Ivanhoe Mines spend at Oyu Tolgoi project in Monday at $70 per second
BILLIONAIRE mining mogul Robert Friedland says Ivanhoe Mines’ colossal Oyu Tolgoi copper, gold and silver project in Mongolia is on track to begin production ahead of schedule and under budget. The project in the Gobi Desert, a joint venture with Rio Tinto, is slated to commence commercial output in the first half of 2013.The total capital requirement is $US4.5 billion ($A4.19 billion) including a $US700 million ($A651.59 million) contingency that is almost untouched, Mr Friedland, chief executive of Canada’s Ivanhoe Mines, told the Diggers and Dealers mining conference in Kalgoorlie today.
“It’s going to come on stream ahead of schedule and well under budget,” he said.
“This year we’re spending about $US75 ($A69.81) per second in the development of the mine.”
Construction of the project is about 32 per cent complete. Mr Friedland said $US2.3 billion ($A2.14 billion) would be spent on construction in 2011, which was the peak year of development for phase one of the project. Rio Tinto holds 46.5 per cent of Ivanhoe Mines and its stake is capped at a maximum 49 per cent until January 18, 2012. Mr Friedland also said the outlook for copper was extremely strong, with demand set to far outstrip supply in coming years.
He pointed out that copper was at the heart of lithium battery technology. Strong exploration success continued at projects held by Ivanhoe Mines’ Australian arm in the Cloncurry region of north west Queensland.
“It’s going to come on stream ahead of schedule and well under budget,” he said.
“This year we’re spending about $US75 ($A69.81) per second in the development of the mine.”
Construction of the project is about 32 per cent complete. Mr Friedland said $US2.3 billion ($A2.14 billion) would be spent on construction in 2011, which was the peak year of development for phase one of the project. Rio Tinto holds 46.5 per cent of Ivanhoe Mines and its stake is capped at a maximum 49 per cent until January 18, 2012. Mr Friedland also said the outlook for copper was extremely strong, with demand set to far outstrip supply in coming years.
He pointed out that copper was at the heart of lithium battery technology. Strong exploration success continued at projects held by Ivanhoe Mines’ Australian arm in the Cloncurry region of north west Queensland.
Comments
Post a Comment