Rio Tinto (ASX, LON, NYSE: RIO) and Turquoise Hill (TSX, NYSE: TRQ) said on Thursday they will jointly pursue debt reprofiling by engaging with existing lenders for the giant Oyu Tolgoi copper-gold-silver mine in Mongolia.
The decision, Rio Tinto said, includes a move to raise about $500 million, which will reduce the funding requirements for the project by up to $1.4 billion.
By reprofiling, the parties will get more time to repay their debt, but the principal of, or in some cases even the interest rate on, the extended debt are not reduced.
Rio and Turquoise Hill will also jointly seek to raise up to $500 million in additional lending
Rio said any remaining funding for the development of an underground extension at the asset will be met through a Turquoise Hill equity offering.
The Australian giant owns Oyu Tolgoi through its majority stake in Canada’s Turquoise Hill, which is the mine operator and has a 66% interest in it. The Mongolian state has the remaining 34% in the operation.
In July, Rio Tinto said it cut estimated reserves at its underground copper mine extension of Oyu Tolgoi and confirmed it would face delays and higher costs after ground instability forced it to redesign the mine plan.
The underground expansion has faced multiple delays and costs blowouts.
Rio and Turquoise estimated last year a cost overrun at the project of up to $1.9 billion due to difficult geology. They noted that total capital expenditure would be in the range of $6.5-$7.2 billion.
The companies had also warned of further delays of up to two and a half years, with first sustainable production expected between May 2022 and June 2023.
Once completed, the underground section will lift production from 125,000–150,000 tonnes in 2019 to 560,000 tonnes at peak output, now expected by 2025 at the earliest. This would make it the biggest new copper mine to come on stream in several years.
Oyu Tolgoi produced 35,203 tonnes of copper and 26,154 ounces of gold in the first three months of this year, on track to achieve 2020 production guidance. The coronavirus pandemic, however, has caused a slow down to operations since.