Rio Tinto Group, the owner of 66% of the Oyu Tolgoi project in Mongolia, plans to layoff around 2000 workers due to temporary closure of an underground section of mine.

The layoffs are a mixture of contractors and regular employees. The workers were handed a termination notice that cited a decision by Oyu Tolgoi LLC’s Board of Directors. Oyu Tolgoi LLC is organizing transport to deliver those who have been let go back to their homes by plane and bus. Due to the temporally halt of an underground section of the mine, Oyu Tolgoi LLC has tightened security at the gates and has banned alcohol.

Almost 90 percent of the workers who have been let go are Mongolians who work at three main underground sections of the mine.

The decision to halt the underground section of the mine by Rio Tinto is supposed to raise the notice of the Government amid a dispute.

The halt comes after months of disagreements between the Government and Rio Tinto over the revenue from the mine.

Apparently the mine’s underground expansion may be delayed until the two sides have resolved the dispute.