Newcrest Mining has added the Tier 1 Brucejack gold mine in Canada to its portfolio after completing its acquisition of Pretium Resources.
Brucejack is considered one of the highest-grade operating gold mines in the world which at March 2020 boasted an estimated production capacity of approximately 311,000 ounces per annum over a projected 13-year mine life.
The mine is expected to produce between 95,000 and 115,000 ounces of gold during Newcrest’s ownership in the 2022 financial year (FY22). The company will outline Brucejack’s all-in sustaining cost (AISC), capital and exploration spend for FY22 in its March quarterly report.
To coincide with the announcement, Newcrest has revealed transformation plans for Brucejack which involves three phases: optimise, unlock and grow.
Under ‘optimise’, Newcrest will look to evolve the safety of the operation by implementing its NewSafe program and critical control management (CCM) program for high-risk tasks. Phase one will also see the company adopt the latest technologies at Brucejack, including the deployment of semi-autonomous and autonomous remote capabilities.
As part of the ‘unlock’ phase, Newcrest will focus on uplifting Brucejack by increasing mill throughput capacity and improving mining performance. The company will also aim to increase the process plant capacity from 3800 tonnes per day to between 4500 to 5000 tonnes per day.
The ‘grow’ phase will involve near mine and extensional drilling to take advantage of Brucejack’s exploration potential. Newcrest plans to implement an aggressive drilling program across the next several years with approximately 200,000 metres to be completed by the end of 2022.
Newcrest managing director and chief executive officer Sandeep Biswas said the addition of Brucejack solidifies the company’s portfolio for the next decade at least.
“Through this acquisition and the continued development of our outstanding organic growth pipeline, Newcrest’s base case gold production is expected to remain strong until at least 2030, and we have a range of further upside opportunities being progressed across the portfolio,” he said.
“This production profile is also expected to drive a major reduction in AISC, which makes Newcrest unique in the industry.”
Biswas highlighted Brucejack’s upside potential, with Newcrest eager to position it as a mine for the future.
“In parallel, our exploration team will be progressing an extensive drilling campaign across the Brucejack mineral claims which make up one of the largest epithermal footprints we have ever seen,” he said.
“The land package is largely unexplored and very early in its life, and we see significant upside potential beyond (the) Valley of the Kings and Golden Marmot (prospects).”