Protests at Rio Tinto’s Mongolia copper mine disrupt cargoes
A protest at Rio Tinto Group’s massive Oyu Tolgoi copper mine in Mongolia is threatening deliveries of concentrate, according to a social media post from the company’s local subsidiary.
The protesters began a blockade of a key road from the mine at 9 am on Wednesday local time, the miner said in a statement on its Facebook page, preventing trucks from hauling copper concentrate to the border with China.
There’s a “risk of not fulfilling the contractual duties,” and the disruption could inflict “significant disruptions to the State budget and tarnish the reputation of Mongolia and the Mongolian mining sector in the international environment,” the statement said.
A spokesperson for Rio declined to comment further. The company’s stock was 1.6% lower at 8:57 am in London.
Oyu Tolgoi is one of the world’s most significant copper projects and is vital to the company’s strategy for growing its sales of a metal key to the energy transition. Rio operates the mine, in which it holds a 66% stake, while the Mongolian government owns the rest.
The development is still ramping up to full capacity, which will see it become the fourth-largest operating copper mine in the world. It’s also a critical project for Mongolia as its exports account for a huge chunk of the country’s gross domestic product.
The reason for the protests wasn’t immediately clear. But the mine is controversial in Mongolia, where the government has demanded a bigger share of revenue from operations. The country’s portion of development costs was funded by Rio on condition that the government pays back its loans before it receives major dividends.
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