At US$52.38 per share, Newmont Mining (NEM-N) is trading within US$1.50 of its 52-week peak of US$53.81, on news that its Boddington operation in Western Australia has achieved commercial production and should reach full production in 2010.
At full capacity, the open-pit mine, 130 km southeast of Perth, will be Australia’s largest gold mine. Production is forecast to be about 1 million ounces of gold annually for the first full five years, with costs applicable to sales of about US$300 per oz. (including copper credits).
The Boddington deposit lies within the Saddleback Greenstone Belt, a fault bounded sliver of Achaean volcanic and shallow level intrusive rocks, surrounded by granitic and gneissic rocks.
Total reserves were 20.1 million ounces of gold in 2008, which should result in a mine life of more than 24 years.
The Boddington start-up commenced in July 2009, with first concentrate produced in September 2009.
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