It also sponsors the Olympic program of Mongolia, where Rio Tinto operates the Oyu Tolgoi copper mine.

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One, a copper-and-gold mine at Oyu Tolgoi (see article) is expected to start production in 2013.

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The Oyu Tolgoi deposits reportedly contain 79 billion pounds of copper and 45 million ounces of gold.

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This is the longest glacier in the Himalayas, stretching around 25km from its beginnings on the high slopes of Cho Oyu.

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This Mongolian mother lode is in a remote place called Turquoise Hill, or Oyu Tolgoi, as the locals refer to it.

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Oyu Tolgoi is the poster project for a national mining boom that sees Ulaanbaatar crawling with foreign miners and their investment bankers.

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It is here, over the tops of the inevitable ducks, that Gokyo Ri first comes into view, its brown rounded form a contrast to the snow-covered, sharp-tipped lines of Cho Oyu beyond.

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Mr Cinnamond, from Banbridge in County Down, was one of four climbers from Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland who had travelled to northern Nepal to scale Mount Cho-Oyu.

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Oyu Tolgoi already faces problems enough.

ECONOMIST: A massive mining project hits a snag