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PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Gold major Newcrest Mining has reported a drop in both production and revenue for the full year ended June, compared with the 2021 figures.
Gold production for the full year reached 1.95-million ounces, down from the 2.09-million ounces in 2021, while copper production declined from 142 724 t to 120 650 t in the same period, owing to lower production volumes at Cadia, following the planned replacement and upgrade of the semi-autogenous grinding mill motor, and lower production at Lihir, reflecting the impact of major maintenance activity, lower autoclave availabilities and unplanned downtime.
As a result, revenue for the full year fell from $4.57-milion to $4.2-million, while earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation declined from $2.4-million to $2.05-million, with the gold price remaining stable at $1 797/oz, compared with the $1 796/oz in 2021.
All-in sustaining costs (AISC) for the 2022 financial year reached $1 043/oz, compared with the $911/oz in 2021.
Newcrest MD and CEO Sandeep Biswas said that Newcrest has delivered a strong performance in 2022 with its operations producing just under two-million ounces of gold.
“We were particularly pleased with our costs trending lower in the second half of the year, with Cadia achieving its lowest ever annual AISC of negative $124/oz. Our balance sheet has also remained extremely robust with significant liquidity available to support our growth aspirations.
“Works have continued to advance across our global organic growth portfolio, with Cadia, Red Chris, Havieron and Lihir all expected to reach key study milestones throughout 2023. Our track record of exploration success has also continued at Brucejack, Red Chris and Havieron, with strong drilling results supporting our view of significant resource growth potential,” said Biswas.
“We are very pleased to have a substantial and increasing exposure to copper, a critical metal of the future with a positive long-term outlook that will allow us to participate in the potential opportunities presented by a global shift to decarbonisation.
“In March 2022, we completed the acquisition of Pretium Resources, adding the high-grade Brucejack mine to our quality portfolio. We are now the leading gold miner in the Tier 1 jurisdiction of British Columbia, with global exposure to six Tier 1 orebodies and a significant long-life advantage compared to our peers. Brucejack has generated immediate production and cash flows for the group and our three-phase transformation programme has already made exciting progress with a number of initiatives underway to maximise the long-term potential of this asset and district.”
“We remain relentlessly focused on the safety and wellbeing of our workforce and the local communities in which we operate. Pleasingly, we are now nearly seven years free of fatalities, which is a credit to our people and testament to how far safety is embedded into our culture. We continue to make inroads into building a high-performing, inclusive and psychologically safe workplace, and remain steadfastly focused on eliminating sexual assault and sexual harassment in our workplace,” said Biswas.
“We’ve also continued to progress our sustainability agenda through the development of our group net zero emissions roadmap, which will outline the pathway for Newcrest to deliver its goal of net zero carbon emissions by 2050. We are particularly proud of the care we have provided to many communities through the Newcrest community support fund and have a significant opportunity to drive strategic social investments with the recently established Newcrest Sustainability Fund.”
Looking ahead to 2023, Newcrest is expecting group gold production to reach between 2.1-million and 2.4-million ounces, with copper production to reach between 135 000 t and 155 000 t, while AISC are targeted between $2 100/oz and $2 400/oz.