Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia- On 24 September a number of NGO organisations including Oyu Tolgoi Watch, Bank Information Centre and London Mining Network issued a press release entitled “World Bank and others poised to invest in Rio Tinto’s flawed Mongolian mining project” in which they raised a number of concerns about the Oyu Tolgoi project and the recently released Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA).
While Oyu Tolgoi actively encourages interest in the project from all stakeholders, we reserve the right to reply when concerns are raised about the project. What follows are responses to claims in the press release.
Claim: The ESIA is deficient.
OT Response: It is important to point out that this assessment, which was conducted by independent ESIA specialists Citrus Partners, is the most comprehensive ESIA in Mongolian history. It was completed to global standards, including the Performance Standards of the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation and the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development’s own standards.
Claim: The World Bank “acknowledges that there is not enough water in the region to support the life of the Project’.
OT Response: The World Bank report (2009) Groundwater Assessment in the Gobi Region actually complimented Oyu Tolgoi on its groundwater investigation and resource assessment study for the Oyu Tolgoi mine. Oyu Tolgoi Watch made an allegation to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development suggesting that Oyu Tolgoi failed to carry out a full environmental impact assessment and a crucial study of water resources. On 3 May, 2011 the OECD dismissed the complaint, referencing the World Bank report. Oyu Tolgoi has been given permission by Mongolia’s Ministry of Nature, Environment and Tourism and the Mongolian Water Authority to use approximately 20 per cent of the water from Gunnii Hooloi over 40 years, so the aquifer can never be exhausted. The aquifer is separate from the shallow water sources used by households and animals.
Claim: Rio Tinto, the project manager, has not disclosed any plans on how it will manage the severe environmental impacts of the Oyu Tolgoi project’s operations.
OT Response: The ESIA includes an impact assessment and mitigation plans, as well as environmental and social management plans. The impact assessment and mitigation plan assesses the nature and significance of the project’s probable environmental and social impacts. The Environmental and Social Management Plan describes how Oyu Tolgoi will manage its operations across a range of environmental and social areas, and where possible, have a positive impact in areas such as air quality, noise, topsoil, petroleum fuels, biodiversity, water, closure and reclamation. While the management plans in the existing ESIA only cover the construction phase, these will be updated later to incorporate Oyu Tolgoi operations management plans and systems.
Claim: Rio Tinto has not organised meaningful, participatory, and culturally appropriate public consultations with the affected herders and prefers 1-1 meetings which herders find intimidating.
OT Response: Extensive consultations were held over a period of almost one year between 30 June 2010 and 10 June 2011, including one-to-one group consultations involving a minimum of 5 to a maximum 250 people at one time, covering a wide range of topics. Oyu Tolgoi offices in the local counties are open for the public all day. Everyone in Mongolia has a chance to respond to the ESIA. The full report is on our website. One-to-one consultation with herders is culturally accepted and a normal procedure given the sparsely populated nature of Mongolia.
Claim: Several herders have already experienced devastating herd loss and other impacts after being forced to resettle because of Oyu Tolgoi project.
OT Response: No herders have been forced to resettle. As for animal deaths, our plan is to investigate every animal death thoroughly. There are 10 herder families living in areas close to the mine and between 2003 and 2011 roughly 555 animal losses have been registered from a total of 3,296 head of livestock. To date, animal losses are due to severe cold, and shortage of pasture in the winter which are classified as natural causes.
Claim: The ESIA does not cover impact on pastureland, the diversion of the Undai River, the location of the international airport, or the power station.
OT Response: The ESIA covers all of these topics except the power station. We have always been transparent that the power station will have a separate ESIA.
Oyu Tolgoi welcomes comments from all stakeholders.
The comprehensive ESIA and its non-technical summary are available in both English and Mongolian on www.ot.mn/ESIA.
About Oyu Tolgoi LLC (http://en.ot.mn/)
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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