Erdenes Tavan Tolgoi Chief Financial Officer B. Enkhbat has revealed that the company received $17 million on 18 April from contracts signed with eight buyers for 4.25 million tons of coal. This was the first sales revenue for coal from Tavan Tolgoi’s West Tsankhi block. The money, according to Enkhbat, was used to repay bank loans, and to clear 30 per cent of the arrear payments due to operator companies. Another $18 million, due the next week, was also scheduled to go to the operators at West Tsankhi.
Enkhbat explained why Erdenes TT, which made an MNT28.8-billion profit last year, is seen as having a deficit of MNT 79.3 billion from its main operations. “According to Mongolian law we use MNT in our financial statement. However, our loans are accounted in USD and are repaid in USD, which uses up more MNT because of the fall in its price,” he said. The company will need two more years to be free of debt, he said, adding that repayment “will not cause finance difficulties”.