Newcrest cedes 3 million ounces of gold so it can use Cadia pit as tailings dam
Newcrest will forego up to 3 million ounces of unmined gold as part of its plan to deal with a tailings dam breach.
Newcrest Mining has decided to forego up to 3 million ounces of unmined gold and 270,000 tonnes of unmined copper as part of its response to a slump in the tailings dam at its Cadia mine in NSW.
The Melbourne-based company (NCM) this morning announced that it had received approval to use its old Cadia Hill open pit to store tailings, which it said would allow the Cadia underground mine and processing plant to return to full production.
Cadia is Newcrest’s biggest source of cash but was temporarily shut down last month after a breach of a wall around its northern tailings dam. Processing started up again earlier this month but the mine has been operating below its normal production levels, with operations constrained by the limitations of its remaining southern tailings dam.
Using the open pit for tailings will help Cadia return to capacity sooner, although it does mean Newcrest will have to write off the resources and reserves sitting beneath the pit.
Newcrest said a resource of 3m ounces gold and 270,000t copper would ultimately be foregone as a result.
“Newcrest has determined that the value of Cadia Hill as a long-term tailings storage solution is much greater than the economic value of the remaining ore reserves and mineral resources of the Cadia Hill open pit,” the company said.
At 12.37pm (AEST), shares in Newcrest were 2.15 per cent higher to $20.42 this morning.