New rolling plans and investment in contractors to enhance underground development inventory at Nevada Gold Mines (NGM) are keeping development faces ahead of operational stopes, increasing the flexibility the mines need to increase the overall processed grade and subsequently ounce production, Barrick Gold reported today.

Over the past 12 months, this new approach, known as Stope Line Ready – Developed Reserves, has increased the amount of accessible ore developed and ready for production by 19% for longhole stopes and 33% for drift and fill areas, the gold miner – which owns 61.5% of the NGM joint venture (Newmont owns 38.5%). This is equivalent to raising developed capacity from three to four months at current mining volumes. It has the added benefit of maximising consistency of plan execution, reducing the need to replan the mine to cover shortfalls, the miner says.

NGM is also making substantial investments in replacing and upgrading equipment and infrastructure which, while in the short term will be reflected in its costs, will effectively recapitalise the complex for the next 10-15 years. This follows years of underinvestment prior to the formation of the joint venture, Barrick says. Since its formation, the JV has extended the life of mine for the complex by more than 10 years and this reinvestment period will ensure the equipment and infrastructure deliver world-class performance for this extended life.

Investments in the open pits include 63 new Komatsu trucks, of which 47 have been purchased and delivered to increase the average payload per truck by approximately 15% and availability by 7%-25%, while significantly lowering maintenance spend. Back in 2023, NGM signed a multi-year agreement with Komatsu to deliver 62 Komatsu 290 t class 930E-5 haul trucks between 2023 and 2025.

During the quarter at Carlin, open-pit optimisation work was also conducted, and several pieces of equipment are being parked with the impacted workforce being offered new assignments throughout NGM where the need exists and to reduce higher-cost contractors supplementing our workforce.

Investment continued in NGM’s process facilities with the completion of the Gold Quarry roaster expansion project to increase throughput by 20% combined with process improvements at the Goldstrike roaster, Barrick added. These facilities are now back to industry-leading reliability and operational performance, it says. At the Turquoise Ridge Sage autoclave, significant process equipment upgrades were completed during the quarter, increasing its reliability and performance.

Barrick concluded: “We expect to continue these investments over the next couple of years with planned investments in underground equipment and infrastructure, process infrastructure, and notably, automation technology. As these investments pay dividends and we return to our natural sustaining capital run rate, unit costs are projected to taper off and margins will significantly improve.”