· Gold production of 615,000 oz for the quarter, in line with the prior quarter (up 2% on continuing operations)
· Copper production increased 6.1% to 25,000 t for the quarter
· Group All-In Sustaining Cost (AISC) per ounce decreased 4.9% to $751/oz for the quarter
· Group AISC per ounce margin decreased 11.1% to $478/oz for the quarter, as a result of the lower gold price
· Lihir mill processed 3.3 Mt for the quarter (an annualised rate of 13.0 Mt, achieving the target set)
· Cadia mill processed 6.6 Mt for the quarter (an annualised rate of 26.4 Mt)
Newcrest Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Sandeep Biswas, said: “Newcrest achieved a significant milestone during the December quarter with Lihir reaching its target of an annualised mill throughput rate of 13.0 Mt – a record for the site. Cadia also continued to increase mill throughput, processing ore at an annualised rate of 26.4 Mt, a 6% increase on the prior quarter and above the nameplate capacity of the plant. These achievements and efforts by all our operations contributed to a 5% decrease in Newcrest’s All-In Sustaining Cost per ounce and an increase in production from our continuing operations.”
At Cadia, work continued on the construction of the conveying and crushing systems between Concentrator 1 and Concentrator 2. This project is expected to be completed by the end of the March 2017 quarter during the scheduled Concentrator 1 shutdown. Completion of this project will remove the need to truck material to Concentrator 2.
At Lihir, gold production in the December quarter was 10% higher primarily as a result of higher mill and autoclave throughput, and improved recovery. This was partially offset by lower grade. Recovery was higher due to improved autoclave availability and utilisation following completion of the total plant shut in the September quarter, during which material bypassed the autoclave circuit and was fed directly into the NCA circuit to maximise throughput levels with consequential recovery losses.