Turquoise Hill today announced third quarter 2019 production for Oyu Tolgoi and provided an update on underground development.
Highlights:
Q3’s solid operational performance was impacted by a plant shutdown brought forward from October to September, combined with higher than planned feed from the harder Phase 4b ore.
. Copper production of 28,446 tonnes, a decrease of 27.8% vs Q3 2018
. Gold production of 25,607 ounces, a decrease of 66.8% vs Q3 2018
. Mill throughput increased 4% year over year and decreased 3.4% sequentially
. On track to achieve 2019 copper and gold production guidance
As anticipated, the transition from mining Phase 4A to lower grade Phase 4B and stockpiles resulted in:
o Lower copper head grade of .37 vs .46 Q2 2019
o Lower gold head grade of .14 vs .31 Q2 2019
o Concentrate production decreased 27.2% vs Q2 2019
o Copper production decreased 27.4% vs Q2 2019
o Gold production decreased 64.3% vs Q2 2019

Total copper and gold production year-to-date is 113,400 tonnes and 217,500 ounces respectively, and we remain on track to achieve our forecast target of 125,000 – 155,000 tonnes of copper and up to 230,000 ounces of gold. As we guided in both our Q1 and Q2 2019 production updates, the average copper and gold grades have continued to decline in accordance with our mine plan. The Phase 4A higher grade ore has been depleted and as planned the primary ore source changed to Phase 4B and lower grade stockpiles. In addition to mining lower grade ore, the processed ore tonnage was lower than the previous quarter due to lower mill availability resulting from a shift of planned maintenance from October to September.

Underground Development
Shaft 2 continues to hold to the October 2019 commissioning schedule. Rope up is complete for both the service cage and the production hoists. The service cage has completed load tests and automatic test runs while the load testing of the production buckets is on track for mid-October. Other key infrastructure components completed during Q3 include the central heating plant, the shaft 2 jaw crusher system and the shaft 2 surface discharge conveyor.
Lateral underground development in Q3 has accelerated. Extensive focus on productivity gains on the most critical development areas over the past five months has reaped substantial improvements. In September, the team achieved a record 1,385 equivalent metres of lateral underground development.
As previously announced on July 15th, improved rock mass information and geotechnical data modelling has confirmed that there are stability risks associated with components of the Feasibility Study 2016 mine design. To address these risks, a number of mine design options are under consideration to complete the project.
Mine planning decisions regarding the first panel of mining, Panel 0, the mid-access drives, productivity inputs and ore pass locations continue and are expected to be completed by April 2020. The resulting Pre-Feasibility Study designs being detailed to Feasibility Study level, then scheduled and costed to form the Definitive Estimate, due in the second half of 2020. In the interim, underground development continues and we look forward to providing the market with any updates to the schedule and development capital spend as and when appropriate.
“We continue to focus on the development of an ultimate mine design that will deliver maximum value for Turquoise Hill shareholders. The development of a world-class ore body such as Oyu Tolgoi into a long life low cost tier 1 asset, requires a mine design that ensures the safety of our workforce while providing a foundation to mine this substantial ore body for decades to come. We continue to see a clear pathway to sustainable first production and will continue to work with Rio Tinto and the Government of Mongolia to bring this underground development project to a successful completion,” said Ulf Quellmann, Chief Executive Officer of Turquoise Hill.


Oyu Tolgoi Production Data
All data represents full production and sales on a 100% basis
2Q 2018 3Q 2018 4Q 2018 1Q 2019 2Q 2019 3Q 2019 1H 2019 1H 2018 Full Year 2018
Open pit material mined (‘000 tonnes) 22,792 22,523 22,863 23,943 24,408 24,844 48,351 45,923 91,310
Ore treated (‘000 tonnes) 10,164 9,652 9,361 9,255 10,394 10,040 19,649 19,725 38,738
Average mill head grades:
Copper (%) 0.48 0.51 0.55 0.57 0.46 0.37 0.51 0.50 0.51
Gold (g/t) 0.26 0.38 0.56 0.58 0.31 0.14 0.44 0.25 0.36
Silver (g/t) 1.17 1.19 1.22 1.25 1.20 1.03 1.23 1.24 1.22
Concentrates produced (‘000 tonnes) 178.8 179.8 189.0 210.1 180.6 131.3 390.7 356.1 724.9
Average concentrate grade (% Cu) 22.0 21.9 21.9 21.8 21.7 21.7 21.8 22.0 21.9
Production of metals in concentrates:
Copper (‘000 tonnes) 39.4 39.4 41.5 45.8 39.2 28.4 85.0 78.2 159.1
Gold (‘000 ounces) 50 77 117 120 72 25.6 192 92 285
Silver (‘000 ounces) 225 230 238 247 238 191 486 446 914
Concentrate sold (‘000 tonnes) 220.0 171.9 191.4 184.9 225.3 157 410.3 383.1 746.4
Sales of metals in concentrates:
Copper (‘000 tonnes) 46.1 36.0 40.2 38.5 46.6 32.4 85.1 80.4 156.7
Gold (‘000 ounces) 51 55 111 98 116 35.4 213 82 248
Silver (‘000 ounces) 250 201 216 200 245 207 445 456 873
Metal recovery (%)
Copper 79.7 80.9 84.8 83.8 80.2 75.1 82.2 79.6 81.4
Gold 59.8 64.7 71.7 70.1 63.6 54.7 68.2 57.6 65.2
Silver 58.4 62.8 67.1 63.2 59.2 56 61.2 56.4 60.9


Tijd 18.02
Turquoise Hill Today Vol. 607.300
Time X Price Chg Vol Buyer Seller Markers
11:47:38 O 0.62 -0.02 1,500 1 Anonymous 13 Instinet K
11:42:45 M 0.615 -0.025 3,000 79 CIBC 1 Anonymous K
11:42:45 H 0.62 -0.02 1,500 1 Anonymous 1 Anonymous K