Oyu Tolgoi doubles 2018 output
Capital expenditure for 2018 was expected to be $US1.25 billion, with $US1.1 billion spent on underground development.
GOLD output from the Oyu Tolgoi copper-gold mine in Mongolia is expected to more than double after development phases for the project were brought forward.
Rio Tinto-controlled Oyu Tolgoi upgraded guidance to produce between 240,000 ounces (oz) and 280,000oz of gold in concentrates in 2018.
It also forecast the mine to produce between 125,000 tonnes (t) and 155,000t of copper, down from between 130,000t and 160,000t in 2017.
Open-pit operations were expected to mine in Phase 6 in early 2018 and Phase 4 throughout the year, in addition, stockpiled ore would be processed during 2018.
The company said operating costs for the year would be lower at about $US700 million; a 2.8 per cent drop from 2017.
Capital expenditure for 2018 was expected to be $US1.25 billion, with $US1.1 billion spent on underground development.
Turquoise said the increased gold production relative to its 2016 technical report was due to splitting Phase 4 into two parts (4A and 4B) and bringing production forward from future years.
Oyu Tolgoi, 550km south of Ulaanbaataar, is joint-owned by the Mongolian Government (34 per cent) and Turquoise Hill (66 per cent – of which Rio owns 51 per cent).
The mine started production in 2013, and by 2025 is expected to become the world’s third largest copper operation with an annual output of more than 550,000t.