The creation of the NGM joint venture (JV) was driven by the opportunity to unlock value through the combination of Barrick’s and Newmont’s assets in Nevada. This is shown by the extension of process facility lives, optimized ore routing to improve recovery and reduce costs, and the removal of toll treatment charges to lower costs and improve the cut-off grade at Turquoise Ridge. In addition, the improvement of orebody knowledge and expertise following the establishment of the JV continues to deliver additional resources and exploration opportunities along the fence lines of the properties previously unexplored. In 2023, attributable gold production from NGM was approximately 1.9 million ounces.
The Carlin complex consists of multiple open pit and underground mines and several processing facilities. These include two roasters, an autoclave, heap leach pads and an oxide mill that was decommissioned at the end of the first quarter of 2023. Pouring its 100 millionth ounce of gold in 2022, Carlin rivals any gold complex in the world. Additions to reserves at Leeville, Miramar (formerly North Leeville), Rita K and Pete Bajo as well as increases in resources at Leeville, Fallon (formerly North Leeville) and Rita K will ensure continued production well into the future. In 2023, the Goldstrike autoclave was converted to a carbon-in-leach (CIL) operation allowing for the earlier treatment of long-term stockpiles at higher recovery. Phase One of the Gold Quarry Roaster expansion was also completed with the second and final stage to take place in the latter half of 2024, and is expected to deliver an additional 20% in throughput.
The Cortez complex consists of multiple open pit and underground mines and multiple processing facilities. These include an oxide mill and heap leach pads with refractory material transported to and processed at the Carlin complex. Pouring its first gold over 150 years ago, as in the case of Carlin, Cortez is expected to continue producing long into the future through the addition of projects such as Goldrush, Robertson and Fourmile. The Record of Decision (ROD) for Goldrush was issued on December 8, 2023 and work has since started on surface infrastructure accesses. The mine can now complete the construction of the first ventilation raise, alleviating the ventilation constraints and allowing for the continued ramp up of the Goldrush operation. Goldrush is a long-life underground mine with projected annual production of more than 400,000 ounces per annum (100% basis) by 2028i. Reserves at Robertson and resources at Hanson continued to grow, with additional exploration upside being further tested in 2024 at both Distal and Hanson. This growth contributes meaningfully to Cortez’s production profile extending it beyond the 10-year outlook.
The Turquoise Ridge complex consists of multiple open pit and underground mines as well as an autoclave, oxide mill and heap leach pads. The high-grade Turquoise Ridge underground mine is the value driver of the complex. The Third Shaft was commissioned in Q4 2022 and is now providing additional ventilation for underground mining operations, as well as shorter haulage distances. At the Sage autoclave, significant investment in infrastructure is being made together with improvements in maintenance practices, to enhance performance and reliability at higher throughput volumes. Reserve growth for Turquoise Ridge continues to be driven by the open pit with the addition of Cut 40 and improved stockpile economics. Additional resources were also added this year in the open pit at Cut 55 and at Turquoise Ridge Underground.
Completing the NGM portfolio is Phoenix. The copper by-product generated by the mine provides diversification and further cash flow growth from this strategic metal. At Long Canyon, following the completion of further studies, we have decided not to pursue the permitting associated with Phase 2 mining at this time and have removed those ounces from our life of mine plan.
Elsewhere in North America, the tailings reprocessing project at Golden Sunlight continues to ramp-up and we expect the project to reach full production towards the end of 2024. The reprocessing of high-sulphide tailings eliminates the need for perpetual water treatment, providing a valuable fuel source for the Carlin roasters, and facilitating proper closure.
At Hemlo, most underground physicals continued to steadily improve in 2023, and further productivity enhancements remain the key focus for the near term. We advanced studies for the potential restart of an open pit, which would greatly improve Hemlo’s life of mine, and first production could be achieved as early as 2026.
At Donlin, during the 2023 field season, additional geotechnical data was gathered for baseline engineering to support permitting water retention dams and the tailings storage facility. Trade-off studies and analysis on project assumptions, inputs, design components for optimization (mine engineering, metallurgy, hydrology, power, and infrastructure) were also conducted and will continue in 2024.