By Rhiannon Hoyle

Rio Tinto said it is in negotiations with Mongolia over the giant Oyu Tolgoi copper mine, one of the world's biggest deposits of the metal needed to build electric vehicles and data centers.

Mongolia is seeking to reduce an interest rate it pays on a loan provided by Rio Tinto and phase out the giant miner's annual management fee on the project, the Financial Times reported Tuesday, citing the head of state-owned miner Erdenes Mongol.

Erdenes Mongol has a 34% stake in Oyu Tolgoi, while Rio Tinto owns the rest and manages the operation.

"We are engaged in active negotiations with the Mongolian government," Rio Tinto said in an emailed statement Tuesday.

"These discussions reflect our continued commitment to working together to achieve Oyu Tolgoi's full potential for the benefit of all partners," the miner said.

A spokesperson for Erdenes Mongol couldn't immediately be reached for comment.

The Oyu Tolgoi mine in the South Gobi region of Mongolia is at the heart of Rio Tinto's plans to grow and diversify its earnings, which it has mostly generated for years from giant iron-ore mines in northwest Australia.

Rio Tinto, the world's second-biggest miner by market value, has invested billions of dollars in an underground expansion of the Oyu Tolgoi mine, where annual copper production increased by 61% last year.

It expects Oyu Tolgoi, established as an open-pit operation in 2011, to become the world's fourth-largest copper mine by 2030.

Increasing copper output is a priority for many of the world's biggest miners.

Electric vehicles and solar and wind farms use copper in much greater quantities than gasoline-powered cars and coal-fired power stations. The metal is also used in chips, wiring, cooling systems and other components for data centers, as well as the power infrastructure needed to run them.

Write to Rhiannon Hoyle at rhiannon.hoyle@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 10, 2026 00:37 ET (04:37 GMT)

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