Greatland Gold lays out two-year plan for Telfer to bridge output gap

Staff Writer | April 16, 2025 | 9:53 am Exploration Australia Gold

Newcrest Mining commits $182 million to expand Telfer

Telfer’s open pit mines have neared end of life, triggering concerns about the financial sustainability of its processing facility. (Image courtesy of Newcrest Mining. )

Australia’s Greatland Gold (AIM: GGP) is envisioning annual gold production of 280,000-320,000 oz. over the next two fiscal years from the Telfer mine, which it bought from Newmont (TSX: NGT) last fall.

This production target, Greatland says, is based on inventory from the currently active West Dome open pit and Main Dome underground as well as run-of-mine and low-grade stockpiles.

The company says it bridges the previously perceived ‘gap’ before the Havieron mine, which it consolidated from Newmont in the same transaction, when it enters production in fiscal 2028.

According to Greatland, the two-year plan for Telfer is expected to be further refined as it continues to progress and evaluate Telfer opportunities, with drilling ongoing to upgrade resources into higher-confidence categories.

The company estimates that about 20% of the inventory are inferred resources and unclassified mineralization from exploration targets.

Greatland says it is confident of making the conversion to measured and indicated categories, highlighting Telfer mine’s long operating history (40+ years) and the amount of drilling completed, and anticipates further growth beyond FY2027 by extending the open pit and underground deposits.

“When we acquired Telfer, we set out an initial mine plan of 15 months together with a number of opportunities we had identified during acquisition due diligence to extend that plan,” Greatland’s managing director Shaun Day said in a press release.

“After only five months since the acquisition, this initial updated Telfer outlook already provides for a substantial 18-month extension of dual train processing at Telfer through FY27,” he added.

In the March 2025 quarter, the Telfer mine produced 90,000 oz. of gold.

Haverion integration

Beginning in FY28, the Havieron project is expected to begin production and be integrated with Telfer, which Greatland management believes will result in a step change cost reduction and sustained higher volume production.

The Havieron deposit currently has estimated reserves of 25 million at 3 grams per tonne gold to support 221,000 oz. of annual production over its first 15 years. This is based on a steady state mining throughput rate of 2.8 million tonnes per annum, which the company is looking to expand to 4-4.5 million tonnes.

A feasibility study is underway to assess the Havieron expansion, anticipated to be completed in the second half of 2025.