Newcrest pushes button on new gold mine at Havieron in Western Australia
Newcrest Mining has ticked off on the first stage of construction of its Havieron deposit in WA.
Newcrest Mining has ticked off on the first stage of construction of its Havieron deposit in WA, throwing $146m towards early works after receiving government approval to start work on a new mine at the emerging discovery.
The company said on Wednesday it would begin work on an exploration decline and associated mining infrastructure at the project shortly, after its board approved the budget for the early stages of a new mine.
Newcrest declared its first resource of the project in early December, saying Havieron contained 3.4 million ounces of gold, at an average grade of 2 grams a tonne, and 160,000 tonnes of copper grading 0.31 per cent.
Newcrest boss Sandeep Biswas said in a statement the company believed Havieron could be producing gold within three years, extending the life of the infrastructure at it long-running Telfer mine and adding significant growth potential to Newcrest’s portfolio.
Newcrest owns 60 per cent of the Havieron deposit, with UK-listed Greatland Gold, and will lend the junior explorer $50m to fund its share of development costs.
The Australian gold major will move to a 70 per cent stake in Havieron by spending another $US65m and hitting further exploration milestones as it drills out the rest of the large deposit.
Havieron sits 45km away from Newcrest’s Telfer mine in the Pilbara region, and the company plans to truck ore to the mine’s massive processing facilities, giving it a cheap option to extend the life of the ageing mine – which has been running since 1977, having originally been formed as a joint venture between BHP and Newmont Mining, before being spun out into Newcrest.
With Rio Tinto accelerating the pace of work at its nearby Winu project, the region – known as the Patersons province – has become one of the hottest exploration spots in the country over the last few years, and Newcrest has flagged Telfer as a possible central processing site for other discoveries in the region.
Newcrest expects to complete a pre-feasibility study on construction of a full blown mine at Havieron by the end of 2021.
Newcrest shares closed up 83c to $26.96 on Wednesday, on a strong day for local gold stocks as the gold price rose marginally in intraday trading, up $US7 an ounce to $US1861.77 during the evening.
Gold has taken a beating since peaking at close to $US1960 on January 6, as political turmoil in the US has settled somewhat ahead of the inauguration of incoming President Joe Biden on January 20.
Newcrest posted the biggest gains from the S&P ASX All Ordinaries Gold index, up 3.2 per cent, with Saracen Mineral Holdings up 14c, or 3.1 per cent, to $4.94 ahead of Friday’s vote on its merger with Northern Star Resources. Northern Star posted a 2 per cent gain, up 26c to $22.39, with Evolution Mining adding 2.4 per cent to close at $21.91.
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