Air

Managing air quality

To ensure the best possible quality of air locally, we are committed to managing dust, greenhouse gas emissions, and noise and vibration from our operations.

Dust control and suppression

Dust storms occur frequently in the Umnugovi region. We have measures in place to combat any increase in dust levels from our operations, including blasting, loading and unloading, and vehicle movement.

We monitor dust levels at 33 monitoring points installed at strategic locations inside and outside the mine to ensure we are meeting our regulatory requirements.

Managing greenhouse gas emissions

Potential sources of greenhouse gas emissions at Oyu Tolgoi include vehicles, heavy equipment, generators, and heating units. We routinely measure the air quality at 40 monitoring points to ensure our emissions stay within acceptable limits and national air quality standards.

Minimising noise and vibration

We aim to minimise the effects noise and vibration can have on the health of our employees, on the environment, and on local wildlife.

Potential sources of noise include the airport, drilling and blasting, mining operations and movement of heavy equipment.

To mitigate these impacts, we have implemented a range of engineering and operational controls, including:

  • Noise control specifications as part of our procurement process.
  • Fitting noise controls on our equipment.
  • Adjusting the site layout to provide increased sound shielding.
  • Management procedures to control the use and operating times of equipment.
  • Regular noise level monitoring at different times of day and night.