Turquoise Hill announces 2018 production and financial guidance

VANCOUVER, BC--(Marketwired - December 04, 2017) - Turquoise Hill Resources (NYSE: TRQ) (TSX: TRQ) (NASDAQ: TRQ) today announced 2018 production and financial guidance.

Oyu Tolgoi is expected to produce 125,000 to 155,000 tonnes of copper and 240,000 to 280,000 ounces of gold in concentrates for 2018. Open-pit operations are expected to mine in Phase 6 in early 2018 and Phase 4 throughout the year. In addition, stockpiled ore will be processed during 2018. The increased gold production relative to the 2016 technical report is due to splitting Phase 4 into two parts (4A and 4B) and bringing production forward from future years.

Operating cash costs for 2018 are expected to be approximately $700 million. The reduction compared to expected 2017 operating cash costs reflects lower concentrator and logistics costs.

Capital expenditures for 2018 on a cash-basis are expected to be approximately $150 million for open-pit operations and $1.1 billion to $1.2 billion for underground development.

Open-pit capital is mainly comprised of deferred stripping, equipment purchases, tailings storage facility construction and maintenance componentization. The main drivers of the 2018 estimate increase compared to the forecast for 2017 are equipment purchases and maintenance componentization.

Underground development capital includes both expansion capital and VAT. Based on the 2016 Oyu Tolgoi Technical Report, lateral development is expected to advance approximately 10.0 kilometres during 2018. Turquoise Hill continues to expect the first draw bell in mid-2020 and sustainable first production in 2021.

Forward-looking statements
Forward-looking statements made 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 United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements and information 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 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. There can be no assurance that such statements or information will prove to be accurate. Such statements and information are based on numerous assumptions regarding present and future business strategies, local and global economic conditions, 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, and the status of the Company's relationship and interaction with the Government of Mongolia on the continued development of Oyu Tolgoi and Oyu Tolgoi LLC internal governance. 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; development plans for processing resources; matters relating to proposed exploration or expansion; mining operational and development risks; litigation risks; regulatory restrictions (including environmental regulatory restrictions and liability); communications with local stakeholders and community relations; activities, actions or assessments by governmental authorities; events or circumstances that may affect the Company's ability to deliver its products in a timely manner; 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, including with respect to the development of additional deposits and processing facilities; 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 statements and information 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 statements or information.

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 the Company's 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 23, 2017 in respect of the year ended December 31, 2016 (the "AIF").

Readers are further 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 the Company's forward-looking statements and information to make decisions with respect to the Company, investors and others should carefully consider the foregoing factors and other uncertainties and potential events.

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Contact

Contact
Investors and Media

Tony Shaffer
+ 604 648 3934
tony.shaffer@turquoisehill.com