Newcrest Mining reported in early October that its massive, 1.2-billion Australia dollars Telfer open pit-underground gold-copper redevelopment project in Western Australia was 49 percent complete and ahead of schedule. Project completion, originally slated for September 2004, could be achieved as early as May or June. Newcrest is Australia's largest listed gold producer, with current production of 780,000 ounces per year. Telfer production of around 800,000 oz per year will slightly more than double that total. Telfer will also add some 30,000 mt per year of copper to Newcrest's production totals. Open-pit equipment commissioned at Telfer as of the end of September included a shovel, three excavators, 11 trucks, and support equipment. An additional three trucks are due for delivery in December. Construction of the open pit mobile equipment service station, high voltage reticulation, water pipelines, and heavy duty workshop were well advanced, with the majority of these items on schedule for completion before year-end. Some 14 million mt of waste material had been moved at productivity and costs better than feasibility study estimates. Construction of the tailings storage facility using open pit waste was well advanced.
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