Tuesday, Rio Tinto (RTP) and Ivanhoe mines (IVN) have slashed their workforce by 40% at Oyu Tolgoi, a Mongolian copper-gold joint venture between the two companies, according to reports. The 40% job cut represents a reduction in workforce of approximately 250 employees at the project site.
Following the reports, the shares of Ivanhoe declined more than 10%, while that of Rio Tinto had a drop of 8%, both on the New York Stock Exchange.
Oyu Tolgoi copper and gold mine development project, in southern Mongolia is one of Ivanhoe Mines' core assets, and is also considered to be one of the biggest undeveloped base metal deposits in the world.
Ivanhoe, so far has not been able to strike an agreement with the government and get its final approval. The uncertainty of the situation has caused a steep fall of its stocks, that fell 75% since the end of August, and are still unable to hold grounds.
IVN is currently trading at $2.13, down 8.19% or $0.19, on a volume of 518,458 shares on the NYSE.
RTP is currently trading at $75.66, down 6.65% or $5.39, on a volume of 1.6 million shares on the NYSE.
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