BEIJING Mongolia and China will cooperate in a number of mining and energy projects this year, Gombojab Zandanshatar, the visiting Mongolian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, said in an exclusive interview with China Daily on Thursday.

"In Mongolia there are some large scale mining projects to be commissioned soon, and one of them is the Oyu Tolgoi copper and gold mine," the minister said.

Aluminum Corporation of China has reportedly been trying to obtain a share in the Oyu Tolgoi copper and gold mine, but has not succeeded, according to a source from the Mongolian embassy in China speaking on the condition of anonymity. The mine, located near the China-Mongolia border, is one of the world's largest undeveloped copper-gold projects.