MELBOURNE, Nov 1- Mongolia is looking to list up to 30% of the state-owned company that owns the massive Tavan Tolgoi coal mine on the New York and Hong Kong stock exchanges in 2019, the country’s mining minister said on Thursday.
Mining Minister Sumiyabazar Dolgorsuren said the government is aiming to carry out the initial public offering of Erdenes Tavan Tolgoi between April and June 2019. He was speaking at an investor briefing on the sidelines of the IMARC mining conference in Melbourne.
Development of Tavan Tolgoi, one of the world’s largest deposits of coking coal used in steel-making, has long been delayed, due to poor infrastructure and disputes over the role foreign investment should play in digging Mongolia’s resources.
The government is keen to develop the mine, which holds an estimated 7.4 billion tonnes in reserves, as the market for coking coal is strong.
Sumiyabazar said the country is looking to Chinese investment to help fund a railway from Tavan Tolgoi in the Gobi desert, about 250 kilometres (155 miles) from the Chinese border.
(By Melanie Burton; Editing by Leslie Adler and Richard Chang)
