Oyu Tolgoi expects copper production of 12.5-155000 tons in 2019 to become the third largest copper producer in the world by 2025

, Oyu Tolgoi expects to produce 125000-155000 tons of copper and 180000-220000 ounces of gold concentrate this year, according to Turquoise Hill Resources.

In 2018, copper production from Mongolian copper and gold mines was 159100 tons, up 1.1 per cent from 2017, and gold production was 285000 ounces, up 150 per cent from 2017.

The Mongolian government owns 34 per cent of Oyu Tolgoi and the rest is owned by Turquoise Hill Resources. Rio Tinto, on the other hand, has a 51 per cent stake in Turquoise Hill Resources.

Located 80 kilometers north of Mongolia's border with China and about 550 kilometers south of the capital Ulaanbaatar, the mine is one of the largest mines in the world.

Turquoise Hill says, Oyu Tolgoi is likely to start operating for about 100 years from five known mineralized deposits, the first of which, (Oyut), went into production as an open-pit mine in 2013. The second oil field, Hugo North (Lift One), is being exploited underground and is scheduled to begin sustainable production in 2021. The other three deposits, Hugo North (Lift Two), Hugo South and Heruga, are not yet planned for development.

Turquoise Hill expects, Oyu Tolgoi copper production to peak by 2025, when it will become the world's third-largest copper producer.

Turquoise Hill expects to produce an average of more than 550000 tons of copper and more than 450000 ounces of gold a year from 2025 to 2030, all from the Oyut opencast mine and the Hugo North (Lift One) underground mining project.

Turquoise Hill said open-pit mining is expected to enter phase 4 this year and the plant is expected to have a production capacity of about 40 million tons. At the same time, the company expects underground development to advance 15 to 16 kilometers.

At the end of 2018, the company signed the Oyu Tolgoi Power Resources Framework Agreement with the Government of Mongolia, which provides a binding framework for the construction of a power plant that provides a long-term domestic power solution for the mine.

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