Rio Tinto continues to expand in Mongolia

The company controls 66 percent of the Oyu Tolgoi (OT) joint copper and gold complex in Mongolia. Ivanhoe Mines and Rio Tinto reached an overarching agreement to complete the accelerated, full-scale construction of the first phase of the OT copper-gold complex in southern Mongolia, which has already begun its copper exports. But the most important second stage of the company has not yet been implemented. The deadlines for funding this phase have been postponed several times.

Funding for the mine is now valued at more than $ 6 billion and is expected to become the largest copper production in the world. The mine also possesses significant amounts of gold and silver. But Rio is not ready to go along with the plan for the second phase until the government resolves tax issues. Meanwhile, the government wants the company to move forward as soon as possible. The state owns about 32 percent of OT and the decision on the financial side of the expansion is important for Mongolia.

The crux of the dispute between the company and the government over the reduction of the tax burden is that the company would like to reduce the tax on the mine from $ 127 million to $ 30 million. And, as it became known, the tax case is now being resolved. More than 60 percent of the workers involved are Mongolians who have mastered technologically advanced mining operations. An estimated 3,700 Mongolians received training sponsored by the leadership of Oyu Tolgoi to provide a skilled workforce for the country's rapidly growing mining sector.