THE second earthquake this year was far less costly for Cadia Valley Operations (CVO), with underground personnel able to return to work just hours after the weekend’s early morning tremors.
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A 3.5 magnitude earthquake hit just south-west of the mine site at about 2.33am on Sunday. It lasted only seconds at a depth of 10 kilometres.
Geoscience Australia estimated it could be felt up to 38 kilometres away.
CVO general manager Peter Sharpe said the seismic event occurred in the vicinity of the underground mine.
“In accordance with procedures, all personnel were evacuated safely from the underground operations for precautionary purposes,” he said.
Mr Sharpe confirmed no injuries were recorded and there appeared to be no impact on mine infrastructure.
At 1pm on Sunday, CVO confirmed no ground supports had been compromised and the mine had been reopened, with mining to restart by the end of the day shift.
Surface operations had not been affected and they continued to process ore while mining and geotechnical engineers assessed the situation underground.
It was the second earthquake to hit this year, after a 4.3 magnitude quake hit on Good Friday, four kilometres west of the mine.
The quake caused an estimated $33 million in damage to conveyor belts and crushing machines at the Cadia East mine.
Production halted for two months and the mine did not meet its production target, but Newcrest Mining still made a profit of $308 million.