Tag Archives: Newmont

Perenti’s AUMS extends ties with Newmont at Subika Underground

Mine operation news, Mining equipment, Mining services, Precious metals, , , , , , , ,

Perenti Limited’s African Underground Mining Services (AUMS) subsidiary, through its UMA joint venture, has been awarded a new, circa-A$630 million ($418 million), 60-month contract at the Newmont Subika underground gold mine in Ghana, the ASX-listed company says.

The term of the contract is effective from January 1, 2023.

UMA is a joint venture (70:30) between AUMS and Rocksure International, a local Ghana-based civil and mining contractor. Under the terms of the contract, through the UMA joint venture, Perenti will undertake all underground development and production activities, diamond drilling and associated support services at the Subika Underground Mine, some 310 km to the northwest of Accra, Ghana.

In addition, under the terms of the new contract Newmont will acquire the current fleet of underground equipment associated with the project and will also be responsible for the acquisition of additional fleet as required for the project, Perenti says.

Perenti expects that this capital strategy will have significant benefits, but primarily will reduce the capital intensity of the project while still delivering strong returns. Perenti expects to finalise the sale of these assets before the end of June.

As a part of Newmont’s larger Ahafo complex, AUMS commenced development and production activities at the Subika underground mine in mid-2017.

Mark Norwell, Managing Director and CEO of Perenti, said: “With this new contract, Perenti not only expands its tenure in Ghana but furthers its relationship with Newmont, the world’s leading gold company with a world-class portfolio of assets in favourable mining jurisdictions. We are very pleased that we will continue to deliver value and certainly to Newmont and our other stakeholders in Ghana and beyond.”

Paul Muller, President Contract Mining of Perenti, said: “Ausdrill commenced operations in Ghana in 1991 and, with this 60-month contract, Perenti through its subsidiaries, will have accumulated nearly 40 years of in-country expertise with a strong track record of prioritising local procurement, training and employment opportunities across a wide range of local and regional Ghanaian stakeholders.”

Antamina, Barrick, BHP, Freeport, Gold Fields, Newmont, Teck and Vale form GeoStable Tailings Consortium

Environmental, Mining services, Sustainable mining, Water management, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Gold Fields Limited has announced a new consortium of eight global mining companies has launched a multi-year initiative to develop and implement new technological applications for managing tailings.

The GeoStable Tailings Consortium (GSTC) comprises Antamina, Barrick, BHP, Freeport-McMoRan, Gold Fields, Newmont, Teck and Vale, with external expert support provided by Dr G Ward Wilson of the University of Alberta.

The GSTC will study options to combine various blends of tailings with waste rock to create ‘geo-stable’ landforms that are stronger and more stable than conventional tailings deposition methods and are likely to reduce process water consumption. It will undertake a range of research and development activities, including laboratory testing, field trials and data analysis, and will collaborate to promote best practices in tailings and waste management and foster a culture of continuous improvement across the mining industry.

Martin Preece, Interim CEO of Gold Fields, said: “The management of our TSFs has as its ultimate goal zero harm to people and the environment through their full life cycle. This is in line with the Global Industry Standard on Tailings Management, the new tailings storage facility (TSF) benchmark to which all members of the ICMM are committed to conform to. Having stable TSFs is a critical element of this standard.

“There is significant mining industry interest in developing geo-stable TSFs, but there is still a lack of a sound research and development including testing protocols to assess, compare and validate the performance of different technical approaches across different mineralogical and operational situations. Gold Fields is therefore a willing participant in this consortium and playing our role in becoming part of the solution.”

The new GSTC initiative builds on the work of a group formed to advance geo-waste and eco-tailings research previously pursued by Goldcorp, which was acquired by Newmont in early 2019.

Howden continues to bring energy and ventilation efficiency to mining operations

Automation, Mine ventilation, Mining services, Mining software, Power supply for mines, Sustainable mining, , , , , , , , , ,

Howden’s Ventsim™ CONTROL may have been introduced 15 years ago in Canada, but the cutting-edge mining innovation continues to be refined, the company says.

