Newmont plans fourth mill at Carlin area properties

Construction of a fourth mill at Newmont Gold’s Carlin area properties in Nevada will cost the company about $61 million(US). The plant, which is part of a $420-million expansion program announced last year, will be rated at 4,500 tons per day, according to Newmont.

Plant commissioning was originally scheduled for January, 1989, but the discovery of high grade mineralization nearby in the deeper zones of the Post deposit delayed construction work. The postponement allowed additional drilling to be completed in the Post area to determine whether optimization of the new reserves was possible.

However, no near-term change was warranted by the drilling but Newmont confirms “the eventual scale of activity at Post will remain under separate careful study by Newmont Gold as drilling continues in the entire North area.”

Newmont has also revised its near-term schedule for start-up and gold output from the new facilities in the expansion program. “During the first five months of 1988 we have had commissioning delays — largely the fault of vendors and contractors,” notes T. Peter Philip, president and chief executive officer.

“Although we have initiated a program to partially compensate for the start-up difficulties, we recognize now that we will not reach our projected rate of production until the fourth quarter of this year,” he admits.

“This will put total 1988 output in the range of 830,000 oz, compared with 589,000 oz in 1987 and 926,000 oz in our previous plan for 1988.”

Philip says that 1989 gold production will reflect the impact of Newmont’s decision to delay completion of mill No 4 by approximately six months because of the deep Post discoveries. As a result, 1989 gold production will be about 8% lower than previously announced. When the new mill is completed, output should reach the planned level of 1.6 million oz in 1991.

Newmont recently announced geologic reserves of 30.9 million oz, including 15 million oz classified as proven and probable at the end of 1987. The company is 90% owned by Newmont Mining Corp.