JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Global mining major Rio Tinto will open a new office in “strategically important” Mongolia to strengthen its presence in a country in which it had already invested $7-billion in the last eight years.

The office in Ulaanbaatar will be separate from Oyu Tolgoi – the large copper and gold mine that 51%-Rio Tinto-owned Turquoise Hill jointly owns with the government of Mongolia.

Under the leadership of newly appointed country director Munkhtushig Dul, the Ulaanbaatar office will house Rio Tinto’s exploration team and the Mongolia Delivery Centre (MDC), the local branch of Rio Tinto's information systems and technology team (IS&T). The MDC team will help service Rio Tinto’s global operations.

The office will expand Rio Tinto’s national employee numbers to about 80 through the course of the year.

“Rio Tinto’s commitment to Mongolia extends beyond Oyu Tolgoi and is a testament to our talented Mongolian workforce who have propelled our operations inside Mongolia, and globally, forward. This is especially true of the MDC – where Mongolians support Rio Tinto’s global IS&T operations. By investing more in Mongolia we are creating future leaders for our global business and exporting Mongolia’s intellectual capacity around the world. This is a true win-win,” commented CEO Jean-Sebastian Jacques.

The group has invested more than $7-billion in Mongolia since 2010, including salaries, supplier payments, investment in the community, and $1.5-billion in taxes, royalties and other payments to the government of Mongolia.

Dul, who has more than 20 years' experience in public service, mining and the commodities industry, will work in coordination with the Oyu Tolgoi team, led by MD Armando Torres.

Dul has previously worked in senior roles within the Noble Group’s Mongolian operations, with the Mongolian Stock Exchange and the Executive Office of the National Security Council, as well as a number of leading Mongolian corporations.