KALGOORLIE (miningweekly.com) – Gold major Newcrest Mining has used the Diggers & Dealers conference, in Kalgoorlie, to hunt for new exploration opportunities.
Speaking on the first day of the conference, GM for exploration Fraser MacCorquodale said that the company was looking for more gold opportunities in Australia and was using the conference to hunt for potential partners.
“Exploration is a team sport, it’s not just something that one company can do on its own,” MacCorquodale said, noting that Newcrest would bring more than 40 years of exploration experience to a partnership and could offer a flexible approach in terms of transaction structure.
He also noted that the gold miner was agile and was able to quickly complete a transaction and start exploration.
MacCorquodale said that Newcrest was hoping to joint venture (JV) on the next potential Havieron, a current JV with Greatland Gold, in which Newcrest currently holds a 70% interest. The company is expected to take a decision shortly on acquiring a further 5% interest in Havieron for A$60-million.
A previously completed prefeasibility study (PFS) estimated that the project would require a capital investment of A$529-million and could produce 160 000 oz/y of gold and 6 900 t/y of copper, over an initial mine life of nine years.
The PFS estimated an internal rate of return of 16% and a net present value of A$304-million, with a pay-back period of four years from first commercial production.