At Oyu Tolgoi mine, exploited by Rio Tinto, concerns have been raised from local  Mongolian herders, around various health and ecological impacts directly related to the mining activities with a particular focus on the water supplies affected by such processes.  While a group of local NGOs have brought the issues further to the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development Complaint Mechanism, a World Bank Report clearly outlined that the daily water needs of the nomadic populations were largely overtaken by the water usage of the industries in place. The report concluded that each mine’s water consumption was more than twice that of the all the livestock based in the region.

The Mongolian herders’ means of subsistence is now under significant threat due to reduced water resources. This alongside decreased pasture capacity, dust, and noise pollution effects, are having a strong impact on the general health and livelihoods of these communities.

A future project of further expanding the Oyu Tolgoi copper and gold mine poses an additional threat to area. Approval of the expansion of the current mine, expected to cost $5 billion, comes after disputes between Rio Tinto and the government over the funding of the Phase 2 of Oyu Tolgoi gold mine, which led to the suspension of the construction in 2013. Moreover, there are plans for a 450-megawatt (MW) coal-fired power station to provide power for the Oyu Tolgoi copper mine, using local coal resources instead of importing electricity from the grid from China.There is some opposition at national level to such projects. [4]

In 2016 it was annouced that mining giant Rio Tinto and its Canadian affiliate Turquoise Hill have signed off on a $5.3 billion expansion of their massive Oyu Tolgoi copper and gold underground mine in Mongolia. The decision ends a three-year stalemate and political tension over revenue sharing and the foreign role in Mongolia’s mining sector. [3]

Oyu Tolgoi is one of the world's largest new copper-gold mines and is located in the South Gobi region of Mongolia, approximately 550 km south of the capital, Ulaanbaatar, and 80 km north of the Mongolia-China border. It is a combined open pit and underground mining project in Khanbogd sum, approximately 235 kms east of the Ömnögovi Province capital Dalanzadgad. The site was discovered in 2001 and is being developed as a joint venture between Turquoise Hill Resources (a majority owned subsidiary of Rio Tinto) and the Government of Mongolia. The mine began construction as of 2010 and shipped its first batch of copper in 2013. The Oyu Tolgoi mining project is the largest financial undertaking in Mongolia's history and is expected upon completion to produce 450,000 tonnes of copper annually.

On October 6, 2009, Turquoise Hill Resources and Rio Tinto signed a long-term, comprehensive Investment Agreement with the Government of Mongolia for the construction and operation of the Oyu Tolgoi copper-gold mining complex. The agreement creates a partnership between the Mongolian Government -- which acquired a 34% interest in the project -- and Turquoise Hill Resources, which retained a controlling 66% interest in Oyu Tolgoi. Global miner Rio Tinto, which joined Turquoise Hill Resources as a strategic partner in October 2006, is managing the development of Oyu Tolgoi.