Grayson and Baatar report that the purpose of the study is to assist the reader to gain a better understanding of Mongolia Coal Rush and to draw attention to lessons that can be learned from Chinese coal industry. To achieve this, they searched for activities in northern China to serve as models.. good and bad ...to help guide Mongolia in managing its new coal mines. The value of Google Earth in highlighting environmental issues is illustrated by images of coal seams on fire, acid-mine waters contaminating streams, and coal dust affecting the nomadic pastures of the Gobi Desert.
A surprise was the ease of tracking coal trucks on dirt roads across Gobi Desert, often many kilometers from the mine source. The study presents evidence from Google Earth of the merit in insisting on rail transport of coal on environmental, health and safety grounds, rather than trucking by road, and for adopting rail in transporting waste to the dumps. An unexpected outcome was the detection of a system of open fractures along a 5.5.km wall of a large coal mine in Xinjiang, indicating a potential serious collapse.
Coal is largest of industries and has many serious environmental, social and health issues, some affecting the entire planet by global warming. Mongolia coal industry is in its infancy and is undergoing explosive growth. Mongolian society has yet to come to terms with the environmental, social and health issues that will arise, and Mongolian policy makers have little time to gain experience of how to respond.
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