Press release: A manuscript and album of Mongolian Gobi traditional long songs are published

– New stimulus to protect, conserve and disseminate cultural heritage –

Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia – On the eve of the upcoming Mongolian national festival honouring elders – Tsagaan Sar, Oyu Tolgoi LLC presented to the public a manuscript and album of Gobi traditional long songs. The Oyu Tolgoi LLC Cultural Heritage Programme and the Historical Research Institute of the Mongolian Academy of Sciences have revealed a written record of the traditional long songs sung by the Gobi people. Passed on from generation to generation, the manuscript belonged to Umnugobi’s Bayan-Ovoo soum resident, J.Sukhbaatar. The Oyu Tolgoi led programme and the research institute have jointly produced a book and album based on that manuscript which was presented at the National Museum today.

An important document of cultural heritage, the manuscript has been scrutinised through field and manuscript studies to publish a book. Extensive study and research was also conducted in consultation with local people to clarify notes, history, origin and distribution of the songs. In addition, the melodies of rare songs recorded in the manuscript were collected from Mongolian archives to make an album.

Having been saved from oblivion this important heritage of the Gobi province, and all of Mongolia, has been further enriched and is now available to the wider public, including researchers, people of the arts and culture and those who enjoy Mongolian culture. The long drawn song manuscript and album production is a bright example of the new impetus given to the protection, conservation, study, transfer and distribution of intangible cultural heritage during this time of great social change. The manuscript and album of Mongolian Gobi traditional long songs are posted on the website for public use to allow them to read, listen and download.

This work is one of the outcomes of the Oyu Tolgoi LLC managed, Cultural Heritage Programme. It is a fine example of how a plan, developed for the protection and conservation of tangible and intangible cultural legacies, is realised. A wide range of activities have been implemented under this programme to study, protect, disseminate, restore, transfer to the younger generation and develop intangible cultural heritage treasures, including: folk and long songs, national games and toys, sports, creative arts and traditional knowledge. Furthermore, extensive work is being done by the programme in the identification and registration of locations with natural and human-made cultural monuments, the protection of folklore and traditional script, the study of ancient monuments and rehabilitation of old temples and monasteries.

About Oyu Tolgoi LLC (http://ot.mn/en)

Oyu Tolgoi LLC is Mongolia's largest copper and gold mining company and is a strategic partnership between the Government of Mongolia (34 per cent stake), Turquoise Hill Resources (66 per cent) and Rio Tinto. Rio Tinto is the major shareholder in Turquoise Hill Resources and the manager of the Oyu Tolgoi project. In addition to dividends from its 34 per cent stake in Oyu Tolgoi, the Government of Mongolia will receive taxes and royalties.

Oyu Tolgoi, located in the Gobi desert in southern Mongolia, will be one of the largest and highest-grade copper and gold mines in the world. It is the largest project ever developed in Mongolia, requiring a capital investment for phase 1 of more than US$6 billion.

Oyu Tolgoi is committed to contributing to a sustainable future for Mongolia. At least 9 out of 10 employees will be Mongolian once the mine is in production and Oyu Tolgoi is investing US$58 million dollars (78 billion MNT) in training and education and an additional US$27 million dollars (36 billion MNT) in the Workforce Employment Project designed to help address the general skills shortage in Mongolia

Oyu Tolgoi's key priorities are the health and safety of employees, best-practice environmental management, contributing to sustainable communities and always doing business with integrity, for the benefit of all the project's shareholders and the people of Mongolia.

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