An Australian magnitude earthquake of 4.5MLa that shook the New South Wales Central West region on 14 April caused damage to the Cadia mine, owner Newmont said, but all of its employees remained safe.
In an update on the event it shared on 16 April, the producer said it is still assessing Cadia, and inspections indicate that damage is present in certain underground areas. However, that damage is not significant, it noted.
“Processing operations have been steadily ramped up and are returning to normal throughput,” officials said.
“All surface infrastructure, including tailings facilities and dams, were inspected immediately after the earthquake and no damage has been identified at this time.”
Based on current assessments, near-term production is not expected to be impacted.
Assessment work underground continues to determine the full recovery timeline and if there will be a longer-term impact to production, the company also said.
It stressed that the safety and wellbeing of its workforce remain priority, and all safety protocols were activated immediately at the time of the event. Underground personnel moved to designated safe areas, and all workers safely returned to the surface over the following hours in accordance with our protocols. There were no injuries.
Newmont Cadia is one of Australia’s largest gold and copper mining operations, located approximately 25 kilometres from Orange in central West New South Wales and 250 km west of Sydney.
The site comprises the operational Cadia East underground mine, one of the world’s largest gold and copper deposits, which commenced commercial production in 2013 using large-scale panel caving methods. The Ridgeway mine remains in care and maintenance, while the Cadia Hill Pit supports tailings storage.
Source: Newmont.com