Rio Tinto has been notified by the Government of Mongolia that the terms of the project financing provisionally secured for the underground development of Oyu Tolgoi will need to be approved by the Mongolian Parliament.

The Mongolian Parliament is currently in summer recess and the parliamentary approval process may take some time to work through. Rio Tinto remains committed to working with the Government of Mongolia to secure project financing.

However, in view of the current uncertainty, including continued discussions with the Government on a range of other issues, all funding and work on the underground development will be delayed until these matters are concluded and a new timetable has been agreed.

In the meantime, Rio Tinto will focus on the continued safe, efficient and cost effective management and ramp up of the open pit mine and sustained export of Oyu Tolgoi concentrate to customers in order to deliver the associated benefits for all stakeholders.