Newmont declares commercial production at Twin Creeks underground project

An underground mining operation in the United States has officially entered into commercial production, both on time and under budget.

Newmont Mining announced in a statement this week that it had achieved commercial production at its Twin Creeks Underground expansion project at its Twin Creeks operation in Nevada.

The project was completed on schedule and at a cost of $42 million, which falls below an initial guidance of between $45 and $55 million.

The underground mine will add around 30,000 to 40,000 oz of gold production per year over its first five years of production.

Related stories:

Newmont Mining expands global footprint with Australian Ernest Giles gold project

Newmont Mining Corporation: The growth of mining in Ghana

Indonesian group to invest $2.6 billion in Newmont copper-gold company

Newmont will process ore from the underground mine that would historically be dismissed as waste, which in turn will extend the processing life to 2030.

“The expansion extends profitable production and improves recoveries at Twin Creeks, and serves as a platform to further explore the deposit, which remains open along strike and at depth,” said Gary Goldberg, President and Chief Executive Officer. “This project marks the sixth that Newmont has completed on or ahead of schedule and at or below budget over the last five years, and generates an internal rate of return of about 20 percent.”

Newmont owns or controls approximately 2.6 million acres in Nevada and its operations account for approximately one-third of Newmont's worldwide gold production.