/EINPresswire.com/ -- VANCOUVER, BC--(Marketwired - July 18, 2016) - Turquoise Hill Resources today announced second quarter 2016 production for Oyu Tolgoi.

Jeff Tygesen, Turquoise Hill Chief Executive Officer, said, "Oyu Tolgoi's second quarter production was as planned reflecting reduced mining in Phase 2 of the open pit, which included higher grades of both copper and gold. In the second half of 2016, lower gold production is expected as mining occurs in areas with reduced grades. The concentrator continues to perform well with throughput exceeding nameplate capacity."

In Q2'16, concentrator throughput was broadly consistent with Q1'16; resulting in average throughput of approximately 105,000 tonnes per day for the quarter. Copper production in Q2'16 declined 10.3% over Q1'16 reflecting lower grades from reduced mining in Phase 2 and lower recovery from Phase 6 ore. As expected, gold production in Q2'16 declined approximately 52% over Q1'16 due to lower grades from reduced mining in Phase 2. Concentrate sold in Q2'16 increased 6.7% over Q1'16.

The Company continues to expect Oyu Tolgoi to produce 175,000 to 195,000 tonnes of copper in concentrates and 255,000 to 285,000 ounces of gold in concentrates for 2016.

                                                                  
Oyu Tolgoi Production Data                                        
All data represents full production and sales on a 100% basis     
                                                                  
                                 1Q        2Q        3Q        4Q 
                               2015      2015      2015      2015 
------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                  
Open pit material mined                                           
 ('000 tonnes)               21,999    22,094    23,969    23,708 
Ore treated ('000 tonnes)     7,512     9,025     8,632     9,369 
Average mill head grades:                                         
  Copper (%)                   0.52      0.69      0.75      0.69 
  Gold (g/t)                   0.48      1.09      0.56      0.92 
  Silver (g/t)                 1.16      1.46      1.90      1.67 
Concentrates produced                                             
 ('000 tonnes)                130.9     215.5     210.3     231.8 
  Average concentrate                                             
   grade (% Cu)                25.7      25.6      26.6      24.7 
Production of metals in                                           
 concentrates:                                                    
  Copper ('000 tonnes)         33.6      55.3      56.0      57.3 
  Gold ('000 ounces)             86       238       123       207 
  Silver ('000 ounces)          184       297       388       355 
Concentrate sold ('000                                            
 tonnes)                      167.7     189.8     226.0     236.2 
Sales of metals in                                                
 concentrates:                                                    
  Copper ('000 tonnes)         42.1      46.3      58.2      54.7 
  Gold ('000 ounces)            200       177       200       160 
  Silver ('000 ounces)          219       245       334       360 
Metal recovery (%)                                                
  Copper                       86.8      88.6      86.4      88.4 
  Gold                         71.6      75.6      76.4      74.2 
  Silver                       65.4      70.6      73.0      70.8 
                                                                  
                                                                  
                                                                  
                                                                            
Oyu Tolgoi Production Data                                                  
All data represents full production and sales on a 100% basis               
                                                                            
                                1Q        2Q        1H        1H   Full Year
                              2016      2016      2015      2016        2015
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                            
Open pit material mined                                                     
 ('000 tonnes)              22,867    22,716    44,093    45,582      91,771
Ore treated ('000 tonnes)    9,662     9,525    16,536    19,187      34,537
Average mill head grades:                                                   
  Copper (%)                  0.70      0.67      0.61      0.68        0.67
  Gold (g/t)                  0.63      0.26      0.82      0.45        0.78
  Silver (g/t)                1.92      1.63      1.33      1.78        1.56
Concentrates produced                                                       
 ('000 tonnes)               229.5     207.1     346.4     436.6       788.5
  Average concentrate                                                       
   grade (% Cu)               25.1      24.9      25.7      25.0        25.6
Production of metals in                                                     
 concentrates:                                                              
  Copper ('000 tonnes)        57.6      51.7      88.9     109.2       202.2
  Gold ('000 ounces)           144        70       324       213         653
  Silver ('000 ounces)         395       391       481       786       1,223
Concentrate sold ('000                                                      
 tonnes)                     213.1     227.4     357.5     440.5       819.8
Sales of metals in                                                          
 concentrates:                                                              
  Copper ('000 tonnes)        51.2      54.4      88.4     105.7       201.3
  Gold ('000 ounces)           175        95       377       270         737
  Silver ('000 ounces)         305       395       464       700       1,158
Metal recovery (%)                                                          
  Copper                      85.6      83.3      87.9      84.5        87.6
  Gold                        72.2      69.3      74.6      71.2        74.4
  Silver                      66.4      65.9      68.5      66.2        69.9
                                                                            
                                                                            
                                                                            

About Turquoise Hill Resources

Turquoise Hill Resources (NYSE: TRQ) (NASDAQ: TRQ) (TSX: TRQ) is an international mining company whose primary operation is its 66% interest in the Oyu Tolgoi copper-gold-silver mine in southern Mongolia.

Forward-looking statements

Certain statements made herein, including statements relating to matters that are not historical facts and statements of the Company's beliefs, intentions and expectations about developments, results and events which will or may occur in the future, constitute "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation and "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the "safe harbor" provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking information and statements relate to future events or future performance, reflect current expectations or beliefs regarding future events and are typically identified by words such as "anticipate", "could", "should", "expect", "seek", "may", "intend", "likely", "plan", "estimate", "will", "believe" and similar expressions suggesting future outcomes or statements regarding an outlook. These include, but are not limited to, statements respecting anticipated business activities, planned expenditures, corporate strategies and other statements that are not historical facts.

Forward-looking statements and information are made based upon certain assumptions and other important factors that, if untrue, could cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such statements or information. There can be no assurances that such statements or information will prove accurate. Such statements and information contained herein represent the Company's best judgment as of the date hereof based on information currently available. The Company does not assume any obligation to update any forward-looking statements or information or to conform these forward-looking statements or information to actual results, except as required by law.

Important factors that could cause actual results to differ from these forward-looking statements and information are included in the "Risk Factors" section of the Annual Information Form dated as of March 15, 2016 in respect of the year ended December 31, 2015.

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