Mongolian court sides with government in copper mine ownership row
ULAANBAATAR – Mongolia's Constitutional Court ruled on Wednesday that Mongolian Copper Corporation (MCC) never had the right to 49% of one of Asia's biggest copper mines, supporting an earlier resolution by the government to buy back the stake.
The ownership battle is set against the backdrop of miners scouring the globe for new copper terrain as reserves in Chile, the world's biggest producer, are becoming depleted.
Rio Tinto is among the biggest players in Mongolia, operating a massive underground mine extension at Oyu Tolgoi, but smaller explorers have also been attracted by the nation's potential as a significant copper producer.
Constitutional Court Judge Dulam Sugar said in a webcast that MCC did not have a claim to ownership because of "violations of Mongolian law".
His ruling reinforces a government resolution to buy back the stake, which would give it full control of the Erdenet mine, which produces 530 000 t of copper concentrate a year. The decision, however, runs counter to a supreme court ruling in December.
The constitutional court is the highest authority on constitutional matters and stands apart from a separate three-tier system, topped by the supreme court, the highest authority in non-constitutional matters.
MCC purchased the mine from Russia in 2016. The judge on Wednesday said the government then in power had no right to allow the sale without parliamentary discussion and permission.
MCC has said it will challenge the government's attempts to reclaim the stake.
A spokesman for MCC said in an email to Reuters that it did not consider that the case before the consitutional court affected its "legitimate interest" in the Erdenet mine.
Comments
The
content
you are trying to access is only available to subscribers.
If you are already a subscriber, you can Login Here.
If you are not a subscriber, you can subscribe now, by selecting one of the below options.
For more information or assistance, please contact us at subscriptions@creamermedia.co.za.
Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):
Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):
All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors
including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.
Already a subscriber?
Forgotten your password?
Receive weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine (print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
➕
Recieve daily email newsletters
➕
Access to full search results
➕
Access archive of magazine back copies
➕
Access to Projects in Progress
➕
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA
R4500 (equivalent of R375 a month)
SUBSCRIBEAll benefits from Option 1
➕
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports on various industrial and mining sectors, in PDF format, including on:
Electricity
➕
Water
➕
Energy Transition
➕
Hydrogen
➕
Roads, Rail and Ports
➕
Coal
➕
Gold
➕
Platinum
➕
Battery Metals
➕
etc.
Receive all benefits from Option 1 or Option 2 delivered to numerous people at your company
➕
Multiple User names and Passwords for simultaneous log-ins
➕
Intranet integration access to all in your organisation