The Mongolian Supreme Court blocked the government's attempt to nationalize a 49% stake in Mongolian Copper Corp. LLC's Erdenet copper mine in the country, Reuters reported Dec. 8, citing sources.
The court ruling restored Mongolian Copper's stake in the mine that it purchased from the Russian government for US$400 million in 2016.
The judgement also voided an earlier decision to dismiss the company's board. Mongolian Copper CEO Tsooj Purevtuvshin said the board members would reclaim their positions.
In February, the parliament voted to nationalize the stake in the mine on the grounds that the transaction was not approved by the lawmakers.
The shareholding is expected to be transferred to Mongolian Copper from the State Property Committee in about two weeks, Purevtuvshin said.
The Mongolian government holds the remaining 51% stake in the mine.
"I want to stress that all legal obstacles have been removed involving our shareholding," the executive told the news wire.
The company now plans to seek compensation from Mongolia through international arbitration over the alleged breach of international rules on investors' rights after two days of talks with government officials failed.
