Mongolia seeking pact with Rio Tinto to end copper mine expansion - FT

Feb 7 (Reuters) - Mongolia's government is seeking an agreement from miner Rio Tinto RIO.L, RIO.AX to terminate a deal to expand the Oyu Tolgoi copper mine in the Gobi Desert, the Financial Times said on Sunday, citing people with knowledge of the situation.

The government has asked the Anglo-Australian mining giant whether it was prepared to mutually terminate the expansion plan, rather than acting unilaterally and risking future foreign investment, the FT reported.

Rio Tinto did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

Ulaanbaatar has previously told the miner it was concerned that the economic benefits of developing the Oyu Tolgoi mine have eroded due to the significant increase in costs of the $6.75 billion project. nL4N2JM2HU

The mine is one of the world's largest-known copper and gold deposits and the government holds a 34% stake in the project.

(Reporting by Derek Francis in Bengaluru; Editing by Daniel Wallis)

((derek.francis@thomsonreuters.com; +91-9986311363 and @derekfrancis089 on Twitter;))