Rio Tinto Ltd <RIO.AX> on Tuesday said its Mongolian copper mine project has submitted a feasibility study to the local government in its bid to secure domestically sourced power for the East Asian's country's biggest foreign investment project.
Oyu Tolgoi LLC submitted a feasibility study for the Tavan Tolgoi Power Plant (TTPP) Project, which involves building a 300 MW coal power plant at an estimated cost of about $924 million, the Anglo-Australian miner said in a statement.
The global miner said it is also working on alternative options to source domestic power, including a renewable power component.
Rio Tinto-owned Turquoise Hill Resources <TRQ.TO> has a 66% stake in the multi-billion-dollar project and the Mongolian state owns 34%, with investment terms agreed in 2015 in a deal known as the Dubai Agreement.
Mongolia has been exerting pressure on Rio Tinto to revise the Oyu Tolgoi agreement terms to make it more beneficial to the country and its citizens.
(Reporting by Aby Jose Koilparambil in Bengaluru)
