Mongolia Revokes Key Oyu Tolgoi Mine Licenses

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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