Water is a precious resource in the Gobi desert. We are using all available resources and means to protect, discover and save this treasure. Our efforts in this area are successfully progressing.
The Oyu Tolgoi mine, a major catalyst of the Mongolian economy, will soon begin to produce first ore. The mine will naturally use water for this operation. However, water usage will be minimal as the mine will use the most water-conservative and efficient technologies available. The mine is also planning to re-use water in processing. This water re-use model ranks in the top water saving models in the world.
People say 'Neighbours have one goal in mind' and Oyu Tolgoi is working with its neighbours, the local herders. This is reflected in big and small work around the mine. Currently, we are implementing participatory environmental monitoring and analysis with herders.
We restored a tradition which was forgotten in Gobi, the use of hand-operated water wells. Under socialism, about 30 years ago, the public was doing this kind of work, but today water well rehabilitation is very costly and requires a tremendous amount of work. Therefore, herders were using only a few existing water wells for daily life. We began to restore old, collapsed and poorly working water wells since 2000. As of now, we have restored about 20 water wells and are emphasising efficiency and low costs.
Over the past few years, the population of Khanbogd soum is on the rise and water needs are also increasing. Therefore, important work is being done to determine water reserves and this requires a lot of time and funding. Water exploration work started in 2010 and last year, drilling was initiated and 1.7 billion MNT was invested for a clean water reserve. This exploration and reserve work is ongoing.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.