Newmont looks to Ghana for next new gold mines
Newmont Mining Corp sees projects in Ghana and Peru as leading priorities to develop, Chief Executive Officer Richard O'Brien said on Thursday. “I tell you that Akyem and Conga obviously are the two that rank at the very top for us,” he told Wall Street analysts during a discussion of Newmont's third-quarter results.
“I think both of them provide nice economic returns for the company, even at lower gold prices,” O'Brien said when asked to rank the company's exploration projects.
Akyem, in Ghana, has been subject to a thorough environmental impact study, public consultation and independent review over the last five years and is now in the permitting process with the Accra government.
Conga, a gold/copper project, is located near Newmont's existing Yanacocha gold mine in the Peruvian Andes.
“I think we're generating community support because of the good practices we've had in both of those districts,” O'Brien said.
“So I think both of those projects rate right up at the top for us and I would say it's really a race for us to get the necessary approvals to begin development of those projects.”
Last month, O'Brien told Reuters that Newmont, the world's second-largest gold producer, was focused on developing projects that would still be profitable if the price of the metal fell below current highs over $1,000 per ounce.
Indeed, the company said its doubling of third-quarter profit resulted from not only high gold prices but also a big reduction in mining costs.
Boddington, in Western Australia, just produced its first gold and Newmont is ramping-up operations toward full commercial production in the fourth quarter.
Another gold project Newmont is looking at is Hope Bay in northern Canada, said Guy Lansdown, a vice present for discovery and development .
“We continue to evaluate our options,” he said. “Now that we've got ourselves well established in the area with infrastructure, we will continue to explore,” he said of the resource with an estimated 4 million to 9 million ounces.
The company is also looking at 18 projects in Nevada where it could potentially add 7 million ounces of new reserves.
“Some of the bigger projects that are out there are Gold Quarry, West Wall, which we're drilling as we speak,” said Lansdown.
“Turf is a very exciting one…Immigrant is another one of the bigger ones and then there are a number of expansions to and new underground operations and pits.
“What's exciting for us is the opportunity to bring them into production in the near term.