Ventsim is designed to reduce energy consumption, associated costs and improve energy efficiency in underground mine ventilation systems.

The Ventsim software suite uses advanced algorithms to analyse real-time data and adjust ventilation equipment to maximise energy savings while maintaining safe working conditions. As the global mining industry continues to face increased pressure to reduce its carbon footprint, it offers a valuable solution by optimising energy usage and reducing wasted energy, Howden says.

Howden, a Chart Industries Company, has focused on innovation with this software to meet the needs of ventilation and automation engineers by developing a solution that requires no prior programming. The site team can manage Ventsim CONTROL on an ongoing basis which means there is no need to continually bring in third parties to make changes as the mine’s requirements change.

This was a need in the market in 2009 when Ventsim software was introduced. The software has become even more relevant today, where resources are expensive and scarce, and mine plans – in many cases – need to be commodity price sensitive. Ventsim CONTROL can incorporate sensors, hardware, and software from any third-party supplier and has grown to become a key ventilation-engineering tool across the mining sector.

In recent years, Howden has developed the software with the complementary addition of 3D modelling and simulation components of Ventsim DESIGN, a mine ventilation simulation software, to allow mining companies to achieve optimal visualisation of their ventilation systems across their operations.

In a recent update, the software’s 3D tracking visualisation of personnel and vehicles was improved through the ability to tap into existing site-wide tracking systems at most modern underground mines.

Benoit Dussault, Lead Software Engineer at Howden, told IM: “We are working hand-in-hand with tracking providers on this solution, incorporating the x, y, z coordinates associated with these ‘tags’ or deploying a zone-based approach where these coordinates are not available.”

A real-time gas simulation that can incorporate data inputs from gas sensors around the mine and predict the gas concentrations going into areas not equipped with sensors is also being integrated into the software platform as part of expanded control and optimisation functionality. The same can be said about heat simulation, which was introduced last year.

The company is also refining its energy management and control toolkit, building on the energy dashboards it has had in place to visualise energy consumption, energy savings and, more recently, carbon emissions.

“We are implementing a carbon calculator this year that builds on those energy reports,” Dussault explained. “The software will track your emissions, allowing companies to benchmark their consumption and emissions against a plan.”

Later in 2023 and into 2024, the company hopes to put ventilation-focused, artificial intelligence-backed algorithms to work at mine sites, potentially taking the company’s ventilation optimisation abilities to new heights.

This would also coincide with a new web-based interface, introducing BI dashboards and reporting to an already impressive line-up of features.

While all these elements have global applications – and Howden itself is a global player in the ventilation sector – Dussault was keen to emphasise Canada’s influence on the ongoing evolution of Ventsim CONTROL: “Our first full Ventilation on Demand installation projects were in Canada back in 2009 and 2012. The latter, the Newmont Eleonore mine, is still significant for us from a project perspective. They [the mines in Canada] continue to play a vital role in developing the software continuously.”

Orica announces commercial launch of wireless blast initiation solution, WebGen 200 Surface

Explosives and blasting, Mining equipment, Mining services, Sustainable mining, , , , , , , ,

Orica has announced the commercial release of WebGen™ 200 Surface, its latest wireless blast initiation solution tailored to surface mining applications.

Developed based on the success of more than 5,000 WebGen 100 blasts around the world, containing over 150,000 primers, WebGen 200 Surface will change how the industry blasts, resulting in more safer and efficient blasting for customers, according to the company.

The company conducted the first surface blast with WebGen 200 at TerraCom’s Blair Athol coal mine in Queensland, Australia, at the back end of 2022, as part of its Alpha trial program to verifiy and validate product testing in the field. Another trial at a partner customer mine in northern Chile has since followed.

