Work at Oyu Tolgoi during 2010 is planned to include resumption of the sinking of the 10-m-diameter Shaft No. 2, which will be used to hoist ore to the surface from the deep, underground, copper and gold-rich Hugo Dummett deposit; construction of a 97-m-high, reinforced-concrete headframe for the shaft; and pouring of the concrete foundation for the 100,000-mt/d concentrator. Earthworks will be started for the open-pit mine at the Southern Oyu deposits, and lateral underground development will continue off Shaft No. 1 at the Hugo Dummett deposit.

A 20-MW power station and 35-kV distribution system will be installed to provide power for the project. Construction will begin on a 105-km highway to the Mongolia-China border, which will be fully paved by the time production begins, and on a regional airport, which will have a concrete runway large enough to accommodate Boeing 737-sized aircraft. The Oyu Tolgoi open-pit mine and concentrator are planned to produce about 450,000 mt/y of copper and 330,000 to 500,000 oz/y of gold in concentrates, with initial production in 2013. Underground development is proceeding in parallel with construction of the surface mine and concentrator.