AKIPRESS.COM - The Mongolian government on Thursday submitted plans to parliament to list a chunk of the state-owned company that holds the giant Tavan Tolgoi coal mine, Reuters reported.

The potential initial public offering comes as the country looks to kickstart the long-delayed development of one of the world’s largest coking coal deposits, with international coal prices picking up after years in the doldrums.

Mining minister Sumiyabazar Dolgorsuren presented a bill to parliament proposing the sale of up to 30 percent of the project on domestic and international stock markets, according to a notice on Mongolia’s official parliamentary website. The potential value of an IPO was not mentioned.

The government said in a statement on Wednesday that it would also speed up plans to build a $1 billion coal-fired power plant near the mine, as well as a 247-kilometre railway that would help deliver Tavan Tolgoi’s coal to the Chinese border.

“The government believes that the economic benefits of the deposit will increase,” it said in the statement.

Tavan Tolgoi, in the Gobi desert about 250 kilometres (155 miles) from the Chinese border, has an estimated 7.4 billion tonnes of reserves and is considered one of Mongolia’s flagship mining projects. It is run by state-owned Erdenes Tavan Tolgoi.