New horizons for Newcrest at Telfer and Cadia

Newcrest Mining Ltd has made two major announcements with regard to future mine development and expansion at its Telfer and Cadia gold operations – located in Western Australia and New South Wales, respectively. Most recently it has announced that the Board has approved progression of the Cadia PC1-2 Feasibility Study to the Execution Stage; which followed another announcement that it is proceeding with the West Dome Stage 8 cutback at its Telfer operation.

Beginning with Cadia, the PC1-2 study represents the next panel cave for execution at Cadia after PC2-3 and forms a key strategic milestone for Newcrest to maintain Cadia’s long-life production profile, with the development of PC1-2 accounting for approximately 20% of Cadia’s published Ore Reserves. The Study contemplates a high lift, undercut block cave producing up to 25 Mt of crushed ore per annum at a very attractive rate of return. First production from PC1-2 is expected in FY26, with execution targeted for FY29.

The Early Works Program remains on track with key development activities and raise boring currently underway. Preliminary earthworks to support construction of the primary ventilation system are also in progress. Newcrest Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Sandeep Biswas, said: “We are very pleased to announce the findings of the Cadia PC1-2 Feasibility Study today, which indicates strong financial returns and underscores the quality of this world class asset. Together with the Cadia Expansion Project which is nearing completion, we are
confident that Cadia will continue to be an outstanding gold and copper producer for decades to come.”

He added: “Through applying our technical expertise in deep underground mining and value breakthrough strategies, our team has further optimised the PC1-2 mine footprint since the Pre-Feasibility Study, creating a more efficient cave and substantially increasing expected ore production across the life of the project. We now expect to deliver additional gold and copper production over the next decade and beyond, which is an outstanding achievement by our team and a great example of our innovation and creativity in action.”

“We also have significant financial headroom to fund the construction of PC1-2 through our internal cash flow and prudent use of our strong balance sheet. This further underpins Cadia’s ability to continue contributing to the community and we remain focused on pursuing further optimisations during the Execution Stage of the project,” said Biswas.

Newcrest says it will adapting the well proven extraction level layout used at Cadia East to increase ore mined and significantly improve safety. It will also optimise the materials handling system with two crushing stations north and south of the footprint to improve efficiency, utilisation and reduce production loss. Development of PC1-2 is expected to sustain total Cadia mine production at approximately 35 Mt per annum as production from the current operational PC1 and PC2 caves begin to decline from FY24. The PC1-2 cave is expected to take approximately 6-7 years to reach its maximum production capacity following blasting of the first draw bell.

At Telfer, for the West Dome Stage 8 cutback, the Newcrest Board approved a total investment of A$214 million (~US$150 million) inclusive of mine operating costs and A$73 million of capitalised production stripping. The cutback underpins continuity of operations at Telfer, with the mine now expected to extend operations into early FY25. The cutback is located adjacent to the current West Dome Stage 2 and West Dome Stage 5 pits, and first ore production is expected in the December 2022 quarter.

Biswas, said: “We are delighted to further extend the life of our Telfer operation, highlighting our ability to maximise the full potential of our assets through our strong technical expertise. Telfer is strategically positioned in the highly prospective Paterson Province and we are continuing to progress several potential options to expand the resource base in the open pits and underground to unlock additional value.”