Minister D.Sumiyabazar visits Australia
AMongolia delegation led by Minister of Mining and Heavy Industry D.Sumiyabazar is visiting Australia to participate in the International Mining and Resources Conference (IMARC) 2018 in Melbourne.
The delegation has been participating in the conference, to promote investment opportunities in Mongolia. In particular, a team from Erdenes Tavan Tolgoi hosted a booth at the conference to give investors information about the upcoming planned IPO.
Outside of IMARC, D.Sumiyabazar met with potential investors to discuss investment opportunities in the mining sector in Mongolia. He highlighted to potential investors about existing and new opportunities and the improving economic and investment climate for the country.
The minister also presented to investors about the upcoming IPO offering of Erdenes Tavan Tolgoi, where 30 percent of the company is being planned to be offered on an international stock exchange. The minister urged investors to become involved in what he says will become a world class project.
Also present at the meeting was MP A.Undraa, Mongolian Ambassador to Australia B.Chuluunkhuu, Australian Ambassador to Mongolia John Langtry, and Oyu Tolgoi CEO Armando Torres.
At IMARC, D.Sumiyabazar discussed the Oyu Tolgoi project and said he hoped that Rio Tinto will have a working relationship with Erdenes Tavan Tolgoi, but says he is flexible as to whether a power station should be built at the coal mine or at Oyu Tolgoi.
Rio Tinto currently has a four-year window to source power domestically since Cabinet canceled an agreement which allowed Oyu Tolgoi to source power from China. If it is required to source power domestically within the four-year time frame, Rio Tinto said it is willing and ready to take on the responsibility. But Cabinet has said that it reached an agreement in principal to construct a power station at Tavan Tolgoi that will source both the coal mine and Oyu Tolgoi.
Rio Tinto has said that if a power station is built at Tavan Tolgoi, the four-year timeframe will likely need to be extended in order to accommodate the new plan. But the minister underlined that Cabinet remains open to the prospect of a new Oyu Tolgoi-based power station.
"From my point of view I believe that whether it can be built on the Tavan Tolgoi site or on the Oyu Tolgoi site, with regards to choosing which one, I am quite flexible on that,” D.Sumiyabazar was quoted as saying to the Australian Financial Review on the sidelines of IMARC.