Engineering and Mining Journal - Whether the market is copper, gold, nickel, iron ore, lead/zinc, PGM, diamonds or other commodities, E&MJ takes the lead in projecting trends, following development and reporting on the most efficient operating pr
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REGIONAL NEWS - ASIA Oyu Tolgoi Begins Concentrate Shipments, Hits Snag in Underground Development Funding Trucks loaded with copper concentrate leave the Oyu Tolgoi plant site in Mongolia. (Photo courtesy of Rio Tinto) Rio Tinto announced on July 9 that Oyu Tolgoi had begun shipping copper concentrate to customers from its copper and gold mine in Mongolia. The event, according to the company, marks the culmination of a three-year, $6.2-billion project to build the first phase of one of the world's top five copper mines. Oyu Tolgoi is owned by Turquoise Hill Resources (66%) and Erdenes Oyu Tolgoi (34%). Erdenes Oyu Tolgoi is wholly owned by the Government of Mongolia. Rio Tinto holds a 51% share of Turquoise Hill Resources. Oyu Tolgoi is forecast to produce average annual production of 430,000 metric tons (mt) of copper and 425,000 oz of gold over the next 20 years from open-pit and underground mines. However, on July 29, Rio Tinto reported that it was notified by the Government of Mongolia that the terms of the project financing provisionally secured for the underground development of Oyu Tolgoi will need to be approved by the Mongolian Parliament. The Mongolian Parliament is currently in summer recess and the parliamentary approval process may take some time to work through. Rio Tinto said it remains committed to working with the Government of Mongolia to secure project financing. However, in view of the current uncertainty, including continued discussions with the government on a range of other issues, all funding and work on the underground 20 E&MJ; • AUGUST 2013 development will be delayed until these matters are concluded and a new timetable has been agreed. Vietnam's First Nickel Mine Begins Production Production of concentrate has started at Asian Mineral Resources' (AMR) Ban Phuc nickel project, 160 km west of Hanoi in Son La Province, Vietnam. At the official opening ceremony on June 29, local and national dignitaries noted the significance of the opening of the first nickel mine in Vietnam and the importance of the contin- ued development of the nickel industry for the province and Vietnam's economy. Operations at the underground mine started May 10, and with the commissioning of the processing plant, production will ramp-up over coming months to an annual run-rate of more than 6,600 mt of nickel, 3,300 mt of copper and 200 mt of cobalt contained in concentrate. AMR also continues to focus on progressing opportunities to expand production, including extensions to the Ban Phuc massive sulphide vein and selected highergrade portions of the disseminated sulphide deposit. AMR's 90%-owned subsidiary, Ban Phuc Nickel Mines LLC (BPNM), has also entered into an agreement with LienViet Post Bank (LPB) for the provision of a US$20-million project financing loan for the project. AMR CEO Simon Booth said, "The signing of the loan agreement with LPB provides all BPNM's remaining funding requirement to take the project through its ramp-up period. Coming on the heels of the commissioning of the mine, AMR is now a fullyfinanced nickel producer. In partnering with a Vietnamese bank, we look forward to establishing a long-term relationship that will help BPNM as it looks to future growth projects such as a potential smelter and regional expansion possibilities." A view of flotation machines at Ban Phuc, Vietnam's first nickel mine. (Photo courtesy of Asian Mineral Resources) www.e-mj.com