Oyu Tolgoi Information Center opens

– The Information Center is open to anyone who wants to know about Oyu Tolgoi –

Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia – The Oyu Tolgoi project in the Umnugobi region is called, 'the development of the century' in Mongolia. Yesterday in Ulaanbaatar, the Oyu Tolgoi Information Center opened its doors to the public. In a time when the mining industry has become a key economic sector of Mongolia, the opening of the mining information center is very important. Oyu Tolgoi is committed to disseminating knowledge and information about the mine to the public. The establishment of the information center enables quick and accurate delivery of information about the development of this multi-stakeholder cooperation. Transparency, responsible mining initiatives and corporate social responsibilities are the basis for the establishment of the information centre. 

Zorigt Dashdorj, cabinet member in the government of Mongolia and Minister of Minerals; Dr.G.Batsukh, Oyu Tolgoi board chairman; Matt Gili, Oyu Tolgoi Chief Operating Manager; David Patterson, Oyu Tolgoi Vice President of Public Relations; and staff of the Information Center, participated in the opening ceremony.

Dr.G.Batsukh, Oyu Tolgoi board chairman, said: “There is a harsh winter in Mongolia. However, throughout this harsh winter, our company has completed 70 per cent of the Oyu Tolgoi mine development in the Umnugobi. Opening the Mine Information Center now is very timely. The Oyu Tolgoi information center is aimed at providing information to the public on the history, development and future perspective of the Mongolian mining industry. The information center is open to anybody including students, researchers and scientists. Locating the information center around our leading Mongolian universities is no coincidence. The Oyu Tolgoi information center is committed to the development of world class responsible mining and transparency and the introduction of modern technology”

Zorigt Dashdorj, Minerals Minister said: “Oyu Tolgoi is one of largest projects implemented by the government of Mongolia. Successful implementation of the project will contribute significantly to the socio-economic development of the country. Today, about 18,000 people are working on the Oyu Tolgoi construction phase, from them, 11,000 or 60 per cent are Mongolians. Since the project inception, Oyu Tolgoi purchased US$887 million dollars of products and services from 2,400 Mongolian businesses. The Oyu Tolgoi construction phase is 70 per cent complete, this means Oyu Tolgoi will launch into production before the planned timeline”.

Address of the Oyu Tolgoi Information Center:

Sukhbaatar district, 1st Khoroo, (near the facility no.4 of the National University of Mongolia)
Contact tel: 11-353366

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), Ivanhoe Mines (66 per cent) and Rio Tinto. Rio Tinto is the major shareholder in Ivanhoe Mines 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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