ArcelorMittal, Vale and Xstrata are among six bidders short-listed to develop Mongolia’s Tavan Tolgoi mine. Referred to as the world’s largest untapped coking coal deposit, U.S. coal miner Peabody, a consortium of Chinese energy firm Shenhua and Japan’s Mitsui & Co, and a separate group of Japanese, South Korean and Russian firms make up the other preferred bidders. The companies are competing to develop the west Tsankhi block of the mine, which contains 1.2 billion tns of coal reserves and the potential to produce 15 million tns/yr for more than 30 years. The project will require an initial investment of approximately USD 7.3 billion; the winning bid will be announced 30 June 2011.
