Tanami gold mine expansion in NT to get underway

Newmont Goldcorp has announced that it will push through with the second expansion of the Tanami gold mine in the Northern Territory which will extend Tanami’s mine life to 2040 as well as open opportunities for further exploration and development of the mine.

“The approval of our second expansion project at Tanami in Australia will further improve costs and extend the life of this world class mine in a core Newmont Goldcorp jurisdiction.

“Building on the success of the first expansion completed in 2017, Tanami Expansion 2 will provide a platform to further explore the area’s prolific mineral endowment and potentially extend the operation’s mine life beyond 2040. The Tanami district and Australia as a whole continue to offer significant value generating opportunities for our shareholders,” Newmont Goldcorp President and Chief Executive Officer Tom Palmer said.

The expansion is anchored on the expansive Auron deposit - discovered in 2008 - and will be located beneath the existing Callie orebody.

The Tanami Expansion 2 will include the construction of a 1,460-metre shaft, additional capacity in the processing plant and delivery of supporting infrastructure that will enable profitable recovery of ore from depths of up to 2,140 metres below the surface.

The Tanami mine is located approximately 540 kilometres north west of Alice Springs on the Warlpiri-owned Aboriginal freehold land. The mine has been in operation since 1986 and it has produced over 10 million ounces of gold, with record production of 505,000 ounces in 2018.

“This announcement from Newmont Goldcorp is a further vote of confidence in the Northern Territory economy.

“Safely and successfully expanding Tanami operations is good for confidence in investment, good for jobs and good for the economy,” Minister for Primary Industry and Resources Paul Kirby said.

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Source: Newmont Goldcorp; Business Wire; Australian Mining; Northern Territory Government Newsroom