The workers chief self-immolates to register his disgust at the sale of Mongolia's coal-mining monopoly to China.
At a press conference, he told the media coal miners were already struggling to feed their families.
Now the Erdenes Tavan Tolgoi company, which runs 39 plants across the country, has been bought out by privately-owned Chinese company TTJVCo things will only get worse, he adds.
He fears that the Chinese will bring in their own staff to operate the mines.
During the press conference in the capital Ulaanbaatar, the well dressed union chief mumbled a short statement which few could hear while pouring a liquid himself.
Microphones located near to the man recorded him saying: "The government no longer supports our company, families of the workers are forced to starve, this is why I will burn myself for the people of Mongolia and our children."
He then simply set himself alight.
For a second he remains calm, then the pain appears to become too great and he panics, beating at the flames before dropping to the floor.
The protest clearly caught fellow workers standing behind with placards by surprise, and although some people try to beat out the flames which had also set fire to the podium, many of the media continue taking photographs instead of grabbing a fire extinguisher.
Watch the video below:
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