Loading ...Rio Tinto Plc and the Mongolian government said on Tuesday they have reached an agreement to end a long-running dispute over the $6.93 billion expansion project for the Oyu Tolgoi copper-gold mining project.
The deal marks a positive development for the Anglo-Australian mining giant, which is reeling from Serbia’s rejection last week of its proposed lithium mine as well as local opposition to projects in Guinea, the United States and elsewhere.
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“It’s a major relief. It’s a huge step forward for us,” Rio Chief Executive Jakob Stausholm told Reuters via phone from Ulaanbaatar ahead of a flight to the mine site for a ribbon-cutting ceremony later on Tuesday with Prime Minister Oyun-Erdene Luvsannamsrai.
“We are very comfortable with this outcome and, more than anything, achieving a full reset of the relationship,” said Stausholm, who became CEO last year.
Rio Tinto and Mongolia settle feud over Oyu Tolgoi copper mine