Name of the Project
Cadia East 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.
Jobs to Be Created
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
Newcrest Mining has restarted mining at the Cadia East operation, following a limited breakthrough of tailings material earlier this month.
Newcrest progressively suspended all mining operations at the Cadia mine on March 10 to allow site management to focus on the evaluation of the event and on remediation plans.
Mining will initially be undertaken from PC 1, and then progressively restart from PC 2. Mined ore will be stockpiled at surface until processing restarts.
Processing remains suspended, with work being undertaken on multiple recovery scenarios, including alternative tailings locations such as the old Cadia Hill openpit.
Newcrest is also working with the regulators on the permitting of the Cadia Hill openpit tailings option, and has started the procurement of some of the necessary equipment to allow for this possibility to be used if approved.
A prohibition notice issued on depositing tailings in the northern tailings facility remains in place.
The suspension of mining at Cadia is expected to have an adverse impact on the company’s financial results.
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.