“The recent changes to the Taxation and Minerals laws have paved the way for resuming discussions on the Investment Agreement,” said President and CEO John Macken in a company statement.

“The establishment of the working group is a key step forward in the process of achieving a comprehensive Investment Agreement for Oyu Tolgoi that will demonstrate the long-term benefits to be achieved for all Mongolians from the socially and environmentally responsible development of the country’s mineral resources.”

“In order to consider and review the proposal from Ivanhoe mines to establish an investment agreement for the Oyu Tolgoi project, this working group was established and had its first meeting last week,” said A. Enkhbat, a member of the working group and director of the sustainable development and strategy planning department at the Ministry of Nature and Environment.

Ch. Khurelbaatar, State Secretary of the Ministry of Finance, will preside over the ten member working group. Other officials from the Ministry of Finance as well as the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Ministry of Nature and Environment and Ministry of Justice and Home Affairs will also partake in the working group.

Ivanhoe has held multiple meetings with the Mongolian government over the last three years to discuss tax and legal frameworks for their Oyu Tolgoi flagship project.

“There is no specific time frame indicated, but the group was established to write a draft agreement and to integrate the Mongolian government’s requirements into this investment agreement,” Enkhbat said.