Table of Contents
Acknowledgements and Sponsors ...................................................................................................... 2
List of Participants ............................................................................................................................. 3
Itinerary Overview ............................................................................................................................. 4
Day Zero (May 6th, FRIDAY) Ulaanbaatar............................................................................................ 5
Day One (May 7th, SATURDAY) Speaker Session at the National University of Mongolia, Ulaanbaatar 6
Day Two (May 8th, SUNDAY) Kharkhorin ............................................................................................ 7
Day Three (May 9th, MONDAY) Erdenet Copper Mine....................................................................... 10
Day Four (May 10th, TUESDAY) Tumurtei Iron Mine ......................................................................... 12
Day Five (May 11th, WEDNESDAY) Boroo Gold Mine (Centerra Gold Inc.) .......................................... 15
Day Six (May 12th, THURSDAY) Gatsuurt Gold Deposit (Centerra Gold Inc.) ....................................... 17
Day Seven (May 13th, FRIDAY) Ulaanbaatar Day 2 ............................................................................ 18
Day Eight (May 14th, SATURDAY) Drive to Dalanzadgad and the Flaming Cliffs .................................. 20
Day Nine (May 15th, SUNDAY) Tavan Tolgoi Coal Mine ..................................................................... 21
Day Ten (May 16th, MONDAY) Oyu Tolgoi Copper Mine.................................................................... 22
Day Eleven (May 17th, TUESDAY) Kharmagtai Copper Project ........................................................... 23
Day Twelve (May 18th, WEDNESDAY) Back to Ulaanbaatar ............................................................... 24
Day Thirteen (May 19th, THURSDAY) Final Day in Ulaanbaatar ......................................................... 24
1
Acknowledgements and Sponsors
We would like to thank all of the companies who assisted us in putting this trip together and
allowed us access to their sites including: Erdenet Mining Corporation, Centerra Gold Inc.,
Darkhan Metallurgical Plant, Erdenes Tavan Tolgoi, Rio Tinto, and Xanadu Mines. Great thanks
are given to all those from the National University of Mongolia who aided in putting together
this trip’s presentation sessions. Special thanks to all industry participants who made this trip
possible. We would like to thank the Mineral Deposit Research Unit at the University of the
British Columbia, and to specifically thank Sara Jenkins, Libby Sherman, and Craig Hart. Special
thanks also goes to the SEG-student chapter sponsors listed below.
2
List of Participants
Industry Participants
Name
Company
Ed Balon
EB Holdings Ltd.
Uwe Schmidt
Northwest Geological Consulting Ltd.
Dave Nickerson
Tyhee Gold Corporation
Jack Edward Milton
Copper North Mining Corp.
(David) Grenville Thomas
North Arrow Minerals Inc.
Louis Covello
Lou Covello Consulting Geologist
Ian Robert Morrison
I & M Morrison Geological Services Ltd.
