Oyu Tolgoi releases Q2 2023 performance results

• Oyu Tolgoi Board of Directors endorsed Oyu Tolgoi’s refreshed long-term strategy
• Maintained one of the highest water use efficiency per tonne of ore produced compared to similar global operations
• Paid MNT676.7 billion in taxes, fees and other payments in Q2 2023
• Received the Grand-Prix award of “Top-100 Enterprises” from the Government of Mongolia
• Hosted Rio Tinto’s Board of Directors, ExCo, investors, analysts and lenders in Mongolia and at the Oyu Tolgoi mine complex

Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia – Oyu Tolgoi released its latest performance scorecard, highlighting key performance metrics for the second quarter of 2023 and providing an update on the underground mine production.

Oyu Tolgoi continues its safe ramp-up of the underground mine ahead of plan with a total of 54 drawbells opened from Panel 0 as of 30 June 2023, including 18 drawbells during the quarter. The management team is committed to continuing the safe ramp-up of the underground mine to achieve a tripling in production to an average of 500,000 tonnes of copper per year from 2028-2036.

Oyu Tolgoi CEO, Deirdré Lingenfelder, said, “I am proud to say that in the second quarter of 2023, we delivered, and in some areas outperformed, on our plan commitments for the company. Our focus is to ensure we continue to ramp up the business safely, sustainably, and profitably.

Oyu Tolgoi has received the TOP-100 Enterprises award previously, but this year, we are delighted and humbled to have taken the lead in four of the five key indicators that evaluate the TOP-100 Enterprises and received the Grand-Prix award from L.Oyun-Erdene, PM. In addition, 31 of our suppliers were among the TOP-100 Enterprises.

In mid-July, Rio Tinto’s Board of Directors, Executive Committee, investors and research analysts visited Mongolia, participated in the Mongolia Economic Forum-2023, the Naadam Festival and visited the Oyu Tolgoi mine site. We were thrilled to host these distinguished guests in Mongolia and at Oyu Tolgoi site and it gave us an opportunity to showcase Oyu Tolgoi, our orebodies and future growth potential, our people and our partnerships as world-class”

Operational Excellence

• Prioritised safety above all else and achieved an All Injury Frequency Rate (AIFR) of 0.2 per 200,000 people/hours worked.
• Maintained first quartile water-efficiency, using less than 0.55 cubic meters per tonne of concentrate (0.39 cubic meters for Q2 2023) compared to the 1.2 cubic meters per tonne average.
• 97.4% of Oyu Tolgoi’s workforce are Mongolian citizens. We are also proud to have a more than 34.3% female workforce (contract employees included)in our UG project and 23.2% female workforce across Oyu Tolgoi LLC.
• Paid US$194 million or MNT676.7 billion in taxes, fees and other payments to the Government of Mongolia during the quarter. Since 2010, Oyu Tolgoi has paid US$4.1 billion or MNT9.5 trillion in taxes, fees and other payments, including VAT, to Mongolian suppliers.
• Partnered with 740 suppliers, including 390 national businesses, accounting for 68% of the total operational procurement spend.
• Q2 2023 Performance Scorecard can be viewed here.

Production update

• Mined copper production on a 100% basis increased 40% from the second quarter of 2022 as the ramp-up in underground production continued to plan, delivering higher average copper head grades (0.52% vs. 0.40%). During the quarter we delivered 0.9 million tonnes of ore milled from the underground mine at an average copper head grade of 1.56%, and 8.8 million tonnes from the open pit with an average grade of 0.41%.
• Technical studies for mine design and schedule optimisation for Panels 1
  and 2 were completed during the second quarter[1]. The operation is expected to ramp up to deliver average mined copper production of ~500ktpa (100% basis) between 2028 and 2036[2].
• Shaft sinking rates improved during the quarter and at the end of June, shafts 3 and 4 reached 627 metres and 740 metres below ground level, respectively. Final depths required for shafts 3 and 4 are 1,148 and 1,149 metres below ground level, respectively. Both shafts are expected to be commissioned in the second half of 2024 (previously the first half of 2024) with shaft sinking rates now meeting those required for completion.

Oyu Tolgoi Production Data

All data represents full production and sales on a 100% basis

Underground Project Development Update

Other Updates