Newcrest’s gold output rises despite slowing mining rate at Cadia

That was despite Newcrest minimizing mining rates at Cadia after the environmental regulator in New South Wales, where the mine is located, warned it could suspend the mine’s operating license due to extremely high levels of dust from its primary vent.

“Adjustments were implemented underground, including a reduction in mining rates, modifications to the ventilation circuit and the installation of additional dust sprays and spray curtains,” the miner said.

Newcrest said a human health risk assessment report, the last independent report in its suite of testing, on the overall air quality in the district is due in September.

“Newcrest will process stockpiles along with its reduced ore production while it tries to resolve the issue at Cadia, which is currently scheduled for late calendar 2023,” said Jon Mills, an analyst at Morningstar.

Shares of Newcrest, currently the subject of a A$26.2 billion ($17.65 billion) takeover offer from Newmont Corp, finished 0.1% higher at A$26.5.

The gold miner, which is produced 556.2 kilo ounces (koz) of the yellow metal in the three months ended June 30, below the consensus estimate of 584 koz determined by research firm Visible Alpha.

For the full-year, gold output rose 7.6% to 2.11 million ounces (Moz).

The miner’s all-in sustaining costs rose to $1,196 per ounce in the fourth quarter, from $999 in the previous quarter.

($1 = 1.4841 Australian dollars)

(By Echha Jain, Rishav Chatterjee and Ayushman Ojha; Editing by Devika Syamnath and Savio D’Souza)