Brian Page
Magee Geophysical Consulting
Peter Charles Ritchie
Ritchie Sandford
Student Participants
Name
Sam Cantor
Niki Kovacs
Vedran Pobric
Enkhgerel Gerelchuluun
Matt Bodnar
Fabien Rabayrol
Erika Cayer
Craig Richardson
Harley Hoiles
Stephen Bartlett
Program
M.Sc. Candidate
M.Sc. Candidate
M.Sc. Candidate
M.Sc. Candidate
M.Sc. Candidate
Ph.D. Candidate
M.Sc. Candidate
M.Sc. Candidate
B.Sc. Candidate
B.Sc. Candidate
3
Itinerary Overview
Date
May 4th
Main Location
Vancouver
May 5th
Beijing
May 6th
Ulaanbaatar
May 7th
The National
University of
Mongolia
May 8th
Kharkhorin
May 9th
Erdenet Mine
Tour of the Erdenet Copper Mine
Darkhan
May 10th
Tumurtei Mine
Tour of the Tumurtei Iron Mine
Zuunkharaa
May 11th
Boroo Mine
Tour of the Boroo Gold Mine
Zuunkharaa
May 12th
Gatsuurt Deposit
Tour of the Gatsuurt Gold Deposit
Ulaanbaatar
May 13th
Ulaanbaatar
Exploring Ulaanbaatar – Part I
Ulaanbaatar –
Yurt Camp
May 14th
Flaming Cliffs
Drive to Dalanzadgad and visit of the
world-famous Flaming Cliffs fossil
locality
Dalanzadgad
May 15th
Tavan Tolgoi
Mine
Tour of the Tavan Tolgoi Coal Mine
Tsogtsetsi
Local hotel
Tour of the Oyu Tolgoi Copper Mine
Khanbogd
Gobi Hotel
88-113843
Uguumur
99-115335
Tour of the Kharmagtai exploration site
Manlai
Local hotel
Drove back to Ulaanbaatar
Ulaanbaatar –
Yurt Camp
Khaan Jims
11-353700
Kempinski Hotel
11-463463
May 16th
May 17th
May 18th
Oyu Tolgoi Mine
Kharmagtai
Site
Drive to
Ulaanbaatar
Day Description
Travel from YVR to Beijing airport
Arrival and layover at Beijing
International Airport
Overnight
-
Arrived in Ulaanbaatar
Ulaanbaatar
Presentation session at the National
University of Mongolia, followed by a
tour of the geology museum and the
city of Ulaanbaatar
Visited Kharkhorin, the ancient capital
of the Mongol Empire and traveled to
Bulgan
Beijing
Hotel
Yuanhang
International Hotel
Ulaanbaatar Hotel
11-312255
Ulaanbaatar
Ulaanbaatar Hotel
11-312255
Bulgan
Bulgan Hotel
70-344040
May 19th
Ulaanbaatar
Exploring Ulaanbaatar – Part II
Ulaanbaatar
May 20th
Ulaanbaatar to
Vancouver
Return travel from Ulaanbaatar to YVR
-
Comfort Hotel
70-379090
Narny Urtuu
99-047019
Same as above
Ulaanbaatar Hotel
11-312255
Khaan Jims
11-353700
Gobi Sands
70-530024
Delgereh
70-532222
-
4
Day Zero (May 6th, FRIDAY)
Ulaanbaatar
After a short flight from Beijing, the team arrived to Ulaanbaatar around 1pm on May 6th and directly
moved to the Ulaanbaatar hotel. After we settled down at the hotel, Enkhgerel, Sam, Niki, and Vedran
went to the 'Naiman Sharga" center and exchanged the trip money to Mongolian currency (togrik,
tugrik, tögrög). As it was the first day of our trip, the plan was to rest and relax before continuing with
our planned activities.
5
Day One (May 7th, SATURDAY)
Speaker Session at the National University of Mongolia, Ulaanbaatar
Our first day in Ulaanbaatar began with a speaker session at the National University of Mongolia,
organized by S. Oyungerel ([email protected]) and Erika Cayer, with the help of Enkhgerel
Gerelchuluun. After opening remarks by Nikolett Kovacs, the speaker session schedule proceeded as
follows:
Time:
Talk:
08:40-09:00
Opening speech: Prof. B.Bat, PhD, prof. Greetings from Head of Geology & Geophysics, School of Arts
and Sciences, National University of Mongolia
09:00-09:30
“Mineral Deposits (metallic) of Mongolia” - Prof. Jargalan, PhD, Mongolian University of Science and
Technology
Fossil and fuel deposits of Mongolia” - Prof. L. Jargal, PhD, Department of Geology & Geophysics, School
ofArts and Sciences, National University of Mongolia
“History of Exploration and Geology of the Tavan Tolgoi coking coal deposit” - Ch. Ganhuyag, consulting
geologist at Geology “Uyanga Resource” LLC
“History of Exploration for and Discovery of the Oyu Tolgoi Cu -Au porphyry deposit” - D. Garamjav, PhD,
consultant geologist at “Oyu Tolgoi” LLC
“History of Exploration and Discovery of the Erdenet Cu-Mo porphyry deposit” – Sanduijav, consulting
geologist
09:30-10:00
10:00-10:30
10:30-11:00
11:00-11:30
11:30-12:00
12:00-13:30
13:30-14:00
14:00-14:30
