COMMODITY 
Copper

CLIENT 
Oyu Tolgoi

LOCATION 
Mongolia, South Gobi Desert

PROJECT TYPE 
Mining Design

PROJECT SCOPE 
Design Review & Engineering of Shaft Designs

DURATION 
2011-2012

PROJECT VALUE 
Undisclosed

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Oyu Tolgoi Project

Situated in the South Gobi desert approximately 350 km North of the Chinese border is the Oyu Tolgoi mine, one of the largest copper open pit and block cave mines in the world.

RSV is extremely proud of the achievements for this project which commenced in 2006 with the construction of an open pit mine, concentrator, site camp, five vertical mine shafts and all associated facilities.

RSV were initially appointed as a third party review company representing the owner for the design work which was then being carried out by another firm.  Thereafter RSV was asked to carry out the feasibility study for Shaft No. 3, which was successfully completed.  This shaft was planned to be an 11m diameter shaft, with two huge hoists capable of a combined hoisting capacity in excess of 60 000 tonnes per day.

A large blue structure with several cranes in the background.
A blue building with a large tower on top of it.

Early in 2012 RSV was appointed to complete the designs for the remaining No. 4 and 5 shafts as well as to complete the design for shaft No. 2 which had been started by another consultant. RSV completed the last of the design work and the implementation designs for these three shafts.

The production shafts (shafts No. 2 and 3) are most likely the largest hard rock hoisting shafts in the world with the skip sizes in No. 2 shaft being 60 tonnes and the planned skips for No. 3 shaft, a guide rope shaft, being 63 tonnes.

A large blue structure in the middle of an open field.