Bold Baatar appointed Chief Executive Rio Tinto Copper

LONDON, UK -- Bold Baatar has been appointed Chief Executive Rio Tinto Copper.  The Copper product group includes operations and assets in North America, South America, Australia, and Mongolia. Arnaud Soirat, the previous Chief Executive Copper & Diamonds, will assume the new role of Chief Operating Officer at Rio Tinto.

Commenting on his appointment, Bold Baatar said: “I am excited and honoured to be taking on the leadership of Rio Tinto Copper.  As a Mongolian national myself, I am extremely proud of what the team has achieved with Oyu Tolgoi, making a world-class business in terms of safety, operations, and production.

“As a citizen of this country, my first priority is to improve the understanding of Rio Tinto and the OT project to all our stakeholders, including the Government, our communities, suppliers and, of course, our people.  I want to create a sustainable relationship and partnership, built on the solid rock of trust. Oyu Tolgoi LLC is an important project for Rio Tinto and the people of Mongolia.  The opportunity before us now is to advance discussions with the Government of Mongolia, as per Parliamentary Resolution #92, and address and close the outstanding issues in a way that increases the project benefits for all stakeholders.

“I acknowledge the Government’s wish to improve the Underground Development Plan (UDP) and I am looking forward to discussing that with them. I hope in a way which promotes investor confidence in the country. We now need to work hard with our partner Turquoise Hill Resources, alongside the Government of Mongolia, to ensure this world-class project proceeds and unlocks the significant value of the underground project. I look forward to meeting the new Government shortly.”

Biography:

Bold Baatar, Chief Executive Rio Tinto Copper
Nationality: Mongolian
Location: London

Bold has been Chief Executive Energy and Minerals since 2016, having joined Rio Tinto as President of Copper, International Operations in May 2013. He had previously held executive positions with a diversified investment management business, a gold mining company in Mongolia, and as an investment banker with JP Morgan.

Contacts

media.enquiries@riotinto.com 
Follow @RioTinto and @RTMongolia on Twitter 

Rio Tinto Mongolia
Narantungalag Enkhtur
Narantungalag.enkhtur@riotinto.com
+976 94042241

Oyu Tolgoi
Ganzorig Tsend
GanzorigTs@ot.mn
+976 99085617