Turquoise Hill announces fourth quarter 2017 production

VANCOUVER, BC--(Marketwired - January 15, 2018) -

• Oyu Tolgoi meets 2017 production guidance; achieves record material mined and throughput

• Shaft 2 reaches final depth in December 2017

Turquoise Hill Resources (TRQ) (TRQ) (TRQ) today announced fourth quarter 2017 production for Oyu Tolgoi.

Jeff Tygesen, Chief Executive Officer of Turquoise Hill, said, "Oyu Tolgoi had a strong fourth quarter setting quarterly and annual records for open pit material mined as well as concentrator throughput. They also met annual production guidance, which is an excellent achievement given the grade challenges of 2017. We are extremely proud of Oyu Tolgoi's numerous accomplishments for the year."

Material mined in Q4'17 increased 5.3% over Q3'17 and ore treated increased 2.1% over Q3'17. Higher mill availability and processing of softer Phase 6 ore in Q4'17 resulted in a 20.8% increase in concentrate production over Q3'17. Copper production in Q4'17 increased 22.8% compared to Q3'17 due to higher grades and improved mill availability. Gold production in Q4'17 increased 12.9% over Q3'17 due to increased grades and higher concentrate production.

Oyu Tolgoi is expected to produce 125,000 to 155,000 tonnes of copper and 240,000 to 280,000 ounces of gold in concentrates for 2018.

Underground development progress

During Q4'17, underground development continued to progress with Shaft 2 reaching final depth of 1,284 metres in December. Completed sinking of Shaft 2 is expected imminently and fit out is expected throughout 2018. Sinking of Shaft 5 also progressed during Q4'17 and is expected to be complete in Q1'18. Also in December, the fifth development crew became fully operational.

Oyu Tolgoi Production Data
All data represents full production and sales on a 100% basis
		4Q 2016	1Q 2017	2Q 2017	3Q 2017	4Q 2017	Full Year 2017	Full Year 2016
Open pit material mined ('000 tonnes)		25,615	24,333	25,193	27,466	28,929	105,921	96,938
Ore treated ('000 tonnes)		9,819	10,087	9,637	10,615	10,838	41,177	38,152
Average mill head grades:
	Copper (%)	0.61	0.51	0.51	0.48	0.53	0.51	0.65
	Gold (g/t)	0.25	0.15	0.16	0.18	0.20	0.17	0.36
	Silver (g/t)	1.50	1.30	1.38	1.34	1.54	1.39	1.83
Concentrates produced ('000 tonnes)		206.7	176.0	171.0	170.0	205.4	722.5	846.6
	Average concentrate grade (% Cu)	22.0	21.6	21.8	21.7	22.0	21.8	23.8
Production of metals in concentrates:
	Copper ('000 tonnes)	45.5	38.1	37.2	36.9	45.3	157.4	201.3
	Gold ('000 ounces)	49	25	24	31	35	114	300
	Silver ('000 ounces)	273	215	236	239	285	974	1,420
Concentrate sold ('000 tonnes)		182.0	190.2	182.0	176.6	175.5	724.3	828.6
Sales of metals in concentrates:
	Copper ('000 tonnes)	37.6	39.5	37.3	36.9	35.7	149.3	188.9
	Gold ('000 ounces)	39	32	23	29	27	111	347
	Silver ('000 ounces)	239	205	222	229	205	860	1,280
Metal recovery (%)
	Copper	76.6	74.9	74.6	73.5	78.0	75.4	81.0
	Gold	63.4	48.8	47.7	51.2	50.5	49.7	68.5
	Silver	57.2	51.8	53.9	52.8	53.0	52.9	63.1

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