Amec awarded feasibility study for Oyu Tolgoi underground

TORONTO (miningweekly.com) - Engineering and project-management firm Amec will conduct a feasibility study for Lift 1 of the Hugo North underground block-cave operation Ivanhoe Mines' Oyu Tolgoi project in Mongolia.

Ivanhoe has said that Oyu Tolgoi, which is being developed initially as an openpit operation, will be a top-three copper/gold mine once it moves into full production.

The value of the Amec contract has not been disclosed.

Over the next 25 months, the company will develop designs, specifications, cost estimates and a construction schedule for an 85 000 t/d block cave operation at Hugo North.

Amec said has partnered with South Africa's RSV for shaft engineering, AC-Tek for dynamic simulation of underground conveyors and Analytical Laboratory Consultants for laboratory service design on the project.

Ivanhoe has said it expects to start first production from Oyu Tolgoi in 2012, ramping up to commercial production in 2013.

Production from underground operations is expected to begin in 2015.

The Oyu Tolgoi project is expected to cost more than $4-billion, and is expected to produce more than 1,2-billion pounds of copper and 650 000 oz of gold a year in the first ten years of operations.
Edited by: Liezel Hill

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