Mongolian prime minister reassures investors over mining project
Ulan Bator - The Mongolian government has climbed down from its demand for larger share of the proceeds from a copper-mine project in the south of the country.
The deal is with foreign investors Rio Tinto Group Plc and Ivanhoe Mines Ltd, which have rejected a retrospective increase in the government's share from 34 top 50 per cent.
'We respect the agreement,' Prime Minister Sukhbaatar Batbold told dpa on Monday.
'There is no intention by the government of Mongolia to damage the completion of this important project for Mongolia,' Batbold said.
Batbold said Mongolia is a democracy, pointing to the opposition in parliament, and said there were calls for a larger state share in the exploitation of minerals. The prime minister said the government had to deal with these demands.
'It does not mean that we change an agreement,' he said.
The mine in southern Mongolia's Oyu Tolgoi is half completed. When it begins production it should number among the five largest copper mines in the world.
Sixty-six per cent of the project belongs to Ivanhoe, which is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada, and 49-per-cent owned by London-based Rio Tinto.
The companies have already invested 2.6 billion dollars.
The deal is with foreign investors Rio Tinto Group Plc and Ivanhoe Mines Ltd, which have rejected a retrospective increase in the government's share from 34 top 50 per cent.
'We respect the agreement,' Prime Minister Sukhbaatar Batbold told dpa on Monday.
'There is no intention by the government of Mongolia to damage the completion of this important project for Mongolia,' Batbold said.
Batbold said Mongolia is a democracy, pointing to the opposition in parliament, and said there were calls for a larger state share in the exploitation of minerals. The prime minister said the government had to deal with these demands.
'It does not mean that we change an agreement,' he said.
The mine in southern Mongolia's Oyu Tolgoi is half completed. When it begins production it should number among the five largest copper mines in the world.
Sixty-six per cent of the project belongs to Ivanhoe, which is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada, and 49-per-cent owned by London-based Rio Tinto.
The companies have already invested 2.6 billion dollars.
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