OyuTolgoi begins building foundations for US$1.2 Billion Concentrator

100,000 tonnes of copper-gold ore to be processed every day

Umnugobi, Mongolia – Oyu Tolgoi LLC announced today that it has commenced construction of its US$1.2 billion copper-gold concentrator. The concentrator is one of the most significant parts of the future Oyu Tolgoi mining process. It processes the mined copper ore to produce a concentrate which is then sold to customers for smelting and refining.

For every tonne of material mined out of the ground, about 18 kilos will containcopper metal. Once the material has been processed by the concentrator, each tonne of material could contain as much as 350 kilos of copper metal.

The construction of the concentrator is expected to be complete in 2013, when commercial production at Oyu Tolgoi is scheduled to commence. At its capacity, the concentrator will treat up to 100,000 tonnes of ore a day, producing 450,000 tonnes of concentrate a year. It will take at least 3,000 people to build it.

Mr. Keith Marshall, President and CEO of Oyu Tolgoi LLC stated: “Starting the concrete foundations, delivering the building materials and developing the infrastructure for the concentrator are the key activities planned for 2010.  Once finished, the concentrator will be one of the best of its kind in the world. We are aiming to introduce and use only world class technology at Oyu Tolgoi and for Mongolia.”