ULAN BATOR, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- Mongolia signed an investment agreement on Tuesday with Australia's Rio Tinto and Canada's Ivanhoe to jointly exploit the "Oyu Tolgoi" mine in the country.

A ceremony, which was attended by Mongolian President Tsahia Elbegdorj, was held Tuesday in the Government House, Ulaanbaatar.

Mongolian Prime Minister Sanj Bayar said at the ceremony that Mongolia has to speed up the exploitation of mining deposits in a bid to achieve rapid development of the country.

According to the investment agreement, the Mongolian government will own 34 percent of Ivanhoe Mines Mongolia, which is the license holder of the Oyu Tolgoi project. The deal is seen as a vital step for Mongolia to begin reaping the economic benefits of its vast mineral wealth.

Australia's Rio Tinto and Canada's Ivanhoe, the development partners for the project, will now move forward with the development phase of the mine, which is expected to be put into operation in 2014.

The project may last as long as 30 years and bring in 30 billion U.S. dollars to 50 billion dollars in revenues, President Elbegdorj said last month.

It's estimated that the Oyu Tolgoi mine contains about 78.9 billion pounds (36 million tons) of copper and 45.2 million ounces of gold.
 
Source: ChinaView