The company has applied to the federal government for permission to continue mining operations at the underground mine. Credit: Peruphotart/Shutterstock.

Newmont has lodged an application with the Australian Federal Government to extend the life of Australia’s biggest underground mine, Cadia, until 2050, Mining Weekly reported.

The company submitted its proposal under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act, outlining plans to maintain operations at Cadia using a combination of existing and new infrastructure, while continuing underground mining in both the Cadia East and Ridgeway areas.

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Newmont believes that if approved, the application will result in a “moderate expansion of the mine’s footprint to facilitate increased tailings storage capacity and the relocation of infrastructure”.

The application’s assessment will be conducted by New South Wales’ (NSW) Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure on behalf of the Commonwealth under a bilateral agreement with the federal government.

Newmont chief sustainability officer Suzy Retallack was quoted by Mining Weekly as saying: “There is room within Australia’s regulatory system for pragmatism and rigour to co-exist in support of environmental protection, local jobs and local communities.

“Extension of Cadia’s operations will secure more than 2,100 full-time jobs, as well as the future of our local suppliers – more than half of whom have their head office based in NSW, with one-fifth having their head office based in the Central West.”

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Located 25km from Orange, NSW, the Cadia gold and copper mine produced 597,000oz of gold in the 2023 fiscal year.

The underground mine has ore reserves of 17 million ounces of gold and 3.6 million tonnes of copper. The mine recently received the Copper Mark and Molybdenum Mark credentials for its responsible mining practices.