PARTS OF SPEECH

“I do not think much good will come out of the government’s decision to extract the Tavan Tolgoi deposit through operating contracts. Since the operating companies will be required to make sizable investments, they will raise their costs at will, and once the work starts the government will have to go along. Splitting the deposit among many operators makes less sense than allowing one company to run the show. The Government does not have the resources to monitor the work of so many companies operating in several areas in their different ways.”

D.Damba,
President of the Mongolian National Mining Association.

“Be scared, be very scared. The Mongolians aren’t just coming, they are here.”

Sam Walsh, Rio Tinto iron ore boss.

“Mongolia is a fantastic opportunity for us. We now have A$2 billion worth of work there with the potential for that to increase over the period ahead by at least another billion dollars. We are so optimistic about the mining work there because it is a very low-cost environment.”

Wal King, Chief Executive, Leighton Holdings.

“Mongolia can become the Kuwait of central Asia. All the resources are there, and all the buyers are there. The only missing part is to get everybody organized, prepare all the documentation that meets international practice. It’s doable.”

Ch.Ganbat, Adviser to the Ministry of Road, Transportation,
Construction and Urban Development.

“Mongolia has been quite careful about its sovereignty -- we don’t want to be too dependent on one country. Theoretically, we want to have a one-third, one-third, and one-third balance.”

Mrs. S.Oyun, MP and former foreign affairs minister.

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