Rio Tinto (NYSE:RIO) says it reached agreements with Turquoise Hill Resources (NYSE:TRQ) and Mongolia's government that will lead to the start of underground operations at the Oyu Tolgoi copper mine.
Under the deal terms, Turquoise Hill will waive a $2.4B carry account loan to the government and agrees to "a comprehensive and binding, amended funding arrangement" with Rio, while the two companies also pledge to improve cooperation with the state-owned company in monitoring the underground development and enhancing environmental, social and governance related matters.
Rio says it now expects first sustainable output from Oyu Tolgoi's underground project in H1 2023, with average production expected at ~500K metric tons/year of copper during 2028-36 from the open pit and underground.