Rio Tinto says it’s willing to talk with the Mongolian government about changing the 2009 Oyutolgoi mining agreement. But the company also says it does not expect the agreement to be altered.

In a statement emailed on Sunday, Cameron McRae, Rio Tinto”s Mongolia country manager and chief executive of Oyu Tolgoi, said the company has not yet received an official notification from the Mongolian government that the government is seeking to modify the agreement.

“We respect the Mongolian government and when they give us the notification to come and talk we will have those talks,” he said.

“I think what we are demonstrating is that the investment agreement is a contract, and we”re going to honor our commitments and we expect the government to honor its commitments,” he added.

The government is seeking to raise its stake in the Oyutolgoi project from the current level of 34 percent to a level of 50 percent.