(EnergyAsia, June 8 2012, Friday) — SouthGobi Resources Ltd, a leading Mongolian coal miner and exporter, has hailed the opening of eight new border gates exclusively for coal transportation at the Shivee Khuren-Ceke border between Mongolia and China on May 28.

According to the Hong Kong-listed company, the gates will significantly increase the capacity for coal export from Mongolia to China as Shivee Khuren-Ceke previously had only a single crossing gate approximately eight meters wide. Then, empty trucks entered Mongolia in the mornings and were loaded with coal for export to China in the afternoons.

The new gates enable simultaneous two-way traffic, relieving congestion at the border. For now, the eight gates will be operated from 8am to 8pm six days per week, said SouthGobi.
 
Alexander Molyneux, President and CEO, said: “Our daily transportation record for the old border infrastructure was actually achieved last week at 409 trucks – which crossed from Mongolia to China (ie, approximately 37,000 tonnes of coal).

“We believe the new infrastructure will eliminate the ‘bottleneck’ at the border for quite some time. The expanded border crossing should also reduce transportation costs because of more efficient truck utilization for the transport companies.”

SouthGobi Resources is focused on exploring and developing its Permian-age metallurgical and thermal coal deposits in Mongolia’s South Gobi Region. Its flagship coal mine, Ovoot Tolgoi, is producing and selling coal to customers in China.