A group of Mongolian goat and camel herdsmen are taking on global mining giant Rio Tinto, claiming one of its mines – which produced gold for Olympic medals – have driven them off their ancestral plains.

The herders are demanding ‘just compensation’ for the impact of Rio’s Oyu Tolgoi (OT) copper and gold mine in the South Gobi desert.

A spokesman for Mongolian campaign group OT Watch said Rio Tinto was ‘manipulating herders’ into signing meagre compensation contracts and had failed to help them relocate to good pastures.

The herders are demanding “just compensation” for the impact of Rioүs Oyu Tolgoi (OT) copper and gold mine in the South Gobi desert

The herders are demanding “just compensation” for the impact of Rioүs Oyu Tolgoi (OT) copper and gold mine in the South Gobi desert

The World Bank is expected to offer Rio £560million in loans and £622million in risk insurance for the mine.

But OT Watch has applied to an internal World Bank ombudsman to halt any assistance until herders are compensated.