London 15/12/2015 - Rio Tinto has secured $4.4 billion to finance the expansion of its Oyu Tolgoi copper and gold mine in Mongolia.
A group of 20 financial institutions have agreed to provide financing of the $6 billion project, with final approval expected in the first half of 2016, Rio Tinto said in a release on Tuesday.
Fifteen commercial banks and international financial institutions and export credit agencies representing the governments of the US, Canada and Australia will invest in the project, it said.
Oyu Tolgoi has produced more than 1.5 million tonnes of copper concentrate since its production started in 2013.
The mine received setbacks over the past year, due to disagreements between Turquoise Hill, a Rio Tinto subsidiary that runs the mine, and the Mongolian government over taxation and royalties from the mine's proceeds.
"Long-term copper fundamentals remain strong and Oyu Tolgoi as a tier-one asset will be a globally important source of supply as the market moves back into structural deficit over the next few years," Rio Tinto copper and coal chief executive, Jean-Sébastien Jacques, said.
(Editing by Martin Hayes)