New efforts to improve environmental conditions in Ulaanbaatar are currently underway, with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development set to lend USD 10 million to Mongolian coal producers Sharyn Gol JSC for the development of plants to supply washed coal and smokeless fuel briquettes to Ulaanbaatar.

The loan will allow for the acquisition and installation of a de-stoning plant and the upgrade and expansion of a coal enrichment and briquetting plant, with view to ‘cleaner coal’ being used to lessen the effects of harmful air pollution.

Mr Eric Rasmussen, EBRD Director, Natural Resources, said that “We are delighted at the opportunity to be working with Sharyn Gol on this Project to improve air quality in Ulaanbaatar. We also value the Company’s commitment to make a very positive impact to the social and economic developments in the local region. We look forward to supporting the company’s strategic move into value-added clean coal products.”

Ulaanbaatar is one the most polluted capitals in the world with particle emissions 10 times higher than World Health Organization guidelines.

The World Bank said that household stoves are responsible for about 60 percent of these emissions. Much of this is a result of burning low-quality raw coal in stoves in the ger districts.

By washing and briquetting raw coal, the new plants will reduce the amount of volatile matter it contains, the main pollutants emitted during burning, increase the heating value and reduce the ash content by up to a half.

The bank’s energy audit estimates that the project will lead to CO2 savings of 30,000 tonne per annum and lower dust emissions from the coal briquettes by 20%, compared to current practices. Independent estimates suggest that, when operational, the EBRD-financed project at Sharyn Gol will save some 47 lives a year.

The washed coal and coal briquettes from these facilities will go to industrial consumers for use in processes such as smelting and cement production, and to households for domestic heating.

The expanded facilities following completion of the first phase of the project are expected to produce over 75,000 tonne of semi-coke and briquetting products per annum.

Mr James Passin director of Sharyn Gol JSC said that With the loan, Sharyn Gol will be able to produce smokeless fuel by 2015 and contribute to improving Ulaanbaatar’s air quality.

Mr Passin said that “We are honored to receive a debt financing package from the EBRD, following deep operational, financial, legal, geological, environmental, and social due diligence by the bank and its consultants.”

He said that “The long-term debt financing will enable Sharyn Gol JSC to accelerate its plans to turn its subsidiary NACO Fuels JSC into a producer of smokeless fuel for the Mongolian market. We anticipate that our products will make a material improvement in Ulaanbaatar’s air quality by the winter of 2015.”

Source – Mongol News