Newcrest restarts Indonesian operation

Newcrest has restarted mining at Kencana after an unexplained geotechnical event in February.

Newcrest Mining said it has restarted mining at the Kencana mine, part of its Gosowong gold operation in Indonesia, where production had been suspended since an unexplained “geotechnical event” in February.

A worker was trapped roughly 300 metres underground for eight days when Newcrest’s Gosowong operation was damaged by the February 8 incident.

Newcrest, which restarted mining at Gosowong’s Toguraci mine in April, said it began mining at Kencana again at the weekend and expects to increase production gradually at the two mines to full capacity over at least two months.

The miner said it still expects to produce a total 2.4 million-2.6 million troy ounces of gold in the year through June across all its operations, although output from the Gosowong site will likely be toward the bottom end of its 195,000-235,000 ounce estimate.

The operation is operated by Pt Nusa Halmahera Minerals, which is 75 per cent owned by Newcrest. The rest is owned by Indonesia-based Pt Aneka Tambang.

Dow Jones Newswires