Specifically designed for surface mining applications, WebGen 200 Surface eliminates physical wired connections to a blast or within the blasthole, opening up a whole new range of possibilities, Orica says. It enables customers to optimise their entire mining process from reducing exposure on bench to geological hazards, such as stemming dust, working next to highwalls, reducing vehicle interactions, and removing people from harm’s way.

The WebGen 200 system revolutionises mining operations by enabling customers to carry out operations during the lightning storm season or turning a loaded blast into a temporary haul road with the award-winning blasting method Mine Schedule Flexibility, the company said.

Orica Senior Manager, WebGen Commercialisation, Rhys Patterson, said: “It is the culmination of years of research and development across technology, marketing, commercial, supply and manufacturing teams. We are pleased to announce that WebGen 200 Surface is now commercially available for our customers.”

In addition, the safe passage of mining equipment over loaded blastholes by maintaining parallel mining, and drilling, and loading activities is now a reality, which can significantly increase the vertical advance of surface mines, Orica says. Production delays associated with exclusion zones around loaded blast patterns during lightning storms can also be eliminated using WebGen.

Orica’s global underground customers started the transition to WebGen 200 Underground Pro, with Newmont Borden being the first underground customer reaping the benefits of adopting this technology in late 2022. Engineered to deliver robust safety and reliability, the four variants of WebGen 200 (WebGen 200 Surface, WebGen 200 Surface Pro, WebGen 200 Underground Pro and WebGen 200 Dev) have been built with enhanced capabilities, security, and versatility, ensuring it meets the extreme mining conditions faced by surface and underground customers.

Newmont looks to expand gold production leadership with Newcrest bid

Mining mergers and acquisitions, Precious metals, , ,

Newmont has submitted a non-binding proposal to acquire 100% of Newcrest Mining by way of a scheme of arrangement in a proposed transaction that, it says, would combine two of the sector’s top senior gold producers, and set the standard for sustainable and responsible gold mining.

Newmont’s proposal to combine with Newcrest is on the basis of 0.380 Newmont shares per Newcrest share, which would result in the combined company being 30% owned by Newcrest and 70% owned by Newmont. This $16.9 billion offer is at a 21% premium to the share price of Newcrest prior to the announced bid.

It follows the prior receipt of an indicative, non-binding and conditional proposal from Newmont to acquire Newcrest at an exchange ratio of 0.363 Newmont shares for each Newcrest share, Newcrest said.

Newcrest produced 1.9 Moz of gold and 121,000 t of copper in its 2022 financial year, while Newmont’s 2022 full-year guidance was 6 Moz of attributable gold production.

Newmont, already the world’s biggest gold miner by production, said: “This represents a compelling opportunity for the shareholders of both companies to share in the upside of putting together two complementary businesses.”

Tom Palmer, President and CEO of Newmont, said: “We believe a combination of Newmont and Newcrest presents a powerful value proposition to our respective shareholders, workforce and the communities in which we operate. The proposed transaction would join industry-leading portfolios of assets and projects to create long-term value across the combined global business, and we welcome the consideration of Newcrest’s Board of Directors.”

Newmont’s proposal is subject to certain customary conditions, including due diligence to the satisfaction of both parties, entry into a scheme implementation agreement and a recommendation from the Newcrest Board of Directors that Newcrest shareholders vote in favour of the proposal.

Sustainable mining solutions to meet net-zero targets

Automation, Environmental, Explosives and blasting, Mine ventilation, Mining industry recognition, Mining services, Mining software, Power supply for mines, Sustainable mining, , , , , , , , , , ,

Mining is an essential process that has become even more critical as the world moves towards a greater energy transition. Minerals are a crucial component in clean energy technologies such as electric vehicles, solar panels and batteries, and the demand for these minerals is increasing, Howden’s Livio Salvestro says.*

According to the International Energy Agency, the demand for certain minerals to support the transition is projected to increase more than twentyfold by 2040. Meeting global carbon reduction targets is essential to mitigating the effects of climate change and the mining industry will play a key role in this effort. Mining practices must adapt and evolve to be more environmentally friendly and help decarbonise operations. In line with global efforts to meet the Paris Agreement objective, mining companies are setting targets to reduce their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

A PwC survey of CEOs in 2021 showed 76% of global mining and metals executives were concerned about climate change and environmental damage, up from 57% a year earlier. And 70% of global mining executives said they planned to increase their long-term investments in sustainability and environmental, social and governance (ESG) initiatives.

