– Oyu Tolgoi CEO delivers final public speech –
Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia – Cameron McRae, CEO and President of Oyu Tolgoi LLC today delivered his last public speech before leaving the company next month.
Speaking at Discover Mongolia, where Oyu Tolgoi is a Gold Sponsor, McRae reflected on his three years at Oyu Tolgoi and spoke of his belief in the company’s strong future.
He paid tribute to those who have helped deliver the project, saying:
“Oyu Tolgoi has been an extraordinary saga of opportunity and adversity. But mainly it is a story of a venture backed by incredible belief, commitment and contributions. Many organizations and people have played their parts – and many will be remembered for their positive commitment to making this work.”
Mr McRae also discussed the challenges of building Oyu Tolgoi and commencing exports this July:
“Oyu Tolgoi continues to be a new experience – for Mongolia, and for the international investment community and the mining industry.
“There are lessons still to be learned – on all sides. Another question is how do we generate public and political debate that is constructive and sees large strategic projects move off the drawing board and into reality? Importantly, we succeed or fail together depending on our ability to recognize and embrace shared goals and values.”
Reflecting on the future, McRae expressed his belief that genuine partnership will deliver a success for all stakeholders.
Reflecting on lessons learned in recent years, he said:
“It is perfectly understandable that Oyu Tolgoi generates the scrutiny and debate that it does, but the atmosphere of debate is important and has at times been unhelpful for all parties. “For Oyu Tolgoi – where we should be focused on making Oyu Tolgoi a world class business. For the government – where Oyu Tolgoi has often distracted from the other critical policy areas. And most of all for the public – who simply want Oyu Tolgoi to do the very best that it can for Mongolia.”
“Oyu Tolgoi’s future should not be a re-run of its recent past. Oyu Tolgoi’s future has to be as a business, not an on-going political debate.”
He also provided a rallying call for investors, paying tribute to Mongolia’s economic potential:
”Oyu Tolgoi’s new CEO will quickly realise that this is an amazing place to be.”
“Despite economic pressures and an uncertain world, this remains a hugely exciting time for Mongolia.”
“New sentiments and ideas are emerging, and the debate is shifting towards shaping a new positive vision of Mongolia’s economic future.”
Full text of the speech can be found at: http://ot.mn/en/media/speech/050913/discover-mongolia-2013
Cameron has been with Oyu Tolgoi for 3 years and is Rio Tinto’s Country Director for Mongolia. He has 31 years mining industry experience, living and working in six countries. He leaves in October having completed his three year position with Oyu Tolgoi. Cameron’s replacement will be announced in due course.
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