Gold production at the Cadia mine was down 19 per cent in the first three months of the year, its March quarterly report has revealed.
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The report said the downturn, compared to the previous three months, was largely due to planned shutdowns of its concentrators and underground mining infrastructure and equipment.
Gold production of about 195,000 ounces was down from 239,000 in the previous quarter while copper production of about 23,000 tonnes was down from 26,000.
Newcrest managing director and CEO Sandeep Biswas said gold production was expected to be higher in the next quarter.
Cadia has not experienced any COVID-19 related disruptions to the supply of goods or services or its workforce.
- Sandeep Biswas, managing director Newcrest
Mr Biswas also said repair work to the mine's tailings dam wall which collapsed in 2018 was likely to cost less than $100 million.
He said three plans for repairing the wall were being considered.
"The Northern Tailings Storage Facility repair concept study estimated costs for all 'go forward' options are below $100 million," he said. Mr Biswas said a pre-feasibility study was underway and was due to be completed early next year with the work forecast for completion in 2022.
He said Cadia had also implemented water saving strategies to protect production from the drought.
"If rainfall is at or above the tenth percentile of historical levels for the rest of the 2020 calendar year then production is not expected to be impacted," he said.
"Recent rainfall and water capture efforts have had a positive impact on Cadia's projected water balance."
However, Mr Biswas said if rainfall did not exceed levels of the past two years Cadia production "may be impacted" early next year.
He also reported the company had "temporarily postponed" plans to build a solar power plant on the site but was working with outside providers to supply long-term renewable energy.
Mr Biswas said the company was maintaining a high level of measures to prevent the spread of coronavirus at its plants.
"At this point in time I am pleased to confirm that we have not had a positive case of COVID-19 at any of our operations, projects or corporate offices," he said.
"To date, Cadia has not experienced any COVID-19 related disruptions to the supply of goods or services or its workforce."
Mr Biswas said Newcrest had obtained 55,000 Covid-19 rapid detection kits which would be deployed to its various operations.
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David Fitzsimons
I am a senior journalist at the Central Western Daily concentrating on council, government and real estate issues. Before moving to Orange I filled senior roles at the Daily Telegraph, Daily Telegraph-Mirror and the Daily Mirror in Sydney. They included being an editor, news editor, chief of staff and reporter.
I am a senior journalist at the Central Western Daily concentrating on council, government and real estate issues. Before moving to Orange I filled senior roles at the Daily Telegraph, Daily Telegraph-Mirror and the Daily Mirror in Sydney. They included being an editor, news editor, chief of staff and reporter.
