Oyu Tolgoi Feasibility Study: $7.36B Capex
Rio Tinto's Oyu Tolgoi in South Gobi region, Mongolia has a Feasibility Study outlining initial capital of $7.36B.
Rio Tinto's Oyu Tolgoi has reported Feasibility Study results for the copper project in South Gobi region, Mongolia. It reflects Rio Tinto's (RIO) latest disclosed economics for the asset.
Economics. Initial capital expenditure is estimated at $7.36B, with life-of-mine sustaining capital of $5.00B. Economics are based on Mineral Resources: USc320.30/lb Cu, US$1,479.82/oz Au, US$19.23/oz Ag, US$9.29/lb Mo (July 2021 consensus). Mineral Reserves: USc350.80/lb Cu, US$1,496.75/oz Au, US$20.43/oz Ag (January 2022 consensus)..
Production and mine plan. The project envisions an open-pit & underground operation.
Resources and ownership. Mineral resources: Rio Tinto's share: Measured & Indicated 5.4 Mt (11.9 billion pounds) contained copper, 5.9 Moz contained gold; Inferred 13.6 Mt (30 billion pounds) contained copper and 20.4 Moz contained gold.. The company holds a 66% interest in the project.
These figures are extracted from Rio Tinto's technical disclosures and reflect the most recent Feasibility Study on file. Compare this project against other developers and producers in our project economics database, and always verify the numbers against the original technical report before making any investment decision.
Our Analysis
- Initial capex
- $7.36B
costlier than 98% of 47 projects we track
- Study price assumption
- Mineral Resources: USc320.30/lb Cu, US$1,479.82/oz Au, US$19.23/oz Ag, US$9.29/lb Mo (July 2021 consensus). Mineral Reserves: USc350.80/lb Cu, US$1,496.75/oz Au, US$20.43/oz Ag (January 2022 consensus).
- Spot copper today
- $6.74/lb
Among the 47 copper projects we track, this one barely registers on capital cost: an initial build of $7.36B sits below the bottom 2% of that peer set. That is the useful fact, and it is a fact about relative scale rather than about quality. What it tells an investor is that this is not a project competing for the largest cheques in the sector, and that its economics will be judged on margin and execution rather than on sheer size.
The constraint that matters is not the absolute number but who is writing it. Against a US$154.15B market cap, the $7.36B build is a modest commitment, and this is one of 49 projects the company carries. A diversified major funding a build of this size out of a portfolio of that breadth faces a very different question from a single-asset developer: not whether it can raise the money, but whether this project earns its place in the queue for it. That is a lower-risk position, and also a lower-urgency one.
The study is feasibility-level, which is the estimate class that carries the most weight, and the jurisdiction is Mongolia's South Gobi, a region that rewards operators with demonstrated in-country capability. The price deck is the live question: the study's reserve case assumes USc350.80/lb copper, against a current spot of $6.74/lb. Whether that gap reflects a genuine margin cushion or simply a study priced in a different market is what determines if this project moves up the queue.
Our take, benchmarked against the project economics in the Mining Stocks database. Figures are estimates drawn from company technical reports — not investment advice; always verify against the source filing.
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