Oyu Tolgoi concludes final power purchase agreement

Turquoise Hill Resources today announced that Oyu Tolgoi LLC has signed a binding power purchase agreement with the Inner Mongolia Power Corporation to supply power to the Oyu Tolgoi mine.

Kay Priestly, Chief Executive Officer of Turquoise Hill, said, “Finalization of the power purchase agreement will enable Oyu Tolgoi to complete commissioning leading to the first production of copper-gold concentrate.

The Governments of Mongolia and China have been instrumental in helping the parties conclude the commercial components of the agreement. With phase-one construction essentially complete, we are on the verge of Oyu Tolgoi becoming a world-class operational mine and delivering long-term benefits to Mongolia.”

Within the next few weeks Oyu Tolgoi is expected to begin a seven-week commissioning of the ore-processing equipment. First concentrate production will follow within one month and the commencement of commercial production is expected three to five months thereafter.

The Oyu Tolgoi Investment Agreement recognized that the reliable supply of electrical power is critical to the project. The agreement also confirmed that Turquoise Hill has the right to obtain electrical power from inside or outside Mongolia, including China, to meet its initial electrical power requirements for up to four years after Oyu Tolgoi begins commercial production. The agreement established that a) Turquoise Hill has the right to build or sub-contract construction of a coal-fired power plant at an appropriate site in Mongolia’s South Gobi Region to supply Oyu Tolgoi; and b) all of the project’s power requirements would be sourced from within Mongolia no later than four years after the start of commercial production. Turquoise Hill continues to evaluate the development of a dedicated power plant.

SOURCE OF THIS ARTICLE : Turquoise Hill