Challenges in decarbonising the industry

There are several ways mines can reduce their carbon footprint, but moving to a 100% electric mine would represent a transformational shift for underground mine operations where diesel engines have dominated for over 100 years. Underground diesel equipment represents one of the biggest environmental challenges a mine faces. Switching to an electric energy source can significantly impact mines, reducing their ventilation shaft and tunnel sizes; the size of their fans and heating and cooling systems; their carbon footprint; and their capital investment.

Diesel equipment can also represent a significant financial burden within a mine’s ventilation cost footprint, so moving to electric sources while updating ventilation solutions can be highly effective for improving overall environmental credentials. While progress has been made, which will result in future benefits, there are opportunities for the mining industry to reduce energy consumption and emissions through a combination of advanced sustainable technologies, actionable insight into mine operations and automation – solutions that exist today.

Energy efficiency in mining

Digital advancements are enabling the industry to become more efficient, safe and productive by collecting, analysing and implementing data to optimise mine conditions, processes and maintenance decisions. Digital technologies and automation can also be applied to ventilation.

Ventilation is a vital process in a mine’s operation. It is necessary for providing fresher air and, in some instances, cooling the working environment, clearing blast fumes and diluting exhaust fumes and gases generated by mining.

This means it needs to run consistently and reliably, often accounting for substantial operating costs and up to 40-50% of a mine’s total energy consumption. Advanced technology and more efficient ventilation systems can reduce costs and significantly contribute to a mine’s carbon reduction objectives.

Livio Salvestro is Global Mining Team Leader at Howden

The primary goals of ongoing mine ventilation developments are to mitigate environmental impact, as already outlined, by reducing GHG emissions and improving underground air quality. They are also necessary to create efficiency that is sustainable and reliable, so a mine continues to produce energy savings throughout its lifecycle. Optimising overall health and safety models is crucial, which rely on automation for unprecedented operational capabilities.

There are several solutions to support these goals, including electric mine air heating, which provides a simple and safe solution with zero emissions. Through a modular design approach, these systems use industrial grade, Incoloy tubular elements selected for optimal functionality and maintenance.

Optimised ventilation systems are also available to drive energy savings and contribute to net zero commitments. Products like Ventsim™ CONTROL utilise intelligent software that communicates with hardware devices to remotely monitor, control and automate airflow and heating and cooling systems.

Thermal heat recovery can result in operational flexibility and reduced emissions. By employing a system of heat transfer coils, liquid pumping stations and control and automation technology, the mine can generate heat recovery using potential sources like waste heat from mine exhaust air, central boilers, power generators, and compressors or green sources such as geothermal energy.

Ammonia refrigeration systems offer a sustainable solution with no harmful CO2 or HFC emissions. Ammonia is considered the “green refrigerant” and has been used for many years, however, it is now coming into its own with the demands for reducing the footprint of hydrocarbon and HCFC refrigerants that can affect the atmosphere.

Demonstrable ventilation success

Companies like Howden have been successfully supplying these green mine ventilation solutions for years, and the results are clear.

The Oyu Tolgoi mine in Mongolia required a new indirect air heating, ventilation and filtration solution. Howden developed a unique thermal heat recovery solution that included airlock access, pipe work engineering, main and bypass damper, and fan outlet. Howden’s solution can be used as a reference for the remainder of the mine’s development. Each heater house was designed to capture 22 MW of waste heat from the hot water system.

