How have the Éléonore mine and Newmont’s other North American operations performed recently?

BW: Newmont’s Éléonore mine is a state-of-the-art facility that is among the largest gold mines in Québec and is powered exclusively by hydroelectricity. It is a remote fly-in, fly-out underground mine located on the traditional territory of the Cree Nation of Wemindji, about 800 km north of Montreal. Newmont added Éléonore and two other Canadian sites – Porcupine and Musselwhite – to our portfolio through the acquisition of Goldcorp, and we are beginning to see the positive impacts of the proven Newmont operating model implemented at the site.

Compared to the first quarter of 2022, Éléonore achieved 43% higher gold production in the first quarter of 2023, while recording a significant increase in underground development meters and the amount of ore mined and processed – without losing our critical focus on safety. We made similar improvements across our North America portfolio, achieving 28% higher gold production overall in the region – a success story that Newmont hopes to continue building on as we solidify our position in Canada with the acquisition of Newcrest. Newmont hopes to continue adding resources and reserves to meaningfully extend mine life at Éléonore.

Can you expand on some decarbonization and ESG initiatives at Éléonore?

DG: As a company, Newmont has implemented a Climate and Energy Strategy since 2015 and has committed to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions targets of a reduction of 32% for Scope 1 and 2 emissions (2018 baseline year) and a reduction of 30% for Scope 3 emissions (2019 baseline year) by 2030. Vision Zero, our strategic alliance with Caterpillar announced in 2021, will develop and bring zero-emission and battery-electric autonomous haul systems to our sites.

Éléonore is world-class in terms of carbon intensity and the lowest emitting mine in the Newmont portfolio, producing less than 10,000 t/CO2e per year. This is mostly because Éléonore is a small-throughput underground mine connected to the zero-carbon Hydro Québec provincial grid. Although ongoing site-level energy efficiency projects are an important focus area for reducing emissions, replacing diesel trucks (which currently represent more than two-thirds of the GHG emissions at Éléonore) with battery electric vehicles represents the greatest opportunity for emissions reductions on site.

Since 2015, Éléonore has supported a Cree-led socioeconomic assessment, invested more than C$1 billion to support Cree businesses, contributed more than C$500,000 to provide access to traditional food during the Covid-19 pandemic, and provided training and employment opportunities to Cree community members – among many other initiatives.

Can you expand on Newmont’s M&A strategy in North America?

BW: Newmont recently entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Newcrest. The acquisition of Newcrest will add two operations to our Canadian portfolio: The Brucejack gold mine and the Red Chris copper-gold mine are both located in Northwestern British Columbia in the highly prospective region known as the Golden Triangle. Adding the gold and copper operations from the acquisition of Newcrest to our portfolio will also increase our exposure to copper.

What are some interesting ways in which Newmont is leveraging technology to improve operational efficiency?

DG: Newmont’s Full Potential program, designed to boost productivity and reduce costs, has enabled Newmont to rapidly replicate and deploy leading practices and technologies consistently across our operations. The program is predicated on all Newmont-managed operations having a set of improvement projects that include decarbonization initiatives and has delivered more than US$4 billion of value since it was put in place eight years ago. Over 75% of the synergy value generated from our Goldcorp acquisition in 2019 was a result of this successful program.

An example is the implementation of Sandvik DD422i jumbo bolters at our Canadian operations, including Éléonore. The new bolters are equipped with an intelligent control system that provides the operator with real-time feedback regarding the machine’s performance and health, along with tools for drill planning, reporting, and analysis to ensure quality and consistency hole-to-hole. These automated bolters improve operator safety by removing the need to work from heights and reducing operator exposure to noise and airborne contaminants while improving productivity.