– Dalai Dairy Farm is just one South Gobi enterprises benefitting from Oyu Tologoi’s business development programme –
Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia – Approximately 50 small to medium size businesses have already benefited from the 1.5 billion MNT “Local Business Economic Development Programme”, an initiative recently launched by Oyu Tolgoi since January 1, 2011.
The program is designed to help local small to medium size enterprises, business entrepreneurs and local herders, and is open to residents of Khanbogd, Manlai, Dalanzadgad, Bayan-Ovoo soums in the South Gobi region.
One of the programme participants, the Dalai dairy farm, located in the Khanbogd soum, was granted a 7 million MNT loan. The loan is set out over a three-year period, with a 1 per cent monthly interest rate.
Local residents, T.Tsogtbaatar, R.Oyunaa, decided to apply for the loan so they could expand their dairy farm to meet the demand created by rapid development of mining in the South Gobi and the steady arrival of new migrants to the region.
With the money, the farm was able to purchase the additional livestock required and repair its cattle shed. The programme also provided professional advice and recommendations on food health and safety standards from veterinarians and dairy specialists. The cows also underwent a health and hygiene inspection.
Dairy farm employees were provided with various training opportunities in the areas of start-up business, business plan development, and dairy and milk processing.
Since the developments and training, the business has enjoyed an increase in revenue.
As a result of the expansion, four new jobs have been created at the farm. Livestock feed has also been planted, and a hand-operated water well has been restored and repaired under the guidelines of Oyu Tolgoi’s Participatory Water Monitoring programme.
Dalai farm herder, R.Oyunaa said the program has greatly benefited the employees and the business.
“We learned a lot through this program which proved to be very useful. This motivated us to do more to improve the business and increase revenue.”
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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