TORONTO, Feb 28 (Reuters) - The Oyu Tolgoi copper and goldmine in Mongolia's southern Gobi Desert will lift force majeureeffective March 1 and majority owner Turquoise Hill ResourcesLtd TRQ.TO said on Wednesday that it expected to make up anysales-related effect over the next few quarters.
Force majeure was declared Jan. 17 after protests by Chinesecoal haulers disrupted deliveries by blockading roads near theChinese-Mongolian border, leaving Oyu Tolgoi convoys unable todeliver copper concentrates. Force majeure is a legal status companies invoke when they cannot make deliveries of a commoditybecause of forces outside of their control. Turquoise Hill, majority owned byAnglo-Australian miner Rio Tinto RIO.L RIO.AX , said theblockade was lifted Jan. 18 and the border re-opened Jan. 19,but ongoing congestion had hampered a return to normal bordertraffic. period of consistent convoy crossings and stableconcentrate supply chain are required before force majeure canbe lifted, said Turquoise Hill, which owns 66 percent of OyuTolgoi with the Mongolian government holding the remainder.
The Chinese truckers were protesting increased enforcementof rules requiring them to pay Mongolian taxes and socialinsurance to receive permits to deliver coal, a source in thecapital Ulaanbaatar said in January. The source said Mongolianauthorities had also stopped Chinese truckers from picking upcoal from the mine.
Last week, the mine said it would weigh alternatives toguarantee electricity supply, after casting doubt on state plansto build a power plant in the region. Oyu Tolgoi is underpressure to procure power from domestic rather than Chinesesources within the next four years, as stipulated in a 2009investment agreement.