A mistaken impression has been created that the proposed joint railroad venture between state-owned Russian and Mongolian companies will own the licenses of the copper and gold deposits inOyu Tolgoi and of coal deposit in Tavan Tolgoi. The fact is that the company will work to develop infrastructure in the deposits areas, besides taking up large railroad projects. The erroneous perception of the nature and intent of the agreement can be traced to how it was reported in the Russia media and to the absence of any clarification from the Mongolian side. Two railroads will be built. One will connect Sainshand station with the deposits in Oyu Tolgoi and Tavan Togloi. The Mongolian partner in this project is the state-owned Erdenes Mongolia which, incidentally, owns licenses on strategic and other deposits. Another railroad, where the Mongolian partner is Energy Resources, will be built to connect the Oyu Tolgoi and Tavan Tolgoi areas with Gashuun Sukhait port and Gants Khudag of China.

Asked categorically if the joint venture in the railroad sector will own the licenses of the mineral deposits, as suggested in Russian media and repeated in some Western media, Mr. L.Enebish, Executive Director of Erdenes Mongolia, said, “I say with full responsibility that there is no such possibility.”

Source: Ardiin Erkh