Mongolia halts coal exports to China - mining group

Mongolia has halted truck deliveries of coal from the South Gobi region to China, with the ban gravel crushing spread for saleexpected to last about two days, after China closed a part of the border on Tuesday citing a technical glitch, a lobby group for the Mongolian mining sector said.

The South Gobi region is the location of the Tavan Tolgoi property, one of the world's biggest coal deposits. Mongolia has yet to build railway infrastructure in the region and exporters continue to depend on trucks. "The Chinese side said they had some problems (at the border crossing of Zamyn Uuud) with their computer software registering the vehicles," said Baasanjav Enkhbaatar, chairman of the Mongolian Mining Club. "It affected all the traders in Mongolia and so the Mongolian government is taking countermeasures." Official Chinese news agency Xinhua said Mongolia suspended coal deliveries following a spate of accidents on a dirt road running from Tavan Tolgoi...