Oyu Tolgoi produces 176,000 tons of copper concentrate in Q1’17

According to Rio Tinto's production report for the first quarter of 2017 (Q1'17), Oyu Tolgoi produced 176,000 tons of copper concentrate, down 32 percent from the previous quarter.

Chief Executive Officer of Turquoise Hill Jeff Tygesen said, “First quarter production was as expected with lower grades from Phases 6 and early 4A of the open pit, as well as stockpile material. Oyu Tolgoi’s concentrator performed very well with record throughput levels for the quarter. The concentrator continues to benefit from earlier productivity improvements."

“Underground development advanced during the first quarter and the workforce continues to grow. Several large contracts were awarded during the quarter, with the largest for the decline material handling system,” added Tygesen.

Oyu Tolgoi’s copper production for Q1’17 decreased 16.3 percent over Q4’16, and Q1’17 gold production decreased 49.0 percent over Q4’16 due to lower grade and recoveries at the lower end of the grade recovery curve.

During Q1’17, open-pit operations focused mainly on Phase 6, which has higher copper grades but relatively low gold grades. Ore treated during Q1’17 increased 2.7 percent over Q4’16 and average daily throughput of 112,100 tons for Q1’17 increased 5.1% over Q4’16.