14:30-15:00
15:00-15:30
15:30-15:45
15:45
16:00
“Exploration Geochemistry in a Till-Covered Terrain, Looking for a VMS through Cover on Vancouver
Island”- Matthew Bodnar, MSc Candidate, University of British Columbia
Lunch Break
“Cu-Au- Ag Oxide Mineralization of the Carmacks Deposit, Yukon Canada”- Nikolett Kovacs, MSc
Candidate, University of British Columbia
“History of Exploration of the Boroo gold deposit” – O.Gantsetseg, geologist
“Geology, structure and mineralization of the Gatsuurt gold deposit” - Ch. Altanzul, PhD candidate,
Ereenchuluu LLC
“Geology and iron mineralization of the Bayangol area” - B. Altangerel, geologist, Bold tomor Eroo gol LLC
Question time and Memorial Photo
Closing remarks: Erika Cayer and Enkhgerel Gerelchuluun
Museum Tour: Geology and Mineral museum of Mongolia
6
Day Two (May 8th, SUNDAY)
Kharkhorin
Upon the completion of breakfast at the Ulaanbaatar hotel, our group was organized according to the
preset seat arrangements, and individuals were assigned to one of the four vehicles. Prior to departure,
any extraneous luggage was pooled and stored at the hotel to diminish the used space in the vehicles.
The vehicles set out towards
Kharkhorin, and filled up on fuel at
the edge of the city at around 6:30
am.
At approximately 11:15, we arrived
at the town of Kharkhorin, where
we had a lunch of Tsoivan
(traditional Mongolian noodles with
beef) and dumpling soup. After
lunch we drove across town to the
Kharkhorin rock (AKA Phallic Rock),
which was a controversial carving of
a penis that was placed on the
outskirts of Kharkhorin in reminiscence of a Buddhist monk who had eschewed his vow of celibacy by
being a locally known womanizer. For his transgressions, he was supposedly castrated, and the carving is
meant to serve as a reminder to remain chaste and honor your vows.
7
Following the Kharkhorin rock, the vehicles refueled and drove the group over to the Erdene Zuu
Monastery. The Erdene Zuu Monastery was founded in 1586 by Avtai Sain Khaan on the site of
Kharkhorum, the ancient capitals of the 13th century Mongolian Empire. Erdene Zuu became a museum
in 1965, and has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2004.
8
After approximately an hour touring around the site and purchasing souvenirs, the group departed for
the long drive to Bulgan, where we would be staying for the night. The majority of the drive was off
road, however the group was in good spirits and enjoyed the scenery and wildlife along the way.
At around 8:00 pm, we arrived at the hotel in Bulgan where dinner was to be served as well. Enkhgerel
had made preparations and dinner was being prepared as we arrived, and was served shortly after
check in.
9
Day Three (May 9th, MONDAY)
Erdenet Copper Mine
We departed the hotel in Bulgan at 8:45 am after a traditional breakfast of dumplings in milk tea.
Approximately 50 minutes later we arrived at the Erdenet Mining Corporation head office in downtown
Erdenet. From here, a guide (recent UBC alumnus) escorted us via shuttle bus to the mine site
administration building.
Following a short safety induction video and signing into the site, we were shuttled to the main pit view
point (A). A pair of mine geologists were present for any questions we had. Here we learned that the
after over 30 years of operation, the oxide and supergene enriched zones were nearly exhausted leaving
the hypogene mineralization remaining in the mine plan. We also learned that there is no water issues
in the pit while all water required is extracted from the Selenge river basin 50 km to the north. From this
viewpoint we could also identify the large tailings storage site to the north which was a major source of
dust.
We were then treated to an extended visit to an exposed bench of the supergene enriched ore where
we were able to hunt for specimens. A local television crew was also present to learn more about our
field trip to Mongolia and our curiosity of the Erdenet operation. The chief geologist of 30 years met us
briefly to answer further questions.
