Officials at Newcrest Mining Ltd. have posted $2.4 billion in net losses while slashing nearly 25% of its workforce ahead of flat gold production forecasts and multibillion fiscal year write-downs. Since July, Newcrest also began company-wide reassessments, encompassing Papua New Guinea’s Lihir project, which contains one of the world’s greatest gold deposits.
The Australian-based Newcrest warned of further cuts ahead, and Chief Executive Sandeep Biswas was blunt. “I am not satisfied with operating performance or cash generation,” he said; underlying profit hit $404 million, meanwhile, down from 2013’s $421 million. Officials attributed losses primarily to $2.19 billion of impairments at their Telfer, Bonikro and Hidden Valley assets; Lihir, which produced 175,000 oz gold in Q2, surpassed other mines but also represented highest per-ounce costs.
