Press release: Oyu Tolgoi 6th biggest taxpayer in 2011

– Mine selected as top Mongolian customs tax payer in 2011 –

Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia – Oyu Tolgoi, the major copper and gold mine in the South Gobi, has ranked 6^th out of  100 companies that paid the most tax to the Mongolian government in 2011, and the mine is not even operational yet!

The top 100 tax-paying companies contributed 72 percent of the 2011 national budget revenue, according to report of General Tax Office of Mongolia released last week. Many of Oyu Tolgoi’s national supplier companies were on the list, so Oyu Tolgoi is also contributing yet more funds indirectly.

Besides its significant contribution to the Mongolian government budget revenue, Oyu Tolgoi has also been recognised as the top customs tax payer in Mongolia in 2011.

Last year saw the peak period of Oyu Tolgoi’s construction and development work and the mining company paid 184.5 billion MNT in tax to the Mongolian customs authority.

In 2011, Oyu Tolgoi spent a total of 1.7 trillion MNT on goods and services from 1000 Mongolian companies. Before mining starts in 2013, the mine will have paid a total of 900 billion MNT in tax and fees to the Mongolian government.

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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