MONGOLIA — Now that most of the details of the investment agreement have been worked out with the Mongolian government, Ivanhoe Mines of Vancouver says it will spend US$758 million in 2010 at its Oyu Tolgoi copper-gold project to begin full-scale construction. Construction of the initial open pit could be completed in 2012 and commercial production begin in 2013.
The list of work to be undertaken next year includes:
? Resumption of sinking at the 10-metre-diameter No.2 production shaft for the Hugo Dummett deposit.
? Construction of the 97-metre-tall No.2 headframe.
? Continued lateral underground development in the vicinity of the No.1 shaft.
? Pouring the foundation for a 100,000-t/d concentrator and delivery of related materials.
? Installation of a 20-MW power station and 35-kV distribution system.
? Initial earthworks for the open pit mine at the Southern Oyu deposits.
? Building a 105-km paved highway to the Mongolia-China border.
? Construction of a regional airport to accommodate plans the size of a Boeing 737.
Ivanhoe says it has US$1 billion in its treasury and expects to boost that by US$390 million if Rio Tinto exercises its warrants next year. More information is posted at www.IvanhoeMines.com.
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