By Rhiannon Hoyle


Newcrest Mining Ltd. said it will proceed with plans for the next panel cave at its Cadia mine, one of Australia's largest gold operations.

The company on Friday said the Cadia PC1-2 feasibility study concluded the roughly $1.2-billion project would have an internal rate of return of 18%.

Newcrest said it expects to produce an average 231,000 troy ounces of gold and 42,000 metric tons of copper annually from the panel cave development. First gold and copper production is anticipated in fiscal year 2026 and the cave will have a roughly 16-year mine life, it said.

The project "forms a key strategic milestone for Newcrest to maintain Cadia's long-life production profile, with the development of PC1-2 accounting for approximately 20% of Cadia's published ore reserves," said the company.

Chief Executive Sandeep Biswas said the miner has "significant financial headroom to fund the construction of PC1-2 through our internal cash flow and prudent use of our strong balance sheet."


Write to Rhiannon Hoyle at rhiannon.hoyle@wsj.com


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

11-10-22 1743ET