Newmont says it has delivered over $1 billion in annual synergies, significantly exceeding the initial value commitment of $365 million a year following the company’s acquisition of Goldcorp in April of 2019. All while doing it six months ahead of schedule.
More than three quarters of the synergy value has been generated by focusing on the fundamentals of mining and processing through the application of Newmont’s proven Full Potential productivity and cost improvement program.
The mining major gave a few examples. At the world-class, polymetallic Peñasquito mine in Mexico, Newmont increased the average payload for haul trucks by 17 t per load, which translates into an additional 12 Mt moved per year for next to zero cost. Combined with other loading and hauling improvements at Peñasquito, this top-tier operation increased annual tonnes mined by over 20% in 2020 with no additional equipment.
Newmont has also enhanced the processing circuit at Peñasquito by understanding and addressing bottlenecks in the crushing, grinding and flotation circuits of this complex, polymetallic operation. Since resolving these issues, Peñasquito has delivered a 7% increase in annual throughput compared to 2020, translating to over $300 million in free cash flow improvements each year.
In Canada, Newmont implemented a tele-remote system for underground loading and hauling at the Porcupine, Musselwhite and Éléonore mines. This technology eliminated underground safety risks for operators, while enabling more efficient shift changes, thereby improving underground working times by an average of five hours per day.
The successful implementation of the tele-remote system in Canada was recently replicated at the Cerro Negro operation in Argentina, making it the first mine in the country to use this technology for improved safety and productivity performance.
The Full Potential program Newmont says has enabled it to harness its integrated operating model to rapidly replicate and deploy leading practices consistently around the world. “Newmont’s successful integration of Goldcorp went far beyond harnessing synergies and generating leading shareholder returns.”
It says aligning the former Goldcorp organisation with Newmont’s purpose, values and culture was key to securing the value-generating successes described above by fully implementing Newmont’s safety systems and processes; integrating Newmont’s sustainability goals and targets; and forging lasting community and host country relationships in three new jurisdictions.
It concludes:”Looking ahead, Newmont has built a powerful global portfolio with the people, scale and mine life to continue delivering long-term value to all of the company’s stakeholders through safe, profitable and responsible mining.”
