Global miner Rio Tinto has attracted strong interest for a $2.5 billion loan to expand its Oyu Tolgoi copper and gold mine in Mongolia, in one of the largest resource financings in Asia this year, banking sources said. The financing is key for Rio Tinto to go ahead with the construction of an estimated $5.1 billion underground mine at Oyu Tolgoi, following the start of commercial sales mid-year from an open-cut mine.
See http://www.mineweb.com/mineweb/content/en/mineweb-fast-news?oid=188755&sn=Detail.
This financial backing is despite the serious concerns raised about the project: see list of articles at https://londonminingnetwork.org/?s=oyu+tolgoi.