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Monday, April 14, 2014

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Turquoise Hill Announces First Quarter 2014 Production and Provides Update on Project Financing

VANCOUVER, BC--(Marketwired - April 14, 2014) - Turquoise Hill Resources today announced the first quarter 2014 production for Oyu Tolgoi and provided an update on project financing.

Production at Oyu Tolgoi 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, Oyu Tolgoi 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, Oyu Tolgoi is expected to drawdown inventory. Oyu Tolgoi 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.

Oyu Tolgoi expects to produce 135,000 to 160,000 tonnes of copper and 600,000 to 700,000 ounces of gold in concentrates for 2014.

Update on Project Financing

All parties agreed to send requests to the project finance lenders to extend the commitment letters for the financing of the underground development at Oyu Tolgoi to September 30, 2014.

Kay Priestly, Turquoise Hill Chief Executive Officer, said, "All parties remain committed to the underground development of Oyu Tolgoi and to resolving the outstanding shareholder issues. Constructive discussions between all parties have resulted in significant progress being made in resolving the issues, and those discussions are continuing."

Oyu Tolgoi Production Data

All data represents full production and sales on a 100% basis


		1H 2013	3Q 2013	4Q 2013	1Q 2014	Full Year 2013

Open pit material mined ('000 tonnes)		37,925	12,151	21,956	21,621	72,032
Ore Treated ('000 tonnes)		4,430	8,052	7,835	5,560	20,317
Average mill head grades:
	Copper (%)	0.42	0.47	0.49	0.52	0.47
	Gold (g/t)	0.27	0.36	0.41	0.49	0.36
	Silver (g/t)	1.31	1.39	1.44	1.52	1.39
Copper concentrates produced ('000 tonnes)		50.2	110.3	129.5	102.9	290.0
	Average concentrate grade (% Cu)	26.1	27.7	25.4	24.6	26.4
Production of metals in concentrates:
	Copper in concentrates ('000 tonnes)	13.1	30.6	32.9	25.3	76.7
	Gold in concentrates ('000 ounces)	21	62	74	66	157
	Silver in concentrates ('000 ounces)	85	196	208	163	489
Sales of metals in concentrates:
	Copper in concentrates ('000 tonnes)	-	-	6.1	13.1	6.1
	Gold in concentrates ('000 ounces)	-	-	10	28	10
	Silver in concentrates ('000 ounces)	-	-	36	78	36
Metal recovery (%)
	Copper	73.2	81.7	86.4	87.9	81.6
	Gold	56.7	66.3	71.2	75.5	66.1
	Silver	47.8	54.9	57.2	59.3	54.2