Greatland Gold has officially acquired Newmont’s Telfer mine and 70 per cent stake in the Havieron project, empowering the UK miner to create a world-class mining and processing hub in the up-and-coming Paterson Range province in Western Australia.
The acquisition has made Newmont the largest shareholder in Greatland, with the US gold giant holding 20.4 per cent of Greatland’s shares on issue.
With Greatland managing director Shaun Day describing the acquisition as “a watershed moment”, Australian Mining takes a look at the benefits Telfer and Havieron are expected to bring to Greatland and what the company plans to do with both assets.
Havieron
Known as the second largest undeveloped gold project in Australia only behind De Grey Mining’s Hemi gold project, Havieron was originally being advanced under an unincorporated 30:70 joint venture originally signed by Greatland and Newcrest in November 2020.
Then Newmont inherited the 70 per cent stake in Havieron, as well as management of the project, when it acquired Newcrest last year.
Greatland managing director Shaun Day touched on the significance of the Havieron discovery.
“Greatland’s discovery of the world-class Havieron orebody in 2018 established our platform for growth,” Day said.
“Returning to 100 per cent ownership of Havieron now gives us the opportunity and control to deliver the project’s full potential. We have a defined pathway for Havieron to become a low-cost long-life gold-copper asset of significant scale.”
Havieron currently holds a mineral resource estimate of 8.4 million ounces (Moz) of gold equivalent metal.
Greatland’s base case estimated that Havieron has a 2.8 million-tonnes-per-annum mining operation, an average annual production rate of 258,000oz gold equivalent at an all-in sustaining cost (AISC) of $US818/oz ($1275/oz) for the first 15 years, and a 20-year mine life.
Greatland plans to further assess optimisation opportunities at Havieron in a feasibility study that’s expected to be completed by the second half of 2025. The study will include a potential mining throughput expansion and possible bulk ore handling solution.
Greatland will use the $750 million it holds in proposed banking facilities with ANZ, HSBC and ING Bank and a combination of equity funded working capital and expected cash flow generation from Telfer to develop Havieron.
Being located 45km to the east of Telfer, Havieron is positioned to leverage Telfer’s existing mine infrastructure, substantially de-risking the project’s development and providing expansion optionality.
Havieron’s development and construction is expected to be completed by mid-2026 and first ore is targeted for the second half of 2027.
Telfer
Telfer is one of Australia’s largest and most historic gold-copper mines, having produced 15Moz gold to date.
With Havieron being in close proximity, acquiring Telfer was a no brainer for Greatland.
Telfer has an estimated total production of 426,000oz gold equivalent at an estimated AISC of $US1454/oz ($2265) for a 15-month period beginning this past late September, which is when Newmont restarted Telfer’s processing operations.
Greatland said the approximately 11.5 million tonnes of run-of-mine (ROM) ore stockpiles already mined will de-risk and reduce costs associated with its initial production at Telfer. Approximately 20 million tonnes of low-grade stockpiles are also available for processing.
“Telfer is an iconic Australian mine that immediately transforms Greatland into a significant producer of gold and copper, with a defined mine plan that is materially de-risked by substantial ore stockpiles, and significant mine life extension prospects,” Day said.
“Telfer production is expected to generate significant free cash flow, which we expect will help to self-fund the completion of Havieron’s development.”
Greatland will investigate ore extension opportunities to expand the current Telfer mine plan and/or supplement Havieron ore.
Greatland’s other priorities at Telfer include:
- an updated mineral resource estimate, targeted for a March 2025 quarter completion
- a 2024–25 financial year production and cost guidance following Greatland’s first complete quarter of ownership and operation
- drilling high priority mine life extension opportunities.
Because Telfer is the only operating processing plant in Paterson, its infrastructure may enable progressive regional opportunities such as joint ventures and toll processing arrangements for Greatland.
Paterson consolidation
Alongside Havieron and Telfer, Greatland also acquired any other related interests Newmont had in the Paterson region of WA.
This brought the company’s exploration tenure over Paterson to approximately 3,800km². Greatland plans to continue exploring the region to unlock potential future upside.
“Combining Havieron and Telfer under our single ownership provides the opportunity to operate efficiently and deliver an exceptional platform for continued growth and a compelling opportunity to create value for our shareholders,” Day said.
“Telfer is an established and important part of the Paterson region and we understand our responsibility as its steward going forward.”
Greatland is also looking to gain an ASX cross-listing within the next six months to “simplify its Australian operations, allowing for greater flexibility to pursue growth initiatives such as farm-ins and joint ventures”.
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