JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Rio Tinto subsidiary Turquoise Hill said that Oyu Tolgoi, a copper and gold mine in the southern Gobi desert, in Mongolia, has marked an early development milestone at the Hugo North Lift 1, with the completion of the sinking of Shaft 2, including reaching final depth, shaft bottom mass excavation and concrete floor installation.
Turquoise Hill CEO Jeff Tygesen on Monday noted that the completion of the Shaft 2 sinking is the first of several key milestones that will lead to the production of copper and gold from Hugo North Lift 1.
“At peak production around 2025, Oyu Tolgoi is expected to be the world's third-largest copper mine,” he stated.
Shaft 2 is 1 284 m deep and 10 m in diameter and will be used for access, production and ventilation. The fit-out of the shaft will take place throughout 2018.
Despite the recent declaration of force majeure at Oyu Tolgoi, there has been no disruption to goods and services arriving for underground development.
The force majeure for Oyu Tolgoi concentrate delivery customer contracts remains in place. The mine declared the force majeure last week, as a result of a protest by Chinese coal transporters which recently got under way in the Ganqimaodu border zone.
On January 19, trucks, including Oyu Tolgoi concentrate convoys, started crossing the Ganqimaodu border zone again.
A consistent period of convoy crossing to determine a stable concentrate supply chain is required before the force majeure can be lifted.
Safe and normal mine operations have been maintained and no production impact is expected, the company said on Monday.