In late 2009, the joint Ivanhoe Mines-Rio Tinto Oyutolgoi Technical Committee conditionally approved a USD758 million budget for 2010 to begin full-scale construction of Oyutolgoi. The 2010 budget provides for an early start on a site-wide development program, which is planned to include:

Resumption of the sinking of the 10-metre-diameter Shaft #2, which will be used to hoist ore to the surface from the deep, underground, copper-gold-rich Hugo Dummett Deposit;

Construction of a 97-metre-tall (approximately 31-storey), reinforced-concrete headframe for Shaft #2;

Pouring the concrete foundation for the 100,000-tonne-per-day concentrator and deliveries of building materials for the concentrator and infrastructure;

Installation of a 20-megawatt power station and 35-kilovolt distribution system;

Initial earthworks for the open-pit mine at the Southern Oyu deposits;

Construction of a 105-km highway link to the Mongolia-China border, which will be fully paved by the time production begins; and

Construction of a regional airport, with a concrete runway to accommodate Boeing 737-sized aircraft.