Oyu Tolgoi underground production delay announced

The $5.3-billion underground project at the Oyu Tolgoi copper/gold mine, in Mongolia, remains on schedule to be completed by 2022, but operator Rio Tinto has flagged a nine-month delay in achieving sustainable production.

Rio Tinto-owned Turquoise Hill, which holds the giant mine in a 66:34 partnership with the Mongolia government, reported on Tuesday that sustainable production would be achieved in the third quarter of 2021, rather than the previously guided start of 2021.