Cadia Hill Mine

Newcrest Mining Limited reported that gold production at the Cadia Hill Mine in New South Wales, Australia increased 45% (75,682 oz (Q2) vs. 52,316 oz (Q1)) for the quarter ended December 31, 2009 due to higher grades and associated recoveries. Mill throughput was also higher reflecting an additional mill shutdown during the previous quarter. Copper production increased due to higher throughput, grade and associated recoveries. Cadia Hill’s gross unit cash costs declined 63%, whilst net cash costs declined 42%, impacted by the planned increase in ore inventory in the previous quarter.

Newcrest Mining announced that its wholly owned subsidiary Cadia Holdings Pty Limited received notice that planning approval has been granted for its proposed Cadia East project near Orange, New South Wales, Australia. The estimated capital cost of the project is expected to be nearly Aud$2 billion.

Newcrest Mining reports Cadia Hill’s September quarter performance was 52,316 ounces of gold and 6,610 tonnes of copper at a gross cash cost of $546 per ounce. This compares with the June quarter performance of 49,294 ounces of gold and 7,251 tonnes of copper at a gross cash cost of $754 per ounce. Cadia Hill’s gold production increased, reflecting marginally higher grades and improved recovery performance. This was partially offset by an additional mill shutdown during the period. Mining activities during the quarter continued to focus on Cutback 3. Waste mining from the open pit is planned to be completed by the end of the December 2009 quarter as mining moves deeper in the pit. Gold grade will progressively increase over the 2010 Financial Year as mining transitions from waste to ore mining.