An electric heating system was supplied to a high-grade underground mine in northern British Columbia, Canada. The system included two direct-fired, hybrid M.I.D mine air heaters and enabled the mine’s electric mine air heating system to take advantage of low electricity prices.

Ventilation automation has been a part of several large-scale mine operations for decades and some mines have experienced reductions of more than 50-60% in energy consumption and 11,500 t of CO2 emissions.

The Newmont Éléonore mine in Quebec, Canada, brought in a Ventsim CONTROL system, which included ventilation monitoring stations and the automation of all ventilation equipment. To date, there has been a 43% reduction in mine heating costs, a 56% drop in underground ventilation electricity costs and a 73% decrease in the cost of surface ventilation electricity.

Recognising the proven benefits of Howden’s Ventilation on Demand system, Newmont – Éléonore won the Eureka Prize from Écotech Québec.

As a pioneer, Howden engineered ammonia refrigeration systems in mines during the 1970s. More recently, the company supplied ammonia screw chillers at the Prominent Hill mine in South Australia for OZ Minerals. In partnership with the customer, Howden created solutions that had the highest functionality while supporting their net-zero targets.

As environmental pressure builds, especially on mining companies, now is the time to implement proven solutions to support a cleaner energy future.

*Livio Salvestro is Global Mining Team Leader at Howden

Newmont transitions to Sandvik AutoMine tele-remote ops at Cerro Negro

Automation, Mining equipment, Mining services, Mining software, Precious metals, , , , , , , , , , , ,

Newmont says its Cerro Negro underground operations in Argentina have transitioned to tele-remote mode with the implementation of the Sandvik AutoMine® platform.

The transition, completed last year, is part of Newmont’s Full Potential structured and continuous improvement program that began in 2014. This program has since delivered over $4 billion in value, while serving as Newmont’s key vehicle for reducing costs and boosting productivity across its operating sites and functions.

In the company’s recent September quarter results call, Newmont Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Rob Atkinson, confirmed that Cerro Negro had become the first mine in Argentina to implement the AutoMine system for tele-remote underground loading and hauling.

“The implementation of this technology has eliminated safety risks associated with operator exposure underground, has allowed for the recovery of more ore from each of the stopes, has reduced equipment damage, and, really importantly in the Argentinian context, increased underground working time,” he said.

“We’ve had tremendous success with tele-remote operations at our Australian and Canadian underground mines, and this is yet another example of the value added through the rapid replication of leading practices across our global operations.”

Cerro Negro has three high-grade underground operating mines – Eureka, Mariana Central and Mariana Norte – and two underground deposits being developed, Emilia and San Marcos, as well as five other deposits in late-stage evaluation for development to expand the existing operations in the Marianas Complex and establish operations in the Eastern District.

The extensive Cerro Negro complex has several other deposits and exploration targets, including an open-pit mine known as Vein Zone and one cyanide leach processing facility with Merrill Crowe recovery yielding gold recoveries of 90-97%.

S5 System tapping AI technology to solve mine asset management issues

Automation, Communications in mining, Equipment maintenance, IoT, Mining equipment, Mining safety, Mining services, Mining software, , , , , , , , ,

Australia-based engineering company S5 System says it is out to solve three common mining workplace problems using artificial intelligence-based technology that takes minutes to install, is affordable and offers rapid payback on investment.

The company has produced three OEM-agnostic asset management products and is advancing research and development to expand the application range of its specialised monitors, sensors and control devices.

S5 System Founder and CEO, Davoud Nassehi (pictured at the recent IMARC event), says the company’s current focus is on growing awareness of three market-ready products – BoltTight, which monitors the tightness of bolted joints; WearMon, wear liners with real-time monitoring; and GETsmart, a ground engaging tool (GET) dislodgement detection system.

They are currently being used on Western Australia mine sites by the likes of Newmont and Mineral Resources Ltd.