With samples in hand, we set off to visit the primary crusher and extended crusher / mill complex. a
series of large ball Mills are employed to reduce grain size and liberate minerals of interest. At 12:30 we
headed to the cafeteria for a lunch of soup, salad and main dish.
10
Following lunch we visited the floatation plant where Cu and Mo are concentrated with a recovery of
87%. Final concentrate is
approx 22% Cu.
The final stop of the tour
brought us to the exploration
core yard. We were able to
inspect some recently drilled
core
of
regional
and
condemnation drilling that
demonstrated
the
local
potassic and quartz/sericite
alteration. The manager of
near-mine
and
regional
exploration was on site as well
as geologists to answer any
questions.
With the tour complete, we
thanked the hosts and guides
with a trip t-shirt and pin and headed back to the head office. Once packed up in the cars, at 3:11pm, we
headed to Darkhan.
11
Day Four (May 10th, TUESDAY)
Tumurtei Iron Mine
Upon arrival at the Tumurtei Mine Site, we were greeted by an employee of the Darkhan Metallurgical
Plant and began our tour of the site.
Stop One - Our first stop was at the iron rod processing facility where the iron mined at Tumurtei is
processed into solid rods of varying diameters which our then shipped for use across Mongolia.
After finishing at the rod facility, we went outside and had a brief look at the only currently active
division of the Tumurtei Mine, the iron recycling yard. In the recycling yard, old metalliferous trash is
first burned down to remove all extra materials before it is melted to extract any remaining iron. In the
yard the strong smell of industrial smoke greeted us as we looked upon smoldering refuse.
12
Stop Two – Our second stop was at the lookout site for the Tumur Tolgoi Pit. Here were could see the
strong skarn alteration which resulted in mineralization at Tumur Tolgoi and at all pits across the
Tumurtei property.
Stop Three – Our third stop was in the Tumur Tolgoi pit itself where we were able to walk into and out
of the skarn mineralization and see ore rocks in the pit wall.
Stop Four – Our fourth stop was the Tumur Tolgoi core where we were able to observe more varied
types of mineralization from the property.
13
End of Day – Our tour ended with the group photo at the core viewing area. From there we returned to
Darkhan to have lunch before continuing onward to Zuunkharaa.
14
Day Five (May 11th, WEDNESDAY)
Boroo Gold Mine (Centerra Gold Inc.)
Centerra Gold’s gold projects, namely Boroo and Gatsuurt, are located 30 minutes driving south of the
town of Zuunkharaa where we stayed for two nights at the Narnii Urtuu hotel.
After a quick safety induction, Boris Kotlyar (Director of Exploration, North and Central America)
presented the geology of both Boroo and Gatsuurt gold deposits through diverse, crisp stories. Boroo
and Gatsuurt are two orogenic gold deposits formed during the continental collision between the
Siberian and Chinese blocks along the northeast-trending Mongol Okhotsk suture zone in the Jurassic.
To date, both are the only bulk minable gold deposits in Mongolia.
Boroo, which means “rain” in Mongol, was known for its placer gold resources in the 17th and 18th
centuries but the deposit itself was discovered by successive Soviet and East German expeditions in the
50s and 60s. Mineralization at Boroo consists of pyrite, arsenopyrite and coarse-grained gold associated
with K-mica, Fe-carbonate, alkali feldspar and propylitic alteration assemblages. The alteration system is
controlled and capped by a local low-angle thrust fault within folded early Paleozoic granites and
metasediments, as observed during the pit tour in late morning. The regional so-called highway fault
displaced a portion of the Boroo orebody (pit 7) at about 7km south. The main Boroo orebody was also
cut and slightly displaced by a series of dextral strike-slip faults between the pits 2, 3 and 5-6. Blocks of
quartz vein are commonly found in the fields surrounding the pits brought by illegal miners. Trip
participants tried to observe some visible gold but unfortunately arrived too late!
Left: north-looking photograph of the pit 2 and 3 showing the location of the main host lithologies (metasediments and granite),
the thrust fault and orebody. Right: trip participants looking at the rock library and some core in the coreshack (photo credit:
Fabien Rabayrol).
