Paddy their u go!!12 Nov 2019 16:15
Newcrest Mining managing director Sandeep Biswas says the company could cash in on new discoveries in Western Australia’s mineral exploration hot spot in the Pilbara by opening its giant Telfer mill to discoveries by smaller players
Speaking on the sidelines of Newcrest’s annual shareholder meeting in Melbourne on Tuesday, Mr Biswas said the company was drilling as fast as it could at its Havieron project, which it is farming in from London-listed Greatland Gold, but it would take nine to 12 months before it could declare an initial resource at the promising project
If Havieron lives up to its promise the discovery is tipped to extend the life of Newcrest’s ageing Telfer mine, which has struggled with high mining costs and falling grades as it moves towards the late stages of its life
While a decision on whether to mine Havieron is some way away, the Newcrest boss said the company had already been approached by the group of exploration juniors that rushed into the surrounding province in 2017 amid speculation Rio Tinto’s exploration team had made a big new discovery in the region
Rio is also still drilling out its own discovery, dubbed Winu
But Mr Sandeep said Newcrest was planning for the possibility Telfer’s massive mill, licensed to process 24 million tonnes of ore a year and the only major plant in the remote region, could be used to treat ore discovered by smaller explorers
“There’s a lot regional players within trucking distance of Telfer that realise that, not only is the prospectivity of the Paterson increased, but that Telfer infrastructure may be a pathway to them realising their mine quicker than they otherwise would because they don’t need to construct a concentrator — they just have to come and talk to Newcrest,”
Mr Biswas played down the prospect of a deal with Rio, however, suggesting the 120km distance to the Winu discovery may put it out of trucking range