The deal on underground expansion of the Oyutolgoi copper and gold mine was signed on Monday in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. All three parties, the Mongolian government, Turquoise Hill Resources and Rio Tinto have reached an agreement regarding shareholder issues and setting out a basis for funding the project.
The signing ceremony was attended by Mongolian Prime minister Mr Saikhanbileg who is now on working visit to UAE. He said that Oyu Tolgoi is a world-class copper-gold asset and its further development is of great economic significance for Mongolia.
With the good news of expanding the undreground phase the stocks of the Turquoise Hill Resources LTD have risen by 0.46 percent on Monday, May 18th. This might increase further as the investors were in waiting since 2013 when the discussion of the underground expansion were stalled. The underground mine, where 80 percent of Oyu Tolgoi’s mineral wealth lies, is expected to cost $5.4 billion to build.
Mr Andrew Woodley, the President and Chief Executive of Oyu Tolgoi company said: "we continue to work hard on increasing productivity and reducing the cost base of our operation in order to ensure the long-term economic viability of the business."