A Rio Tinto mineral processing facility in Mongolia’s Gobi Desert on June 23, 2012 (AFP/Archives/MARK RALSTON)
Mining at a gigantic copper mine in Mongolia owned by Anglo-Australian giant Rio Tinto began Monday after years of dispute over the project, the Asian country’s news agency said.
The Oyu Tolgoi (“Turquoise Hill”) mine, located in the middle of the Gobi Desert and less than 150 kilometers from China, is considered one of the largest known copper deposits in the world.
The site, which was originally due to go live in 2013, has been the subject of widespread controversy over its funding, profit sharing and environmental impact.
The mining giant Rio Tinto had also suffered from a rise in nationalist sentiment among the Mongolian population, worried about the rise of foreign firms.
After years of delays, mining officially began on Monday at 1,300m depth, the Montsame news agency reported.
The event was marked by a ceremony in the presence of the Mongolian Prime Minister, Luvsannamsrai Oyun-Erdene, and the boss of Rio Tinto, Jakob Stausholm.
“When Oyu Tolgoi is running at full capacity, (the site) will provide enough copper to produce over 6 million electric cars a year,” Stausholm was quoted as saying by Montsame.
The site was to represent an important financial windfall for Mongolia and weigh more than 30% of its gross domestic product (GDP), said the promoters of the project signed in 2009.
Oyu Tolgoi is already developed in the open, but Rio Tinto ensures that 80% of the site’s riches reside in its underground reserves.
After a long standoff, Rio Tinto and Mongolia finally reached an agreement in 2015 paving the way for exploitation and new underground work, which had been delayed.
The Anglo-Australian group Rio Tinto owns, via Turquoise Hill, 66% of the company Oyu Tolgoi managing the mine, while the remaining 34% is held by the Mongolian government.
© 2023 AFP
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