Rio Tinto thought Ivanhoe was trouble enough. The Canadian miner, in which Rio has patiently built a dominant stake, accused it last week of saying more than it should about a Rio-run copper and gold complex in the South Gobi desert. Now the government of Mongolia – 34 per cent partner in Oyu Tolgoi, with the rest held by Ivanhoe – seems to want to redraft the investment agreement signed less than two years ago. It has sent Ivanhoe a revised proposal accelerating the time frame in which the state’s share is increased to half.
力拓(Rio Tinto)還以爲艾芬豪(Ivanhoe)惹的麻煩已經夠多了。力拓好不容易獲得了這家加拿大礦商的控股權，上週卻遭到其指責，理由是關於力拓在南戈壁沙漠(South Gobi Desert)經營的一座銅金礦，力拓說了很多不該說的話。其結果是，現在蒙古政府——持有奧尤陶勒蓋(Oyu Tolgoi)銅礦34%的股份，其餘股份爲艾芬豪持有——似乎想要重新起草不到兩年前剛剛簽署的投資協議。它已向艾芬豪提出了一份修改後的意向，要求加快蒙古政府將所佔股份提高至50%的時間進度。