| Gold mining in Mongolia | |
|---|---|
| Lead NCP | Canada |
| Supporting NCP(s) | United States |
| Description | Specific instance notified by the NGO Oyu Tolgoi Watch regarding the activities of Ivanhoe Mines Ltd. operating in Mongolia. |
| Theme(s) | Environment, General policies |
| Date | 1 Apr 2010 |
| Host country(ies) | Mongolia |
| Source | NGO |
| Industry sector | Mining and quarrying |
| Status | Concluded |
| Summary | Read the final statement issued by the Canadian NCP concluding the specific instance - 3 May 2011. In April 2010, the Canadian NCP received a request for review from Oyu Tolgoi Watch, a Mongolia-based NGO, alleging that Ivanhoe Mines Ltd. had breached the general policies and environment provisions of the Guidelines in that it had failed to carry out a full environmental impact assessment and crucial study of water resources for the Oyu Tolgoi mining development project in Mongolia. In a response, Ivanhoe Mines gave the NCP a list of completed and pending Environmental Impact Assessments, and relevant excerpts from the Oyu Tolgoi Project’s Technical and Economic Feasibility Study. Following a review of the material received from both parties, the NCP felt it did not have sufficient information upon which to conclude an initial assessment and requested further information from both parties. The company prepared a series of environmental assessments which the NCP found to be complete and of a high quality. It was concluded that the governance and management of the water and all other resources and activity in the region is the responsibility of the Government of Mongolia and that it is not practical or realistic to expect cases such as these to be resolved by dialogue between NGOs and companies on a case-by-case basis. Officials from the Oyu Tolgoi LLC company, the project owner, met with OT Watch before and after the filing of the request for review. The company has offered to hold quarterly meetings with the notifiers and a number of meetings have already taken place. The NCP considers this specific instance to be concluded, however the NCP believes that on-going dialogue between the parties would be beneficial to address concerns that the parties have and which may arise in the future. If the parties are interested and willing to engage in a facilitated dialogue, the NCP is pleased to offer its services and assist in facilitating such a dialogue. #riskmanagementsystem #duediligence #naturalresources #degradation #extractives #mining #recommendations |
