Turquoise Hill announces first quarter 2014 production and provides

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/ Turquoise Hill Resources Ltd announced Monday the first quarter 2014 production for Oyu Tolgoi and provided an update on project financing. Production at OT in Q1‘14 was heavily impacted by post commissioning issues, including rake blade failure in both of the tailings thickeners, which caused the shutdown of one production line for approximately seven weeks. Repairs to the rakes have been completed and full production recommenced in late March. The concentrator also completed a number of major planned shutdowns in Q1’14, including ball mill relines and the first concave change in the primary crusher. Copper and gold head grades increased in Q1’14 as the mine deepened. These higher grades combined with ongoing improvement initiatives led to improved copper and gold recoveries during the quarter. Also during March 2014, OT processed small volumes of ore from the high grade areas of the gold core. Concentrate sales continue to accelerate and are matching current production. During the second half of 2014, OT is expected to drawdown inventory. OT will monitor production levels and if necessary, match them to meet customer requirements, with the goal of returning to more normal levels of inventory by the end of 2014. OT expects to produce 135 thousand to 160 thousand tons of copper and 600 thousand to 700 thousand ounces of gold in concentrates for 2014.