Turquoise Hill reported higher copper output from its Oyu Tolgoi mine in Mongolia. In Q2 2021 (April-June), copper output rose by 0.5pc from the prior year to 36,735mt.
Compared to the Q1, production fell by 19pc due to slower mining rates at Phase 4B. The mill throughput in Q2 was affected by a reduced workforce due to the COVID-19 pandemic and planned maintenance. Throughput in Q2 fell by 2pc to 9.4mn mt from the prior year and down by 4pc from Q1.
Copper production in H1 increased by 14.6pc from H1 2020 to 822,000mt.
Outlook
The company has maintained its copper production guidance for 2021 at 150,000-180,000mt banking on access to higher grades from Phase 4B through 2021.
Operating cash costs for 2021 are expected at $800mn-$850mn. For 2021, C1 cash costs are expected in the range of -$0.20 to +$0.20/lbs of copper produced.
Financials
In Q2, revenues rose to $317.8mn, up by 14.3pc from a year ago. Gold revenue increased by $74.9mn, while copper revenue decreased by $34.3mn in the quarter. Copper revenue fell by a 50.6pc drop in volumes of copper concentrates but was partly offset by an 82.5pc rise in the average price of copper. Income increased to $118.8mn in Q2 compared to $72.3mn in Q2 2020.
Turquoise Hill is a mining company focused on operating and developing the Oyu Tolgoi copper-gold mine. Oyu Tolgoi is co-owned by the Mongolian government (34pc) and Turquoise Hill Resources (66pc). While Rio Tinto owns 50.8pc of Turquoise Hill Resources.