“We believe Rio Tinto is uniquely qualified to assist us in developing this world-class deposit,” John Macken, President and CEO of Ivanhoe told MonInfo Wednesday night after the announcement.

Ivanhoe, which has been looking for a major partner to develop the deposit for over three years, said in a company statement that this agreement would bring world expertise and improvements to Mongolia’s mining sector.

"We have long believed that the right partnership would bring important benefits to the Oyu Tolgoi project, the people of the South Gobi region and all of Mongolia,” Ivanhoe founder and Chairman Robert Friedland said in a company statement.

Development assessments by Ivanhoe on Oyu Tolgoi state that initials investments for the project will near US $1.5 billion, an amount which Rio Tinto said would be invested in a number of ways.

Through the investment deal Rio Tinto will put an initial US $303 million into the equity of Ivanhoe with additional share purchasing and addition funds raising investment to approximately US $1.5 billion, possibly making Rio Tinto Ivanhoe’s largest shareholder.

“Rio Tinto is pleased to be able to….bring its world-class operating and technical capability to the Oyu Tolgoi project. We also look forward to taking part in negotiations with the Mongolian Government in the near future on the long-term Investment Agreement for the project," Tom Albanese, Rio Tinto Director, who will be joining the Ivanhoe board of directors as part of this transaction, said Wednesday.

Ivanhoe has been holding discussions on an investment agreement with the Mongolian government for three years, leading to the founding of a government working group in September, set to produce a draft agreement for ministerial and parliamentary discussion.

However, Mongolia’s new mineral law also allows the government to hold a stake in strategic mineral deposits, to be formally discussed during the fall session of parliament. Under the new law, the government has the right to invest up to 34 percent in the ownership of Oyu Tolgoi.

Echoing the wishes of civil movements and government officials, Ivanhoe said project progression would ultimately benefit the country and local communities.

“The real winners of this deal are the people of Mongolia,” Ed Flood, deputy chairman of Ivanhoe told MonInfo Wednesday.

Economic forecasts based on Oyu Tolgoi’s reserves forecast that Mongolia’s GDP will increase by 34 percent during the life of the project.