Oyu Tolgoi celebrates major milestone

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/ The Government of Mongolia and Rio Tinto formally celebrated a major milestone of Oyu Tolgoi LLC shipping one million tonnes of copper concentrate, on March 29. An official ceremony of the celebration ran at the mine site in the South Gobi, attended by the Minister of Mining R Jigjid, the Chief Executive of Rio Tinto Sam Walsh, and Rio Tinto’s Chief Executive of Copper & Coal Jean-Sébastien Jacques. Oyu Tolgoi LLC, Mongolia’s largest copper and gold mine, has already unlocked tremendous value for the country in the form of investment inflows, job creation, and the introduction of international safety, technical, environmental, managerial, procurement and accounting standards. Since 2010, more than USD 6.4 billion has been invested in the operation and approximately USD 1.3 billion has been paid in taxes, royalties and other fees to our Government. In 2014 alone, USD 300 million was spent on procurement with Mongolian companies and USD 7.8 million were invested in education, training, and sustainable development projects. Rio Tinto CEO Sam Walsh said, "It is wonderful to see the Oyu Tolgoi open-cut operation first-hand, and witness what is, by any standard, an extraordinary achievement by the national Mongolian workforce. To reach one million tonnes of copper concentrate shipped, in less than two years of operation, is a major milestone for such a young business and something we are tremendously proud to be a part of". The Minister R.Jigjid, said, "Oyu Tolgoi is a great national asset. Today’s ceremony is testament to the hard and impressive work of the employees, 95 percent of whom are Mongolian nationals. I am confident that Oyu Tolgoi will continue to go from strength-to-strength, and make a significant net contribution to Mongolia’s social and economic fabric for many years to come. I send my heartfelt–and sincere–congratulations to the management and employees on this wonderful achievement". "It is a great honor to host Minister Jigjid and Rio Tinto’s chief executive Sam Walsh at our world class mining operation. This significant milestone allows us to showcase the quality of the operation and its workforce, and provides a strong platform to realize further efficiencies and prepare for future growth," G.Batsukh, Oyu Tolgoi LLC’s Chairman of the Board of Directors said. Andrew Woodley, CEO of Oyu Tolgoi said this achievement clearly "demonstrates a commitment to deliver a safe, globally competitive copper business that contributes to the prosperity of Mongolia". "We are very pleased and grateful to have the Minister Jigjid and the Government of Mongolia celebrate this important event with us," he added.