Massive Oyu Tolgoi mine to more than double gold production in 2018
Rio Tinto-controlled Turquoise Hill is expecting its majority-owned Oyu Tolgoi copper and gold mine in Mongolia to churn in 2018 more than double the amount of the precious metal forecast this year.
Oyu Tolgoi is one of the largest high-grade copper deposits in the world. Rio Tinto-controlled Turquoise Hill (TSX:TRQ) is expecting its majority-owned Oyu Tolgoi copper and gold mine in Mongolia to churn in 2018 more than double the amount of the precious metal forecast for this year, with operating costs dropping about 2.8%. It also forecasts the mine to generate 125,000 to 155,000 tons of copper in 2018, slightly less than the 130,000 to 160,000 tons predicted for this year. The mine is expected to be world's third-largest copper operation at peak production in 2025, with output of over 550,000 tonnes per year. Capital expenditures for 2018 on a cash-basis are expected to be approximately $150 million for open-pit operations and $1.1 billion to $1.2 billion for underground development, Turquoise Hill noted. Open-pit operations are expected to mine in Phase 6 in early 2018 and Phase 4 throughout the year, while it will also expects to process stockpiled ore in 2018. The increased gold production relative to the 2016 technical report, Turquoise Hill said, can be explained by the splitting of Phase 4 into two parts (4A and 4B) and also by bringing production forward from future years, it noted. Situated in the southern Gobi desert of Mongolia, about 550 km south of the capital, Ulaanbaatar and 80 k north of the border with China, Oyu Tolgoi is jointly owned by the government of Mongolia and Turquoise Hill.
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