Rio Tinto Plans to Raise up to $6 Billion for Oyu Tolgoi

Bloomberg reported that Rio Tinto (NYSE:RIO) will raise up to $6 billion of funding for the expansion of the Oyu Tolgoi underground mine in Mongolia.

As quoted in the market news,

The money will be raised through third-party project financing, product off-take arrangements and other forms of funds, according to a development plan published by Turquoise Hill Resources Ltd., which owns 66 percent of Oyu Tolgoi. Overseas investors led by Rio control the project through this stake.

Rio and the Mongolian government last week ended a protracted dispute that stalled construction of the underground mine. A midnight signing of the plan in Dubai followed two years of start-stop talks between the two sides that tested the resolve of foreign investors in the Asian country.

Rio has a goal of raising more than $4 billion in third- party project financing and will target 15 to 20 banks, Jean- Sebastien Jacques, head of its copper and coal business, said in a May 19 phone interview. Discussions on terms are to begin in the “coming days and weeks,” he said.

Click here for the full Bloomberg report