Administrative Court of Mongolia (ACM) annulled Former Prime Minister Saikhanbileg Chimed’s order No.27, 99 and 123 on the 2015 Dubai Agreement. The document covers the costly and several times delayed underground expansion of Oyu Tolgoi (OT). Darkhan Mongol Nogoon Negdel NGO had requested ACM to invalidate Saikhanbileg’s order, considering it violated the law. The court decision confirms that the deal was signed illegally and the Dubai agreement has become invalid. However, the Government of Mongolia has the right to appeal to the ACM decision. Erdenes Oyu Tolgoi LLC, the 34 percent shareholder of OT declined to give specific information on the matter. Amongst Mongolians, the Dubai deal refers to an agreement on the pathway forward for starting development of the underground mine, which was signed by representatives of the government of Mongolia, Rio Tinto and Turquoise Hill Resources at a meeting held in Dubai in May 2015. Oyu Tolgoi was launched in 2009 after an investment agreement granted Mongolia its share and the rest to Canada’s Ivanhoe Mines, now the Rio Tinto-controlled Turquoise Hill Resources. Oyu Tolgoi, a copper-gold mine in the South Gobi region of Mongolia, approximately 550 km south of the capital Ulaanbaatar, holds one of the largest undeveloped high-grade copper deposits in the world. Between 2010 and the third quarter of 2019, OT spent over USD three billion on national procurement, of which USD 523 million was spent on procurement from Umnugovi province. The company signed MNT 2.7 billion contract to purchase 5,000 locally made standard leather safety boots from Khos Az LLC for the next three years. Following the opening of the two new factories in Manlai soum, 64 new jobs were created.

Published Date:2019-11-19