The Ochir Undraa Group is playing a major role in Mongolia’s rapidly developing economy. Founder, owner and chairman Tardai Gantumur, a mechanical and electrical engineer with mining and trade expertise, established the enterprise in 2000 when Mongolia began to privatise energy-sector operations. Today, the group has 12 companies and 845 employees.
One of the group’s most successful companies is mining-sector leader Mera, named one of Mongolia’s top 150 companies by the Mongolian government and by the Mongolian Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Mera is involved in blasting; blast-hole drilling; explosives-manufacturing; imports, sales, transport and storage of explosives; consulting; production and preparation of stemming materials; and the design and construction of explosives magazines. The company has won many awards, including the “Best Technology Know-How Entrepreneur” citation in 2011.
Mera operates Mongolia’s first explosives factory, which opened in 2006. It contains a state-of-the-art ANFO production line and has ANFO charging trucks for loading US-made blast holes and other equipment. Mera also operates an emulsion plant employing Australian processes and Australian-Russian joint technology. The fully automated plant opened in 2011 and produces emulsion explosives which meet international standards.
Mining and energy-sector activities contribute 47% of the Ochir Undraa group’s total revenues, but the group is also involved in the financial-services, transport, ICT and construction sectors. Tardai Gantumur has ambitious goals for the group. He says, “Mongolia’s construction sector is not yet developed, and the financial sector is only half developed, so I want our group to grow more in the mining and construction sectors, and I would like to build a chemical factory to produce explosives.”
Open to international partnerships
The Ochir Undraa Group focuses on serving international companies, mainly in the mining sector, and Tardai Gantumur is open to international partnerships. He says, “My principle in working with investors is to take a step-by-step approach. If I decide to move forward with some planned projects in the mining sector starting in January 2014, I will be open to meeting with international partners to see if we have compatible goals.”
Ochir Undraa stands out from its competitors in the Mongolian mining sector through its commitment to western technologies and management techniques and its in-depth knowledge of the local market as the only Mongolian company in its field. Tardai Gantumur says, “Our technology and equipment meet European standards, including environmental and safety standards. We are an excellent choice as a partner for European companies and investors.”