Our group had the chance to look at some core after lunch and then, visit Boroo facilities that included
the crusher, mill, CIP and heap leach under the guidance of Purevrassh Duzeenyam (Mine Operation
Superintendent) and Orgodol Togoo (Processing Director). The production at Boroo has terminated and
facilities will be subsequently used for the exploitation of Gatsuurt. In total, Boroo mine produced 32Mt
15
of ore at 3.5 g/t Au (average) with 2-2.5 Mt as an average yearly production, 0.2 g/t Au cut-off, 83%
recovery and a strip ratio of 7.
Boris, Raash, Orgodol and Centerra’s crew were greatly thanked for their welcome and guidance during
this visit, and the lunch offered in this day.
Back to the hotel in the evening, the group had the chance to watch the performance of local Mongol
musicians and singers while eating some crispy chicken at dinner. The traditional music and throat
songs, mainly about the wealth of Mongolia through its landscapes, horses, heroes and historical events,
were accompanied by the typical Mongolian two-stringed horse-head violin, named Morin Khuur.
16
Day Six (May 12th, THURSDAY)
Gatsuurt Gold Deposit (Centerra Gold Inc.)
We left Zuunkharaa and its polyphonic Morin Khuur melodies early in the morning to head to Gatsuurt.
Boris Kotlyar welcomed us at Gatsuurt camp. He led the tour again in the morning and started by the
review of maps and sections of the project.
As detailed in the guidebook, Gatsuurt is an orogenic gold system offset (ca. 800m) by the regional
northeast-trending Sujigtei sinistral strike-slip fault that separates the Permian volcanic rocks in the west
(hangingwall) and lower Paleozoic granites and sediments in the east (footwall). The Central Zone is
located within the footwall while the Main Zone is within the hanging wall further south. Gatsuurt was
recognised as a placer gold deposit at early stage before the discovery of gold-bearing quartz vein.
Mineralization is zoned along the fault corridor from a gold-arsenopyrite-pyrite-galena association in the
north (Gatsuurt), to gold-arsenopyrite-base
metals, and then to quartz-base metals in the
south. Similar to Boroo, Gatsuurt is characterized
by As, W, Ag and Sb geochemical anomalies.
After the map review, Boris took us to the field
where we stopped first at the old placer camp
operated by Soviets. The abundance of trees in
the region gave rise to the name “Gatsuurt”,
which means fir tree. The second stop was at the
trench dug by Centerra through the fault zone at
the Central Zone. People then dispersed on the
outcrops of the Central Zone.
Back to the camp, the group had time to observe some core displayed under a bright sun. The most
interesting hole was the one which intercepted the fault zone: mineralized sediments (top) <
mineralized granite < quartz-sericite-pyrite assemblage (black silica) < mylonitic fault zone < barren
volcanic rock (bottom). It was striking to observe: 1) how the alteration system sharply stops at the fault
contact and 2) the rheology contrast between the granitic and sedimentary rocks gives rise to different
vein density and geometry with, for instance, high density and smaller veins within the granite. Boris
also mentioned that gold at Gatsuurt occurs as coarse grains like Boroo but is also fine trapped within
pyrite (refractory).
After an excellent lunch in the yurt generously offered by Centerra, we headed back to Ulaanbaatar in
the afternoon to end our first loop in northern Mongolia for this first week. Rest was clearly deserved in
the evening.
Once again, all Centerra’s crew, in particular Boris, is thanked for the two great tours offered to our
group.
