J. Ganbat, head of the Revenue Division of the Budget Management and Coordination Department of the Ministry of Finance said: “The working group is now at the stage of selecting one version of various potential alternatives of conditions to the agreement.” 

“All the articles of agreement will be in a framework of the new tax and mineral laws. Once the working group chooses the right alternative, it will be submitted to the Parliament session and it will also contain requirements of infrastructure commitments.” 

In terms of infrastructure, Mr Macken said at a press conference on Thursday that Ivanhoe planned to establish a coal-fired power-generation plant at the Tavan Tolgoi coal field, 140 km northwest of Oyu Tolgoi, which would use local coal resources and which would enable Mongolia to export electricity to China and to establish smelter and refineries at Oyu Tolgoi.

Initial electricity usage for Oyu Tolgoi is estimated to be 130 megawatts, increasing to 200 megawatts in the fourth year of operation. 

In a joint statement, Japan’s Mitsui & Co. Ltd and Ivanhoe Mines said they would work together on the power plant and also on mine-related transportation, electrical energy and other infrastructure projects in the South Gobi region. They will build the ''state-of-the-art'' electricity-generating plant, as well as transmission lines, roads and railways in an area that at present has no railway line. 

Under the investment deal, Rio Tinto will invest US $303 million of 9.95 percent into the equity of Ivanhoe with additional share purchasing in the initial stage, and once the investment agreement is established with the Government, additional funds will raise the investment up to US $1.5 billion, possibly making Rio Tinto Ivanhoe’s largest shareholder.