Name and Location
Oyu Tolgoi copper/silver/gold complex, Southern Gobi region, Mongolia.

Client
Turquoise Hill/Rio Tinto (66%) and Erdenes Oyu Tolgoi (34%).

Project Description
Oyu Tolgoi has the mineral resources to become one of the world’s top three copper/gold producers.

The project entails the construction and operation of an initial concentrator facility that will process 100 000 t/d of ore or 36.5-million tons a year. By the end of the fifth year of operation, the concentrator’s capacity will be expanded to 160 000 t/d or 58-million tons a year.

Under the common startup plan, ore will initially be sourced from the openpit mine on the Southern Oyu deposits, while the adjacent higher-grade underground mine, on the Hugo North deposit, will be developed to full production of 95 000 t/d.

The mine is expected to produce more than 1.2-billion pounds (544 000 t) of copper, three-million ounces of silver and 650 000 oz/y of gold in the first ten years of operation. Seven years later, at its peak, it is expected to produce about 1.7-billion pounds of copper and one-million ounces of gold.

Value
The final cost of the Phase 1 capital project is expected to be about $6.6-billion, within 3% of the initial budget, excluding foreign-exchange exposures.

The Phase 2 capital estimate is $5.1-billion.

Duration
Commercial production from the openpit operation is planned for the first half of 2013.

First ore was processed through the concentrator on January 2 and the first copper/gold concentrate was produced on January 31.

Initial production from the underground mine is expected in 2016.

Latest Developments
A group of banks has agreed to a six-month extension of a commitment to fund the underground expansion of the Oyu Tolgoi copper/gold mine, in Mongolia.

The expansion must still be approved by the company and the Mongolian government, following the completion of a new feasibility study. Turquoise Hill CEO Kay Priestly has said that the study will be finished by the end of June, contrary to an assertion by a Mongolian government official earlier this month that it had already been completed.

Fourteen of 15 banks have agreed to extend their financing commitments to September 30, with a response from the final bank expected shortly, Priestly said during a conference call held to discuss Turquoise Hill's first-quarter results.

The company now has sufficient commitments to reach its funding goal of about a $4-billion facility.

The underground development of Oyu Tolgoi, which is one of the world's largest undeveloped copper deposits, was put on hold last year when the Mongolian government became concerned that cost overruns would delay the flow of its share of profits from the mine.

Priestly says that talks with the Mongolian government on restarting development of the underground expansion have been "constructive".

On Budget and on Time?
Yes.

Contact Details for Project Information
Oyu Tolgoi, tel +976 11 331880, fax +976 11 331890 or email OTLLCinfo@ot.mn.
Turquoise Hill Resources media contact Tony Shaffer, tel +1 604 648 3934 or
email tony.shaffer@turquoisehill.com.
SGS manager on-site laboratories Pierrette Prince, tel +1 416 445 5755, fax +1 416 445 4152 or email pierrette.prince@sgs.