President Ts. Elbegdorj visits Oyu Tolgoi

“This is a very large, world-class mining project. Investor Rio Tinto is a responsible, reliable company. I believe that Rio Tinto will continue its success and work responsibly in Mongolia, taking a careful, systematic approach to many of Oyu Tolgoi’s present difficulties and problems such as equal salary for all workers of different nationalities, having more Mongolian supply and provision companies involved, implementing advantageous water supply strategies, and supporting domestic production in rural areas, with special care and attention focused on the project’s infrastructure, human resources, and ecological restoration. There is a need to talk to the natives of the province. Generally, any business that is in correspondence with its surrounding society has a high degree of profit, whereas the profit is minimal for businesses with less connection and responsibility for society. Remember this throughout your operation, Oyu Tolgoi,” said President Ts. Elbegdorj during the meeting with OT’s head executives.

“The cold months of winter in Mongolia drag on as Oyu Tolgoi’s enormous building project continues rapidly,” began the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Oyu Tolgoi LLC, G. Batsukh. He explained that the building stage of OT has commenced 6 months prior to its original scheduled time. “A total of 65 companies from 38 nations are involved in the OT project. Out of 15,000 employees, 4,700 of them are Mongolian nationals. Once the project is in full operation, 3,000 additional Mongolians will be employed. We have contracts with over 1000 Mongolian suppliers, and have bought goods totaling up to 1.3 trillion MNT.

Out of 12 projects that are being implemented in the aimag, five of them have been initiated and implemented by Mongolian companies. OT has funded the Education Department of Mongolia with 110 billion MNT, having construction projects already in motion in cities Dalanzadgad, Khanbogd, Darkhan and Ulaanbaatar, and supported the domestic tuition fees of 200 students and the international tuition fees of 30 students.

The ecological strategy we are exercising and our mine closure plan meets the World Bank’s standards and requirements. We will use a technology that will use the least amount of water in our operation; making sure to use water from great depths that hold no convenient usefulness to the public.

As for infrastructure, a 100 kilometer hard court road to our Southern border, along with a 220 kilowatt power line is being built. An airport and an underground sewer system are also being built. For the natives of the aimag, over 3 billion MNT has been allocated to build sports and arts complexes,” said G. Batsukh.
During the introduction and reports, the President asked about several points from the G. Batsukh involving the question of power supply, more Mongolian employees, and supplies and provisions.

At the meeting, the Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy D. Zorigt denied the public allegations that Oyu Tolgoi is not being permitted to build its own power lines because there are Government officials who own diesel fuel supply companies that provide the mine with fule.

He made it clear that there are no such issues, and said that there was a decision to grant Oyu Tolgoi permission to build power lines. We see that it is better to separate the funds of building structures and power lines. Rio Tinto and Ivanhoe Mines are invested in Oyu Tolgoi together but will build necessary structures or power lines separately.

Oyu Tolgoi executives said that talks of importing electricity from China have reached a considerable agreement. China has agreed to supply Oyu Tolgoi with power if an agreement is made to export a circumstantial amount of copper to China.

G. Batsukh noted the disputes regarding Oyu Tolgoi’s s vague and ambiguous procedure of selecting suppliers through tender. He ensured that a solid procedure had been implemented beginning on December 10, 2011, and detailed information concerning this issue is posted on their website.

The President said that 10,000 employees at Oyu Tolgoi are working in an army camp environment; whereas other mining projects have begun building apartment complexes, hospitals, schools, and the workers live with their families.

Oyu Tolgoi executives replied that currently this project is at a stage of constructing key buildings required for production, and once the mine is fully operational, there will be a city built.

Executives added that they have researched Erdenet’s history. They are currently discussing and consulting the Government concerning this and its initial planning has not yet begun.

After the meeting, the President, along with other officials, met with employees at Oyu Tolgoi and were shown several building projects, an open pit mine, a tunnel, high capacity vehicle assembling factory, the employees living quarters, and ate with workers.

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