Rio Tinto appears to be on course to ship copper from the Oyu Tolgoi earlier than was anticipated. Sam Walsh, the company’s CEO, has indicated that it has settled its differences with the Mongolian government and is ready to move ahead. Rio Tinto is now awaiting government approvals to transport copper mined from Oyu Tolgoi which it expects will take two weeks or less.
By 2020, Oyu Tolgoi is expected to make up a third of Mongolia’s GDP and produce 450,000 tons of copper and 330,000 ounces of gold.
Oyu Tolgoi will help Rio Tinto offset an estimated $700 million in lost sales revenue due to a landslide in April at the Bingham Canyon copper mine in Utah.
Rio Tinto is currently planning to cut millions in costs by laying off employees and selling “non-core businesses.” Walsh, who was appointed CEO in January, says that “non-core assets” will be reviewed to determine whether the company should divest from them. A source informed Reuters that Northparkes copper mine in Australia will be sold.
(Edited from Reuters)