| ISSUER FREE WRITING PROSPECTUS
Filed pursuant to Rule 433
Registration Statement No. 333-192326
Dated December 16, 2013 |
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December 16, 2013
Press release
Turquoise Hill provides update on Oyu Tolgoi, project financing and financial and production guidance for 2014
VANCOUVER, CANADA – Turquoise Hill Resources today provided an update on Oyu Tolgoi, project financing and financial and production guidance for 2014.
On December 12, 2013, the Oyu Tolgoi LLC Board unanimously approved the 2014 operating budget. This is an important step in preparation for the mine’s first full year of operations.
In 2014 production from Oyu Tolgoi is expected to be 150,000 to 175,000 tonnes of copper in concentrates and 700,000 to 750,000 ounces of gold in concentrates. Operating cash costs are expected to be approximately US$1 billion and capital expenditure is expected to be US$160 million of which approximately US$80 million relates to sustaining capital. During 2014, Oyu Tolgoi intends to draw down inventory and return to more normal levels of approximately four to six weeks of production.
Turquoise Hill announced that on April 17, 2013, Rio Tinto signed commitment letters with 15 commercial banks that locked in pricing and terms for the Oyu Tolgoi project financing. Rio Tinto has received extensions to the commitment letters from the 15 commercial banks that now expire on March 31, 2014. Turquoise Hill and Rio Tinto remain focussed on securing project finance to fund the Oyu Tolgoi Project with the full support of the Government of Mongolia.
All parties are committed to resolving the shareholder issues and advancing the necessary steps to restart the underground mine; including resolution of the shareholder issues, completion of the feasibility study, project financing, permitting and approvals. The feasibility study remains on track for completion in the first half of 2014.
About Turquoise Hill Resources
Turquoise Hill Resources (NYSE, NASDAQ & TSX: TRQ) is an international mining company focused on copper, gold and coal mines in the Asia Pacific region. The Company’s primary operation is its 66% interest in the Oyu Tolgoi copper-gold-silver mine in southern Mongolia. Turquoise Hill also holds a 56% interest in Mongolian coal miner SouthGobi Resources (TSX: SGQ; HK: 1878).
Turquoise Hill has filed a prospectus with the securities regulatory authorities in each of the provinces and territories of Canada and a corresponding registration statement (including a prospectus) with the SEC for the offering to which this communication relates. Before holders of rights invest, they should read the prospectus, the corresponding registration statement and other documents Turquoise Hill has filed with the Canadian securities regulatory authorities and the SEC for more complete information about the Company and the rights offering. Rights holders may obtain these documents free of charge by visiting SEDAR at www.sedar.com or EDGAR on the SEC Web site at www.sec.gov. Alternatively, Turquoise Hill will arrange to send the prospectus to holders of rights if they request it by calling 1-604-688-5755.
| Turquoise Hill Resources Ltd. Suite 354 – 200 Granville Street Vancouver, British Columbia Canada V6C 1S4 T 604 688 5755
www.turquoisehill.com |
This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy the securities in any jurisdiction. The securities being offered have not been approved or disapproved by any securities regulatory authority.
| Contacts |
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| Investors |
Media | |
| Jessica Largent Office: +1 604 648 3957 Email: jessica.largent@turquoisehill.com |
Tony Shaffer Office: +1 604 648 3934 Email: tony.shaffer@turquoisehill.com | |
Forward-looking statements
Certain statements 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 satisfaction of the conditions for the completion of the Rights Offering and other transactions contemplated by the 2013 MOA; commencement and success of the Rights Offering; approval for listing of Rights, Common Shares and/or Standby Shares on the NYSE, NASDAQ or TSX; 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. Such statements and information are based on numerous assumptions regarding present and future business strategies and the environment in which the Company will operate in the future, including the price of copper, gold and silver, anticipated capital and operating costs, anticipated future production and cash flows, the ability to complete the disposition of certain of its non-core assets, the ability and timing to complete project financing and/or secure other financing on acceptable terms, the Standby Commitment not being terminated and any impact this may have on the ability and timing to repay the Interim Funding Facility and the New Bridge Facility and the evolution of discussions with the Government of Mongolia on a range of issues including the implementation of the Investment Agreement, project development costs, operating budgets, management fees and governance and the existence or filing of legal proceedings against the Company and its officers and directors. Certain important factors that could cause actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements and information include, among others, copper, gold and silver price volatility, discrepancies between actual and estimated production, mineral reserves and resources and metallurgical recoveries, mining operational and development risks, litigation risks, regulatory restrictions (including environmental regulatory restrictions and liability), activities by governmental authorities, currency fluctuations, the speculative nature of mineral exploration, the global economic climate, dilution, share price volatility, competition, loss of key employees, additional funding requirements, capital and operating costs for the construction and operation of the Oyu Tolgoi Project and defective title to mineral claims or property. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking statements and information, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. All such forward-looking information and statements are based on certain assumptions and analyses made by the Company’s management in light of their experience and perception of historical trends, current conditions and expected future developments, as well as other factors management believes are appropriate in the circumstances. These statements, however, are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking information or statements.
