Contract mining major Thiess has won two five-year contracts in Mongolia, including an extension at the giant Oyu Tolgoi underground copper mine.
The Australian-based company said it also secured a five-year asset management services contract with Mongolian Mining Corporation (MMC) subsidiary Energy Resources at the Ukhaa Khudag coking coal mine.
Rio Tinto owns 66% of Oyu Tolgoi in a joint venture with the Mongolian government.
The company started underground mining in 2022 and is ramping up block cave development and production. It expects to produce about 500,000 tonnes of copper per year on average from 2028 to 2036 from openpit and underground, with Oyu Tolgoi set to become the fourth largest copper mine in the world in 2030.
Thiess says it started working in Mongolia in 2007 and has been at Oyu Tolgoi since 2016. It is providing underground mining services, including underground development, ground support installation and block cave infrastructure construction, through the Thiess-Khishig Arvin Joint Venture (TKAJV). The contractor expects to add more than 110 new jobs over the next few months and get to about 800 people over the next five years.
Thiess is managing the coal handling and preparation plant at Ukhaa Khudag.
MMC is Mongolia’s largest producer and exporter of hard coking coal, producing 15 million tonnes of run-of-mine coal and about 8.7Mt of washed coking coal last year.
“Mongolia remains a key market for Thiess and these contracts reinforce our long-term commitment to our clients, communities and the country,” said Thiess president and executive director Roberto Gallardo.
