Press Release: Oyu Tolgoi recognised as ‘Development Project of the Year’ at Asian Mining Conference

– Mongolia recognised as 'Mining Country of the Year' from Asian and Pacific region countries for its accomplishments in the mining sector –

Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia – The 5th Annual 'Mines and Investment' mining investors conference was held in Hong Kong in March, 2012. The best mining companies in Asia were recognised and awarded during the conference.

Mongolia was recognised as 'Mining Country of the Year' for dominating headlines and for development of several world-class projects including Oyu Tolgoi, Rio Tinto’s flagship project in the Umnugobi, which received the 'Mining Project of the Year' award.

Cameron McRae, the President and CEO of Oyu Tolgoi, said “I’m very happy that Mongolia has been recognised as 'Mining Country of the Year' for its successes in the mining sector and that Oyu Tolgoi has been recognised as 'Development Project of the Year'.

He went on to add “As manager and investor in the Oyu Tolgoi project, Rio Tinto is very proud of this recognition. We are planning to launch production and operations at Oyu Tolgoi which will make substantial contributions to the future development of Mongolia”.

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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