Gold production for Newcrest Mining Limited declined 20% after disruptions at its Cadia Valley and Lihir mines.
Production of gold ore for the quarter ending Dec 31, 2011 was 579,073 ounces and this was much lower than the 722,783 ounces that the company produced in the quarter ending Dec 31, 2010. The reason given for this lower production was in part the extreme rainfall that the mines faced in September last year.
Another reason was the ground slip at the Cadia Valley mine in Australia. The ground slip which occurred in November managed to block access to the open pit mine and disrupt production. Although the higher production in the Gosowong mine in Indonesia did make up for some of the low production, it did not help a great deal.
Newcrest Gold has now lowered its full year production forecast for the year 2012 to between 2.43 million and 2.55 million ounces. In 2011 the company had forecast a production of 2.7 million ounces, which it failed to meet.
Besides gold, Newcrest Gold also mined 18,171 metric tons of copper this year as compared to 17,712 tons of copper the year before. It is now hoping to produce 18,900 tons of copper in 2012.