April 02, 2024 • 1 min read
Unlocking high grade copper at Oyu Tolgoi for Rio Tinto
How we helped Rio Tinto unlock high grade copper from the Oyu Tolgoi mine in Mongolia
Our involvement with the Oyu Tolgoi Underground Project started in April 2015, when we provided mine restart support services. We were then appointed to provide EPCM services for the materials handling systems and associated surface and underground infrastructure.
In 2023, the project celebrated the start of underground production.
This achievement is testament to the collaboration of the project team who had to overcome various challenges, such as working in a harsh environment with sub-zero temperatures, a complex underground scope and a multilingual, multinational workforce.
Statistic Cards
Supporting social license drivers was another key accomplishment.
The project focused on diversity targets, with women accounting for 28 percent of our workforce. In addition, the drive to maximize local resourcing resulted in over 90 percent of the construction workforce being Mongolian citizens.
Once fully operational, the underground mine will be the fourth-largest copper mine in the world, producing more than 500,000 tonnes per annum of copper.
“This project exemplifies how effective project delivery, safety leadership, innovative solutions, and a commitment to social responsibility helps to not only overcome complex challenges to deliver projects successfully but adds value to our customer and local communities, too,” says Brad Fuge, Global Relationship Manager for Rio Tinto.
This project is transformational for Mongolia and the world, supplying copper to accelerate the shift to a lower carbon future.
