Mongolia

Erdenet city has 90.000 inhabitants, it's the third most important city of Mongolia. It’s the capital of the province of Orkhon and it’s located in the Northern part of the country, 241 kilometres (149,75 miles) as the crow flies from Ulan-Bator. A tarred road on 370 kilometres (229,91 miles) binds the two cities. There is no airport in Erdenet.

History

Erdenet is one of the youngest cities of Mongolia. It was created in 1974 in an area where important copper deposits have been found in the 1950s. A railway that binds Erdenet to the Transmongolian's railway was inaugurated in 1977. It’s 121 kilometres (75,19 miles) long. In the middle of the 1980s, more than half the inhabitants were Russians who worked as engineers or miners. After the fall of communism in 1990, most of the Russians left Erdenet and today, about 10 % of the population is Russian.

Economy

In the city, there's the fourth biggest copper factory in the world. ”Erdenet Mining Corporation” is a Russian Mongolian joint venture that represented for a long time the first source of incomes of the country. Each year, 22.230.000 tons of ore are extracted, among which 126.700 tons of copper and 1954 tons of molybdenum. In 2010, the incomes of the mine represented about 13,5 % of the gross domestic product of Mongolia and 7 % of its tax revenues. About 8000 persons are employees in the mine. It's possible to visit the mine, provided that you requested it many months ahead.

Erdenet is also known for its carpets fabric, located about 2 kilometres (1,24 mile) from the city centre, and created in 1981. Each year, it treats about 2000 tons of wool. About 1100 persons work in the factory. It's also possible to visit it.