This file photo taken on June 23, 2012 shows trucks working the open pit mine at the Rio Tinto operated Oyu Tolgoi gold and copper mine in the Gobi desert, southern Mongolia. (AFP Photo)

ULAN BATOR, Jan. 22 (Xinhua) -- Global mining giant Rio Tinto set up a new office here in the capital city of Mongolia on Monday.

The new office, separate from Rio Tinto's presence in the Oyu Tolgoi copper-gold mine in Mongolia, will have 80 staff members by the end of the year and focus on exploration programs and technologies, according to a statement by the company.

"Mongolia is one of Rio Tinto's most strategically important markets and we are here to stay," said Jean-Sebastien Jacques, Rio Tinto's chief executive. "Today we are demonstrating the deepening of our commitment to Mongolia."

Rio Tinto has invested more than 7 billion U.S. dollars in the country since 2010 and paid the Mongolian government some 1.5 billion dollars in taxes, royalties and other fees, Jacques said.

Munkhtushig Dul has been appointed as Rio Tinto's country director and will lead the new Rio Tinto office. Munkhtushig will work together with the Oyu Tolgoi team, led by managing director Armando Torres.

The Oyu Tolgoi copper-gold mine, located in the South Gobi Desert of Mongolia, 80 km north of Mongolia's border with China, is expected to produce an average of 430,000 tons of copper and 425,000 ounces (about 12,050 kg) of gold annually for 20 years, and is estimated to generate up to a third of government revenue by 2019.

The Mongolian government has a 34 percent stake in Oyu Tolgoi while a Rio Tinto-controlled Turquoise Hill Resources owns the remaining 66 percent.