Nassehi says he saw an urgent need for the products in his time working in the mining and telecommunications industries.

“Knowing that industries are going to Industry 4.0, I wanted to help them transition from Industry 3.0 and increase the available insights into machinery, plant and feed processes with more realistic data to use in later lifecycle stages,” he said.

“It makes the workplace safer, more secure and more agile, and saves money by allowing users to know what’s happening in their systems, through monitoring and all the good things that are becoming possible by using IoT.”

The wireless products can be fitted to any equipment brand, are suitable for the harshest mining environments and don’t rely on cameras to provide feedback, according to S5. Installation is not dependent on existing infrastructure, Nassehi added.

“They are plug-and-play products,” he said. “They require zero maintenance, are self-diagnostic and the batteries don’t need to be replaced for years.”

BoltTight uses patented technology to constantly monitor the compression force in bolted joints. The washers are designed in standard metric and imperial sizes, and send data using ZigBee wireless technology to a hub that collects data from all the nearby washers and transfers it to the server for analysis, monitoring and data storage purposes.

Any critical failure can be detected, and a real-time audio-visual alarms notify the operation and maintenance team of the exact location of the failed bolt in the plant’s 3D models, according to the company.

“Currently, in the market, there are very few bolted-connection intelligent solutions,” Nassehi said. “Some use ultrasonic or other non-destructive test tools, which are expensive and require manually checking every joint by experienced technicians. There are smart bolt options attempted in the market, however, embedding electronics inside a bolt compromises its specification and integrity.”

“Miners have been looking for a reliable way of detecting GET failures and locating failed parts for years”

Having experienced first-hand the expensive and time-consuming job of replacing wear liners in equipment such as mills, crushers, feeders and transfer chutes, Nassehi conceived the WearMon system.

The non-invasive online condition monitoring system can be directly installed on any type of mining plant liner material such as rubber, metallic, ceramic, polyurethane and polyethylene, it claims. Via battery-powered wireless wear sensors on one of the bolts, it offers accurate real-time and historical wear data; machine learning; predictive, condition-based maintenance; suggested shutdown planning information; accurate inventory requirements; and service forecasts, Nassehi says.

“This system continuously monitors the remaining thickness at each sensor location and reports to the server,” he said. “Information then is processed on the sever and forms a basis to predict the remaining life. If the next scheduled maintenance state is pre-set, then the shutdown date can be entered directly into the software and, if there is a planned shutdown date entered into system then the software algorithm will determine which liners will need to be changed out and predict the number and location of the required material accordingly.

“Alternatively, if maintenance dates are flexible, the system generates predictions with accurate estimate of the serviceable life of the liners and suggests a replacement date.”

S5’s GETsmart system also has sensors at its foundation. They are inserted into a shovel’s GET and shrouds, and connect wirelessly to the in-cab monitor, which actively scans all sensors. When it detects a tooth break, a real-time audio-visual alarm notifies the operator and they can remotely stop the downstream crusher.

Nassehi said unlike competitor options, the GETsmart system doesn’t rely on cameras – which can get dirty very quickly in a mining environment and so impair visibility – for feedback.

“Estimated to cost the mining industry between 1-5% of total production each year, broken GET are a massive global problem for the mining industry,” he said. “Miners have been looking for a reliable way of detecting GET failures and locating failed parts for years.”

Newmont hits 100 Mt automation milestone using Cat Command for hauling at Boddington

Automation, Mine operation news, Mining equipment, Mining software, Precious metals, , , , , , , , ,

Western Australia’s largest gold mine, Boddington, has surpassed the 100 Mt milestone for material safely hauled using Cat® MineStar™ Command for hauling with the gold industry’s first autonomous haulage system (AHS) fleet, the OEM says.

Boddington, a deep open-pit surface mine owned by Newmont, delivered 696,000 oz of gold and 163,000 gold-equivalent ounces in 2021.

