PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Gold miner Newcrest Mining has reached an agreement with Aim- and TSX-listed Altus Strategies and privately held AlphaStream to sell sell a portfolio of 24 royalties.

Newcrest will receive total cash consideration of $37.5-million from Altus and AlphaStream payable upon completion of the transaction.

The gold miner said on Tuesday that completion of the transaction would occur in two phases due to rights of first refusal on select Australia exploration royalties.

“We remain focused on capital discipline across our whole business and see the sale of these royalties as an opportunity to unlock value for Newcrest shareholders in response to continued competition for royalty investments,”  Newcrest MD and CEO Sandeep Biswas said.

The transaction remains subject to Altus financing.

Meanwhile, Newcrest on Tuesday also received approval from the New South Wales Department of Planning, Industry & Environment (DPIE) for a modification to increase the permitted processing capacity of Cadia from 32-million tonnes a year to 35-million tonnes a year.

The Newcrest board previously approved progression to execution of a two-stage expansion of Cadia, including an increase in plant capacity to 35-million tonnes a year. Execution of the works for both stages of the expansion are currently in progress, with completion expected in the September quarter of calendar year 2022.

The modification also provides approval for Newcrest to repair the slumped section of the Northern tailings storage facility (NTSF) at Cadia and revise the footprint of the NTSF and southern tailings storage facility to allow for a change from an upstream to a centreline lift design.

The modification is subject to conditions including Newcrest commissioning an independent audit report to the satisfaction of the DPIE Secretary in relation to Newcrest’s approach to managing and minimising the off-site air quality impacts of the project.

The Newcrest board approved gating of the NTSF embankment remediation to feasibility study in July 2021. Detailed design work on a single design option is currently in progress, with execution expected to cost less than A$100-million.