Mongolia has revoked the licenses for a key portion of the
massive Oyu Tolgoi copper and gold project amid a dispute between
Rio Tinto PLC (RIO) and the country's government over costs,
revenue and taxes, the Financial Times reported on its website
Wednesday.
The newspaper said the government has annulled the mining
licenses held by Canada-listed Entree Gold Ltd. (EGI) for the areas
immediately surrounding the Oyu Tolgoi license. Rio Tinto, which
operates the Oyu Tolgoi development, is meeting with the government
this week to settle a dispute before funding runs out for the
US$6.6 billion mine, the FT reported.
Entree Gold in a statement Wednesday said two joint venture
mining licenses had been suspended by the Mongolian government,
meaning the company wouldn't be allowed to transfer or sell them
for the time being. It said an order concerning the registration of
reserves related to deposits as part of the process to convert an
exploration license to a mining license had been cancelled.
Entree said it believed it followed all Mongolian laws and
regulations.
Newspaper website:
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/2abec022-80ca-11e2-9fae-00144feabdc0.html#axzz2M7kcnDPS
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