The mine’s fleet today includes 36 Cat 793F autonomous and four 793D staffed mining trucks to haul material, and the conversion to AHS was one of the fastest in the industry, spanning approximately seven months to roll out all 36 trucks equipped with Command, according to Caterpillar.

Newmont invested $150 million in its autonomous haulage project with goals to improve mine safety and productivity, while extending the life of the mine. The first 231-t Cat 793F was converted to autonomous operation in March 2021. A total of seven trucks from Newmont’s existing fleet were retrofitted with Command for hauling, while 29 trucks were new models.

In October 2021, the last of the 36 autonomous trucks went into operation at the mine, with the mine reaching the 100 Mt of material autonomously hauled benchmark by the end of October 2022.

Kosie Bolton, Technology Site Manager for Caterpillar, said: “The time period between rollout of the mine’s first autonomous 793F truck to full conversion of the mine’s autonomous fleet to achieving 100 Mt autonomously hauled was incredibly short. This is a true testament of the great teamwork between Boddington’s talented and dedicated workforce, Cat dealer WesTrac and Caterpillar. The supporting AHS projects will help to improve data understanding and drive operational excellence through data utilisation.”

Including the autonomous trucks, equipment equipped with MineStar Terrain, and site autonomous vehicles and trucks, the mine has 200 connected assets. An entirely new AHS intelligence office, where all the autonomous trucks and connected assets can be viewed and collected data analysed, was also completed and dedicated in October 2022. The new workspace brings together all AHS team members in a single space with tiered seating and screens at the front of the room, Caterpillar says.

James Earl, AHS Control Room Superintendent for the Newmont Boddington Mine, said: “Having everyone together in the new office allows us to post issues on the screens in front of all workers to quickly address them together. We are extremely proud to deliver the gold industry’s first autonomous haul truck fleet at Boddington. This will help extend the mine’s life, reduce safety risks and lower costs. The project’s record implementation is just another example of Newmont’s trademark ability to set and achieve ambitious goals.”

On top of this milestone, Caterpillar and Newmont agreed in November 2021 to collaborate on a number of mining technology initiatives that provide industry leading outcomes for safety, productivity, sustainability and cost.

Newmont Porcupine racing towards start up of state-of-the-art water treatment plant

Environmental, Mine operation news, Mining services, Precious metals, Sustainable mining, Water management, , , , , , , , ,

Newmont’s Porcupine mine has hoted Ontario Premier, Doug Ford, on site, alongside members of his cabinet, to announce its new state-of-the-art water treatment plant at the Canadian mine.

Throughout 2021 and 2022, Newmont made a $160 million investment into the new plant, which will benefit the entire ecosystem and surrounding watershed through the collection, treatment and return of impacted water. Provincially, this plant will have among the lowest effluent discharge limits within the mining sector, the company claims.

The investment, Newmont says, demonstrates how industrial and environmental interests can be aligned, and is a strong example of the company’s commitment to sustainable and responsible mining.

Newmont anticipates that construction of the plant will be completed before year end and begin discharging in 2023. Once operational, the plant will return up to 13 million cu.m of treated clean water to the Mattagami, Frederickhouse and Upper Kapuskasing watersheds.

The company said: “After more than a century of mining in Timmins, the next phase of operations at Porcupine is an opportunity to support regreening the region, significantly improve site water management and support the local watersheds while maintaining employment and economic benefits for Northern Ontario communities, local First Nations and the government.”

Since 1910, the historic Porcupine mining district has produced more than 67 Moz of gold, with the modern Porcupine mine being the largest employer in Timmins, with more than 1,200 employees and contractors, the company says.

Dawid Pretorius, General Manager for Newmont Porcupine, said: “Investments like the new water treatment plant that we are announcing today are only made possible by the steadfast commitments of our employees, all levels of government and our Indigenous communities and partners. I would like to thank all involved for their dedication to upholding our reputation as an industry leader in safe, sustainable and responsible mining.”