The US Securities and Exchange Commission is examining claims from a whistleblower that Rio Tinto was aware of problems at its underground copper mine extension project of Oyu Tolgoi in Mongolia months before the miner confirmed the project would face delays and higher costs, the Financial Times reported on Sunday.
The SEC is probing allegations made by Richard Bowley, a British national who worked for the company’s copper business in Mongolia between 2017 and 2019, the newspaper said, citing people with knowledge of the situation.
The US regulator has not yet decided to launch an investigation, the newspaper added.