17
Day Seven (May 13th, FRIDAY)
Ulaanbaatar Day 2
Time
08:00 - 09:00
09:00 - 10:00
09:00 - 10:00
10:00 - 11:00
11:00 - 12:30
12:30 - 13:30
13:30 - 15:00
15:00 - 16:30
16:30 - 19:00
19:00 - 21:00
Activity
Checked out of the Ulaanbaatar hotel
Rent car company office
Gandan Monastery
Beatles statue
Zaisan Hill War Memorial and Buddha statue
Lunch
Narantuul market
Military museum of Mongolia
Chinggis Khaan Complex and Horse ride, photograph with a Golden eagle
Settled in the Yurt camp
After departing from Ulaanbaatar Hotel in the morning, the group set off to get cash and store some
luggage at the rental car agency. From there, we visited the following places:
a) Gandan monastery, the Buddhist center of the country
b) Coffee shop by the Beatles statue (the only statue of the Beatles in Asia)
c) Zaisan hill - War Memorial (World War II)
d) Lunch - we had lunch at food court at the bottom of the Zaisan Hill
e) After lunch, it was around 1:30 PM and we realized that we still have some time to visit "Narantuul"
market which is the largest open space market in the country. We wandered around the market for 1.5
hours as well as bought some souvenirs.
e) Military museum of Mongolia displaying the glorious Mongolian military history
f) "Chingis Khaan" statue - we arrived at the statue around 4:00PM, and had a tour at the Statue. Took
pictures with a golden eagle and vulture.
(Left) Gandan Monastery
(Above) Statue near Zaisan Hill
18
After the tours around the city and Chingis Statue, we directly moved to the Yurt camp and settled there
around 9:00PM. The yurt camp was in the far west side of the city, near the highway going to the South
Gobi. It was more convenient for us to stay there as we were going to the South Gobi early next
morning.
19
Day Eight (May 14th, SATURDAY)
Drive to Dalanzadgad and the Flaming Cliffs
The group woke up early and started the grueling 660 km drive from Ulaanbataar to the Flaming Cliffs.
The Flaming Cliffs were discovered by Roy Chapman Andrews in 1920, during his expeditions of the Gobi
Desert as a paleontologist and director of the American Museum of Natural History. His discoveries
included finding the very first direct evidence that dinosaurs laid eggs (which was disputed up until his
discovery), as well as, discovering Velociraptor and Oviraptor among other fossils. Further, Roy
Chapman Andrews and his excursions in the Gobi Desert were the inspiration for Steven Spielberg’s
character “Indiana Jones”. The drive time to the Flaming Cliffs was such that the group was only able to
spend around 40 minutes walking around the site, but everyone had a good time enjoying the silent
wonder of this red oasis in the desert.
20
Day Nine (May 15th, SUNDAY)
Tavan Tolgoi Coal Mine
After having breakfast at Dalanzadgad, we departed for Tavan Tolgoi around 8:20 am. Tavan Tolgoi is
located 100 km east of Dalanzadgad, approximately a 2-hour drive from the city.
We arrived at Tavan Tolgoi at 10:30 am, and were escorted by one of the safety cars to our first tour of
the day. The tour was organized by Erdenes TT, a state-owned company that owns a part of the coal
deposit at Tavan Tolgoi. After the safety introduction, we were escorted to the open pit operated by
Erdenes TT. It was a shared tour between the SEG group and the geologists from the National University
of Mongolia. The guides talked about the geology of Tavan Tolgoi and answered any additional
questions. We witnessed a blasting operation during our tour of the open pit. When the tour ended, the
guides were presented with the official SEG trip t-shirts and flag pins. The first part of the day was
concluded with a lunch break in the nearby town of Tsogtsetsii around 1:30 pm.
The second part of the day was marked by another tour of the deposit, this time with Energy Resources
LLC, a publicly traded company operating at a different part of Tavan Tolgoi. After another safety
introduction, we toured their offices, the open pit, the crushing facilities, the sorting facilities, and a
dehydration pool at the site. The group got a great exposure to both the geology and mining operations
at the mine. Upon completion, the tour guides were gifted SEG trip t-shirts and flag pins.
At the end of the day, we went back to Tsogttsetsii and spent the night at a local hotel recommended to
us by the people working at the mine.
21
Day Ten (May 16th, MONDAY)
Oyu Tolgoi Copper Mine
The Oyu Tolgoi day was based out of Khanbogd. The drive to the location site was two hours mainly on a
long dirt road. The day started
with the safety introduction and
museum tour. We spent about an
hour reviewing safety procedures
and safety standards at the mine.
