Newcrest pioneers Cadia processing technology

The company has refined advanced flotation techniques and introduced this on a large scale at the Cadia mine.

Speaking at the Melbourne Mining Club, Newcrest managing director and chief executive Sandeep Biswas said this had helped the company improve ore recoveries at much lower processing energy intensities.

Newcrest hopes to become carbon neutral at the Cadia mine in the coming years, according to Biswas.

“We have already moved towards renewable sources, in this case wind, for 40 per cent of our energy requirements from 2024 once this wind farm has been built,” Biswas said.

“Through our own efforts and through the general decarbonisation of the grid, it is realistic to aspire for Cadia to have minimal to zero power input from carbon sources.

“If we bring in the technology advancements in electric vehicles, battery storage and other technologies, we can see a way to bring on-site emissions to zero or close to it.”

Biswas said these technologies would allow the company to eliminate diesel particulates underground, and reduce energy intensity and the cost of ventilation.

“I am pleased to point out just how fundamental the principle of sustainability is to our future,” Biswas said.

“It ties to our newly defined purpose: To create a brighter future for people through safe and responsible mining.”

Biswas recounted how Newcrest had recovered from disputes with local landowners at the Lihir mine in Papua New Guinea.

“Over the past seven years, and it has been a long process, we have worked on rebuilding relationships with government and community stakeholders (at the Lihir mine),” he said.

“We have not had a community disruption to the operation for six years.”