of the development. The engineers and technical staff of the new plant, which will operate two 12-hour shifts, were trained and given practical experience at similar plants in Australia and Germany. When the plant is operating at full capacity, more than 140 people will be employed.

In 2011 the plan is to bring total coal production at the Ukhaa Khudag mine to 7 million tonnes, of which the target is to wash and process around 4 million tonnes and supply it to the international market. Washing and processing coal has the particular advantage of increasing the economic value of the end product and reducing transport costs. This plant, which will make an important contribution to the development of the domestic mining sector and of coal processing in particular, will not only increase the Company’s competitiveness by producing an end product with value added domestically, but will also play a major role in raising the value of Mongolian coking coal on the international market.

The coal washing plant is based on advanced modern technology that maximises coking coal yield and uses cost-efficient, high-productivity integrated equipment manufactured in Australia, the United States, Europe, South Africa and China. By introducing environmentally friendly, advanced technology, the technological solutions are designed so that up to 95 per cent of the water the plant needs is recycled and energy consumption is kept as efficient as possible. In addition, a high-capacity coal chemistry laboratory equipped with advanced modern instruments operates at the plant, which plays an important role in providing internationally recognised quality assurance for raw coal and coking coal concentrate.