After the safety presentation, we
visited a small museum, which
displayed some basic information
about the mine, facilities, and the
deposit itself. After we received
the hard hats and safety glasses
we boarded a mine tour bus and
spent the rest of the morning
driving around the deposit and touring the different processing facilities. The first stop was the main pit,
where we spent approximately 30 minutes and watched the ore trucks transporting ore to the crusher.
After this, we visited the crusher and viewed the underground mine shafts from a distance. During the
morning tour, we were not allowed to exit the bus and walk around, and thus the tour was mainly from
a distance as the bus drove around and a safety operator introduced and explained the facilities.
After lunch, our attention was turned towards the regional exploration side of Oyu Tolgoi. We met two
exploration geologists who gave a presentation
on the stratigraphy and mineralization of Oyu
Tolgoi. This session was approximately an hour
followed by a short “question-answer” session.
After the presentations, we went to the core
facility, where the main drill holes
demonstrating
the
stratigraphy
and
mineralization were displayed. We were
accompanied by four core logging geologists,
who answered specific questions related to
drilling and the displayed core. We spent two
hours at the core facility. The day finished
around 4 pm. We thanked the geologists who
accompanied and led our tour by giving Canada-Mongolia pins and SEG T-shirts. At the end of the day,
we were brought back to the safety room, where we gave back the safety equipment and returned to
our cars. We drove back to Khanbogd and stayed overnight at the Gobi Hotel.
22
Day Eleven (May 17th, TUESDAY)
Kharmagtai Copper Project
After grouping up at the Khanbogd hotel, we departed for the Kharmagtai camp at 7:45 am. The road
system leading to the camp was not very well developed, and some additional coordination between
the drivers and GPS devices was required.
We arrived at the Kharmagtai Camp around noon, and were greeted by the representatives of Xanadu
Mines. They presented us with a short presentation detailing the geology and mineralization of the
Kharmagtai area deposits. After the presentation and a detailed question and answer period, we were
provided with lunch by their onsite staff.
Core had been specially prepared for us to review, and technical staff were nearby to help explain the
geology and answer questions that the group had. Enkhgerel was provided with a slab from one of the
deposits to present to Craig Hart upon his return.
The group reviewed the core and the map room for approximately 75 minutes before we organized
everyone to visit the different surficial sites that Xanadu had planned out for us.
Surface exposure at the site varies, but we were able to view and sample from three of the four
locations originally planned, as well as see a reverse circulation drill in action.
After presenting the technical staff with pins and T-shirts, the group departed for Manlai, where we
would be staying for the night. During the trip, a small cylindrical component of the engine of the lead
car snapped, leading to engine failure. The contingency plan that had been put into place was enacted,
and the remaining cars absorbed the redistributed trip participants for the remaining 15 km of driving.
Upon arrival to Manlai, arrangements were made with a local mechanic, and after purchasing dinner
provisions for the drivers, they returned to the downed vehicle and facilitated repairs until late in the
evening.
23
Day Twelve (Wednesday May 18th, WEDNESDAY)
Back to Ulaanbaatar
A vote was taken in the morning and the group chose to return to Ulaanbataar instead of
continuing to the Khamar Monastery. On the way back we were treated with the closest
encounters with camels we had experienced thus far, and the group was happy to finally get
some great pictures. We stopped for lunch at Mandalgovi and then continued to Ulaanbaatar.
After arriving in Ulaanbaatar, we returned to the Yurt camp since the group thoroughly enjoyed
the previous visit.
Day Thirteen (May 19th, THURSDAY)
Final Day in Ulaanbaatar
For the final day of our trip, some group members stayed at the Yurt camp to ride local horses,
while others went into the city to enjoy the sights. Cashmere shops, local markets, and music
stores are among some of the wonderful finds that the group members were able to shop at.
Due to the conservative budgeting of Vedran Pobric and crew, the trip was operating below
budget, and everyone was treated to a final night at Kempinski Hotel Khan Palace in
Ulaanbaatar. The industry participants kindly paid for a wonderful group dinner to thank the
student organizers and the students for the well-organized trip.
24