Züünbayan ( mn, Зүүнбаян), also Zuun-Bayan, Zun-Bayan, Dzun-Bayan is an urban-type settlement in

Sainshand Sainshand ( mn, Сайншанд; ) is the capital of Dornogovi Province in Mongolia. It is located in the eastern Gobi desert steppe, on the Trans-Mongolian Railway. Administration The territory of Sainshand sum consists of 5 ''bags'' (commu ...

sum (district) of

Dornogovi Province Dornogovi ( mn, Дорноговь, ''East Gobi'') is one of the 21 aimags (provinces) of Mongolia. It is located in the southeast of the country, bordering PR China's autonomous region of Inner Mongolia. Dornogovi is located in the Gobi desert ...

in South-Eastern

Mongolia Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 million, ...

. This settlement is officially the 5th ''bag'' (commune) of the

capital

, which sum territory was expanded for about 50 km south to the Gobi Desert to include Züünbayan. Züünbayan population was 1,917 (end of 2006, est.Dorngovi aimag statistic service annual report
/ref>) and 1,606 at the end of 2008.Dorngovi aimag statistic service annual report 2008
/ref>

Location

Züünbayan is 46 km South from

city center. The Erdene sum center is 67 km E from Züünbayan, Ulaanbadrakh sum center is 88 km SE, Khövsgöl sum center is 116 km S, Saikhandulaan sum center is 70 km W.

History

Züünbayan oilfield in East Gobi was discovered by Mongolian geologist J. Dugersuren and Soviet geologist Yu.S.Zhelubovsky in 1940. In 1947, "Mongolnefti" ( mn, Монголнефть) trust was established and an oil refinery with a processing capacity of about per year was built in Züünbayan in 1950. Between 1950 and 1969, over of oil were produced from the Züünbayan oilfield and a total of of oil (including lighter oil imported from Russia to be mixed with Züünbayan oil) were processed at the refinery, which supplied more than 20% of the country's fuel and lubricants demand at that period. However, due to several factors such as well pressure decrease, the fire accident that destroyed the refinery, and discoveries of giant oil fields in western

Siberia Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive region, geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

, petroleum operations in Mongolia was ceased in 1969.

Transportation

The 62 km long railway connects Züünbayan to the

railway station on the

Trans-Mongolian Railway , map_name = , map_state = collapsed , embedded = The Trans-Mongolian Railway follows an ancient tea-caravan route from China to Russia and connects Ulan-Ude, on the Trans–Baikal Railway, Trans–Baikal (Trans–Sib ...

. The airstrip is 14 km E from Züünbayan.

Tavan Tolgoi Tavan Tolgoi ( mn, Таван толгой, also Tavantolgoi, Tavantolgoy, "Five Hill") is one of the world's largest untapped coking and thermal coal deposits, located in the Ömnögovi Province in southern Mongolia. It has a total estimated r ...

coking coal mine railway to this station i
under construction post-covid disruption
with a goal of displacing heavy truck traffic and labor.

References

Populated places in Mongolia Mining communities in Mongolia {{Mongolia-geo-stub