With respect to specific forward-looking information concerning the construction and development of the Oyu Tolgoi Project, the Company has based its assumptions and analyses on certain factors which are inherently uncertain. Uncertainties and assumptions include, among others: the timing and cost of the construction and expansion of mining and processing facilities; the impact of the decision announced by the Company to delay the funding and development of the Oyu Tolgoi underground mine pending resolution of outstanding issues with the Government of Mongolia associated with the development and operation of the Oyu Tolgoi Project and to satisfy all conditions precedent to the availability of
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Oyu Tolgoi Project Financing; the impact of changes in, changes in interpretation to or changes in enforcement of, laws, regulations and government practices in Mongolia; the availability and cost of skilled labour and transportation; the availability and cost of appropriate smelting and refining arrangements; the obtaining of (and the terms and timing of obtaining) necessary environmental and other government approvals, consents and permits; the availability of funding on reasonable terms; the timing and availability of a long-term power source for the Oyu Tolgoi Project; delays, and the costs which would result from delays, in the development of the underground mine (which could significantly exceed those projected in the 2013 Oyu Tolgoi Technical Report); projected copper, gold and silver prices and demand; and production estimates and the anticipated yearly production of copper, gold and silver at the Oyu Tolgoi Project.
The cost, timing and complexities of mine construction and development are increased by the remote location of a property such as the Oyu Tolgoi Project. It is common in new mining operations and in the development or expansion of existing facilities to experience unexpected problems and delays during development, construction and mine start-up. Additionally, although the Oyu Tolgoi Project has achieved commercial production, there is no assurance that future development activities will result in profitable mining operations. In addition, funding and development of the underground component of the Oyu Tolgoi Project will be delayed until matters with the Mongolian government can be resolved and a new timetable has been established. These delays can impact project economics.
The Company’s MD&A also contain references to estimates of mineral reserves and mineral resources. The estimation of reserves and resources is inherently uncertain and involves subjective judgments about many relevant factors. The mineral resource estimates contained in the prospectus, including the documents incorporated by reference herein, are inclusive of mineral reserves. Further, mineral resources that are not mineral reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability. The accuracy of any such estimates is a function of the quantity and quality of available data, and of the assumptions made and judgments used in engineering and geological interpretation (including future production from the Oyu Tolgoi Project, the anticipated tonnages and grades that will be achieved or the indicated level of recovery that will be realized), which may prove to be unreliable. There can be no assurance that these estimates will be accurate or that such mineral reserves and mineral resources can be mined or processed profitably. In addition, see “Cautionary Note to United States Investors” in the prospectus. Such estimates and statements are, in large part, based on the following:
| • | Interpretations of geological data obtained from drill holes and other sampling techniques. Large scale continuity and character of the deposits will only be determined once significant additional drilling and sampling has been completed and analyzed. Actual mineralization or formations may be different from those predicted. It may also take many years from the initial phase of drilling before production is possible, and during that time the economic feasibility of exploiting a deposit may change. Reserve and resource estimates are materially dependent on prevailing metal prices and the cost of recovering and processing minerals at the individual mine sites. Market fluctuations in the price of metals or increases in the costs to recover metals from the Company’s mining projects may render mining of ore reserves uneconomic and affect the Company’s operations in a materially adverse manner. Moreover, various short-term operating factors may cause a mining operation to be unprofitable in any particular accounting period; |
| • | Assumptions relating to commodity prices and exchange rates during the expected life of production, mineralization of the area to be mined, the projected cost of mining, and the results of additional planned development work. Actual future production rates and amounts, revenues, taxes, operating expenses, environmental and regulatory compliance expenditures, development expenditures, and recovery rates may vary substantially from those assumed in the estimates. Any significant change in these assumptions, including changes that result from variances between projected and actual results, could result in material downward revision to current estimates; |
| • | Assumptions relating to projected future metal prices. The prices used reflect organizational consensus pricing views and opinions in the financial modeling for the Oyu Tolgoi Project and are subjective in nature. It should be expected that actual prices will be different than the prices used for such modeling (either higher or lower), and the differences could be significant; and |
| • | Assumptions relating to the costs and availability of treatment and refining services for the metals mined from the Oyu Tolgoi Project, which require arrangements with third parties and involve the potential for fluctuating costs to transport the metals and fluctuating costs and availability of refining services. These costs can be significantly impacted by a variety of industry specific and also regional and global economic factors (including, among others, those which affect commodity prices). Many of these factors are beyond the Company’s control. |
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Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information or statements. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve numerous assumptions, inherent risks and uncertainties, both general and specific, which contribute to the possibility that the predicted outcomes will not occur. Events or circumstances could cause our actual results to differ materially from those estimated or projected and expressed in, or implied by, these forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ from these forward-looking statements are included in the “Risk Factors” section in the Company’s Annual Information Form dated as of March 25, 2013 in respect of the year ended December 31, 2012 (the “AIF”).
Readers are cautioned that the list of factors enumerated in the “Risk Factors” section of the AIF that may affect future results is not exhaustive. When relying on our forward-looking information and statements to make decisions with respect to the Company, investors and others should carefully consider the foregoing factors and other uncertainties and potential events. Furthermore, the forward-looking information and statements contained in the MD&A for the Company’s third quarter results are made as of the date of such document and the Company does not undertake any obligation to update or to revise any of the included forward-looking information or statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable law. The forward-looking information and statements contained in the MD&A are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement.
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