Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, 18 June 2019
Oyu Tolgoi had a very productive year in 2018 with strong achievements across all aspects of the business including; safety, production, Underground Project development, environmental and social performance.
Oyu Tolgoi LLC Chairman of the Board of Directors and Ambassador Batsukh Galsan highlighted that “We are extremely proud that Oyu Tolgoi continues to expand and play a vital role in the development of the Mongolian economy. The board has placed a strong emphasis on transparency and ensuring our key performance measures are regularly made available for our investors, key stakeholders and the Mongolian public. Release of today’s Year in Review is further evidence of this commitment”.
In June 2018, the Board approved a 10-year strategy, defining the business’s key long-term priorities. Initiatives which including further development of the strategic mine development plan, enhancing employees’ skills and capabilities, construction of a power plant, strengthening partnership opportunities, development of the local workforce in Umnugovi province and the implementation of the marketing strategy.
Oyu Tolgoi LLC CEO Armando Torres emphasised that “We continue to deliver on our key agreement commitments through our firm and consistent efforts for the benefit of all our stakeholders. With only 5 years of operations, Oyu Tolgoi is already considered a global benchmark on several business and social parameters and has become an important pillar for the development of Mongolia. 2018 was also a year of progress with improvements to the productivity and development in skills of our workforce for Oyu Tolgoi.”
The year in review highlights priorities for 2019 in addition to the company results for 2018. The company continues to sustain its rate of improvements into 2019 and delivers consistently on their commitments for benefits to its shareholders. Successful delivery of the underground project will make Oyu Tolgoi one of the largest copper mines in the world and a significant contributor to the prosperity of Mongolia.
Brief highlights of the Year in Review:
Safety
An All Injury Frequency Rate of 0.16 per 200,000 work hours in 2018, a new record for the operation. This achievement is more impressive considering the workforce doubled year on year as the ramp up of the underground project progressed.
Production & Financial Performance
Sales revenue of $1,180 million - a 25% increased on the previous year.
Production of 746 thousand dry metric tonnes (kdmt) (2017: 724kt) of copper concentrate with metal content of 157 thousand tonnes (kt) copper; 248 thousand ounces (koz) gold; 873koz silver (2017: 149kt copper; 111koz gold; 860koz silver).
Underground development
Throughout 2018, construction of the underground project continued with the successful completion of several critical path assets, from fully commissioning of the ventilation shaft 5 to completing the sinking of Shaft 2, one of the largest shafts on the planet. The detailed engineering design work is near to be completed and overall construction reached the mark of
46% of progress (currently 54% as of end May 2019). However, more detailed geotechnical information and difficult ground conditions have required a review of the mine design. This, combined with the technically complex fit-out and commissioning work on the main production and service shaft, is ultimately expected to result in a further revised ramp-up schedule and delayed sustainable production date beyond the nine months indicated in October 2018. Detailed estimates are being calculated to assess financial impact and amended schedule.
Community partnership & Corporate Social Responsibility
Key highlights include; commissioning of the Khanbogd School and the Kindergarten complex which has capacity for 600 students and over 200 children, construction of the Inter-Soum Animal Healthcare Centre and commissioning of the 35km road from Khanbogd to the Oyu Tolgoi mine site.
The Year in Review – 2018 is available here
sse on
http://ot.mn/media/ot/content/docs/year_in_review_18/OT_Year_in_Review-English.pdf |
