JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – After a series of delays, the $6.2-billion Oyu Tolgoi copper and gold mine in Mongolia has started shipping copper concentrate to customers in China, Rio Tinto and its 51%-owned Turquoise Hill announced on Tuesday.

A convoy carrying some 600 t of concentrate departed from the mine, located in the Gobi desert near the border with China, on Tuesday, with the remainder of the 5 800 t order to follow over the next two weeks.

Exports from the mine, in which Turquoise Hill has a 66% stake with the Mongolian State-owned miner holding the balance, were initially due to start on June 14, but were postponed to June 21, before the government delayed them again without setting a date.

According to newswire Reuters, which quoted business-mongolia.com, exports were delayed because the mine did not seek approval from its Mongolian board on the sales agreements.

Rio Tinto and Turquoise Hill confirmed on Tuesday that all permits and authorities required for ongoing concentrate shipments were now in place, including approvals by the Oyu Tolgoi board.

The shipping of concentrate was the culmination of a three-year project by Rio Tinto and the Mongolian government to build the first phase of what would become one of the world’s top five copper mines.

The Phase 2 capital estimate is $5.1-billion.

“It has taken the vision and hard work of thousands of people to get to this point, where we are starting to convert the rich resources beneath the desert into real wealth and opportunity for all stakeholders, including the Mongolian people,” commented Rio Tinto Copper CE Jean-Sebastien Jacques.

Turquoise Hill CEO Kay Priestly added that the shipping of concentrate was a significant milestone in Oyu Tolgoi's development.

“Oyu Tolgoi starts production at a time when undeveloped quality copper assets are scarce and the outlook for copper continues to be strong. With continued development, Oyu Tolgoi will generate wealth for many decades to come,” she said.

GOLIATH PRODUCER

The mine is expected to produce more than 1.2-billion pounds, or 544 000 t, of copper, three-million ounces of silver, and 650 000 oz/y of gold in the first ten years of operation.

Seven years later, at its peak, it is expected to produce about 1.7-billion pounds of copper and one-million ounces of gold.

The planned copper concentrator at Oyu Tolgoi would be the largest industrial plant ever built in Mongolia, processing 100 000 t/d of ore, or 36.5-million tons a year. By the end of the fifth year of operation, the concentrator’s capacity would be expanded to 160 000 t/d or 58-million tons a year.

It would contain 23 098 t of steel, which Turquoise Hill said was enough to build three Eiffel Towers.

In addition, the openpit mine will be deep enough to stack the Great Pyramid of Giza on top of itself four times, the deepest underground shaft would be eight times deeper than the English Channel, and the overland ore conveyer would be the same length as the Golden Gate Bridge, the company asserted.

Rio Tinto added that the economic benefits to the country had also been significant, with $1.1-billion in taxes and payments made to the government, and $1.1-billion worth of products and services purchased from Mongolian supplier companies between 2010 and 2012.

In addition, 10 888 Mongolians were currently employed at the mine.