The mineral deposits at Oyu Tolgoi lie in a structural corridor where mineralization has been discovered over a 26 km strike length. Four deposits hosting Mineral Resources have been identified: Oyut, Hugo North, Hugo South, and Heruga.
The Oyut deposit is currently being mined as an open pit using conventional drill, blast, load, and haul methods. The Hugo North deposit is currently being developed as an underground mine using the block caving mining method.
A staged approach is envisaged for developing the Hugo North deposit, involving mining two block cave lifts (Lift 1 and potentially Lift 2). The Lift 1 comprises three panels (Panel 0, Panel 1, and Panel 2).
The initial investment decision to construct Phase 1 of Oyu Tolgoi was made in 2010. Mining of the Oyut deposit started in 2012 using open pit mining methods. The Oyut open pit mine currently has an ore production rate of about 40 Mtpa. Part of the initial investment decision to develop Phase 1, included continued investment into the development of the Hugo North underground mine as a block caving operation (Phase 2 of the Project). Development of Phase 2 commenced in July 2016.
The current production rate from the Oyut open pit continues until 2023, after which it will be progressively reduced as production builds up from underground. Open pit mining will continue in parallel with Hugo North Lift 1 to keep the Oyu Tolgoi concentrator operating at its design capacity. Fol ........
