Name of the Project
Cadia East gold/copper mine rehabilitation and upgrade project.
Location
New South Wales, Australia.
Client
Newcrest Mining.
Project Description
Cadia East was placed under a prohibition notice on April 14, prohibiting the miner from extracting ore from its Panel Cave (PC) 1 and 2.
Damage to the mine infrastructure was minimal; however, Newcrest plans to undertake a project to increase the dynamic ground support capacity around known fault structures and rehabilitate ground support in areas impacted on by the seismic event.
Work to restore PC2 to production has been prioritised, while the remainder of the ground support upgrades are completed at PC1 and other areas of the mine.
Potential Job Creation
Not stated.
Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
Not stated.
Value
A$25-million.
Duration
Subject to the lifting of the prohibition notice, PC1 and 2 will restart operations in the first quarter of 2018.
Latest Developments
Processing operations at the Cadia gold mine have resumed.
Newcrest progressively suspended operations at the Cadia East operations in March, following a limited breakthrough of tailings material at the northern tailings facility.
Mining operations at Cadia were restarted at the end of March.
The gold major has reported that tailings from the Cadia operation are being deposited into the southern tailings facility, with the processing facilities currently running at a rate of about eight-million tonnes a year, owing to limitations in infrastructure at the southern tailings facility.
Work is continuing on evaluating the cause of the northern tailings facility embankment slump, with a prohibition notice on depositing tailings in this facility remaining in place.
Meanwhile, mining from PC 1 is being conducted at a rate of 11-million tonnes a year, with test and response production from PC 2 also having started.
Full mining rates are expected to be reached within the coming weeks.
Key Contracts and Suppliers
None stated.
On Budget and on Time?
Too early to state.
Contact Details for Project Information
Newcrest Mining, tel +61 3 9522 5333, fax +61 3 9525 2996 or email corporateaffairs@newcrest.com.au.