Protesters block Oyu Tolgoi copper exports, halting Rio Tinto concentrate shipments

Protesters from Mongolia’s Radical Reform Movement blocked the export road for copper concentrate from Rio Tinto’s Oyu Tolgoi mine on Wednesday, forcing shipments to pause. The mine accounts for about 9% of Mongolia’s tax revenue and is expected to rank as the world’s fourth-largest copper mine once fully operational, with annual capacity of more than 500,000 tons of copper. The company warned that if the blockade lasts a week it could cost the government more than $13.3 million. The disruption is a sudden supply-chain shock that tightens the margin of global copper supply.