Well, they say, friendship and money are like oil and water - they just don't mix. That's why one of the great skills in business is forging, if not friendships, then at least partnerships between the various people involved in a deal. But it can be very difficult to make it work. Take the relationship between the world's second biggest mining company Rio Tinto and the government of Mongolia. In the last few years, Rio Tinto has spent over $6 billion building a vast copper mine way out in the Gobi desert. It's designed to dig out a huge reserve of copper, gold and silver. When the Oyu Tolgoi mine is fully operational, it'll generate billions of dollars a year in profits and revenues for the government of Mongolia and for Rio Tinto. But the mine has only just gone into production. I was there two weeks ago when the first rather modest mound of copper concentrate was produced. Yet already the two parties are squabbling about who gets what. I met Tsakhaiagiin Elbegdorj, the president of Mongolia, in the presidential palace in the centre of the Mongolian capital Ulan Bator.
