Newmont Corporation

Newmont Corporation, based in Greenwood Village, Colorado, USA, is the world's largest gold mining company.[3] Incorporated in 1921, it has ownership of gold mines in Nevada, Colorado, Ontario, Quebec, Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Australia, Ghana, Argentina, Peru, and Suriname.[4] In addition to gold, Newmont mines copper, silver, zinc and lead.[5]

Newmont Corporation
Formerly
Newmont Goldcorp Corporation
Public
Traded as
ISINUS6516391066 
IndustryMetals and Mining
PredecessorNewmont Company
Founded1921 (1921)
FounderWilliam Boyce Thompson
HeadquartersGreenwood Village, Colorado, U.S.
Key people
Tom Palmer, CEO
ProductsGold, copper, silver, zinc, lead
Revenue$9.740 billion USD (2019)[1]
Number of employees
16,600[2] (2019)
Websitenewmont.com

Newmont has approximately 31,600[6] employees and contractors worldwide, and is the only gold company in the Standard & Poor's 500.

Operations
Gold Quarry mine, near Carlin, Nevada, 2009.
Asset Country Ownership[7] Mine Type Metals Gold Production in 2019 (ounces)[8] Gold Reserves as of December 31, 2019 (ounces)[9]
Cripple Creek & Victor Gold Mine  USA 100% Surface Gold, Silver 360,000 3.5 million
Nevada Gold Mines  USA 38.5% 10 Underground, 12 Surface Gold, Copper, Silver
Éléonore  Canada 100% Underground Gold 342,000 3.25 million
Musselwhite mine  Canada 100% Underground Gold 205,000 2.28 million
Porcupine mine  Canada 100% Underground, Open Pit, Stockpiles Gold 259,000 8.13 million
Peñasquito Mine  Mexico 100% Open Pit Gold, Silver, Lead, Zinc 272,000 9.12 million
Cerro Negro mine  Argentina 100% Underground Gold 489,000 5.02 million
Merian  Suriname 75% Surface Gold 534,000 (100% basis) 3.7 million (75% basis)
Pueblo Viejo mine  Dominican Republic 40% Open Pit Gold 388,000 (40% basis) 4.37 million (40% basis)
Yanacocha  Peru 51.35% Surface Gold 515,000 (100% basis) 3.8 million (51.35% basis)
Ahafo mine  Ghana 100% Surface Gold 436,000 9.7 million
Akyem  Ghana 100% Surface Gold 414,000 2.2 million
Boddington Gold Mine  Australia 100% Surface Gold, Copper 709,000 12.4 million
Tanami Mine  Australia 100% Underground Gold 496,000 4.7 million

History
William Boyce Thompson, founder of Newmont Mining

Early years

The Newmont Company was founded in 1916 in New York by Colonel William Boyce Thompson as a holding company to invest in Worldwide mineral, oil, and related companies. According to company lore, the name "Newmont" is a portmanteau "New York" and "Montana", reflecting where Thompson made his fortune and where he grew up. Newmont made its first major gold investment in 1917, with a founding 25 percent in the Anglo American Corporation of South Africa. Four years later, in 1921, the Newmont Company reincorporated as the Newmont Corporation.[10]

In 1929, Newmont became a mining company with its first gold product in by acquiring California's Empire Star Mine. By 1939, Newmont was operating 12 gold mines in North America.

The company acquired interests overseas. For decades around the middle of the 20th century, Newmont had a controlling interest in the Tsumeb mine in Namibia and in the O'Okiep Copper Company in Namaqualand, South Africa.

Beginning in 1925, Newmont acquired interests in a Texas oil field. Eventually, Newmont's oil interests included more than 70 blocks in the Louisiana, Gulf of Mexico area and oil and gas production in the North Sea.

Fred Searls became president in 1947, after serving as the company's exploration geologist. Searls retired in 1954, and Plato Malozemoff took over as president.[11]

Newmont discovered the world's first submicroscopic or "invisible" gold at Carlin, Nevada in the early 1960s and began production on the first open pit gold mine in the world. The "Carlin Trend" or "Carlin Unconformity" is the largest gold discovery in North America during the 20th century. In 1971 Newmont began using the heap leaching technology on sub-mill grade ores there.

In the 1980s, Newmont thwarted five takeover bids – from Consolidated Gold Fields (ConsGold), T. Boone Pickens, Minorco, Hanson Industries and Sir James Goldsmith – who sought to break Newmont apart and sell its assets to increase shareholder value.

Major growth

After 1987, the company undertook major restructuring. This included the payment of a US$33 per share dividend to all shareholders for a total of US$2.2 billion, of which US$1.75 billion was borrowed. To reduce this debt the company undertook a divestment program involving all of its copper, oil, gas, and coal interests.

As a further step in the restructuring, the company moved its headquarters from New York City to Denver in 1988. A decade later, Newmont Mining Corporation and Newmont Gold Company combined assets to form a unified worldwide gold company. Shareholders of both companies had identical interests in the reserves, production and earnings of Newmont Gold's operations.

Newmont then merged with Santa Fe Pacific Corporation (a former Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway subsidiary, sold in preparation for the merger that produced the BNSF Railway[12]) to form North America's largest gold producer.

On June 21, 2000, Newmont announced a merger with Battle Mountain Gold. The merger was completed in January 2001.

In February 2002, Newmont completed the acquisition of Normandy Mining Limited and Franco-Nevada Mining Corporation Limited. Newmont faced competition in its bid for Normandy from AngloGold. By eventually outbidding the South African company, Newmont became the world's largest gold producer, with an annual production in excess of 8 million ounces.[13]

In 2007, the company eliminated its 1.5 million ounce legacy hedge book to make Newmont the world's largest unhedged gold producer. The following year, Newmont acquired Miramar Mining Corporation and its Hope Bay deposit in the Canadian Arctic.

In late 2008, Newmont moved its headquarters from Denver to the suburb of Greenwood Village, Colorado.[14]

In 2009, Newmont purchased the remaining one-third interest in Boddington Gold Mine from AngloGold Ashanti, bringing its ownership to 100 percent.

In April 2011, the company acquired Canada's Fronteer Gold Inc. for Cdn $2.3 billion. This made the company the world's second-largest gold producer.[15]

In 2017, Newmont produced 5.65 million ounces of gold at all-in sustaining costs of US$924 per ounce.[16] The company reported adjusted net income of $780 million for the year,[17] and further reduced net debt down to US$0.8 billion.[18]

In 2019, it acquired Canada's Goldcorp for $10 billion.[19]

Former operations

Newmont has purchased and sold a number of operations in recent years:

  • Red Lake Mine: Newmont completes sale of Red Lake mine for $375 million on March 31, 2020.[20]
  • Continental Gold: Newmont sells its 19.9 percent equity stake and convertible bond in Continental Gold Inc. for $260 million on March 5, 2020.[21]
  • Super Pit gold mine: Newmont sold its 50 percent stake in Kalgoorlie Consolidated Gold Mines to Northern Star Resources for $800 million in January 2020.[22]
  • Golden Grove Mine: Owned by Normandy Mining Limited since 1991, Golden Grove was acquired by Newmont Australia Ltd in February 2002 when Newmont took over Normandy.[23] Newmont sold the mine to Oxiana Limited in June 2005 for A$265 million.[24]
  • Pajingo: Pajingo (100% owned) is an underground mine located approximately 93 miles (150 kilometers) southwest of Townsville, Queensland and 45 miles (72 kilometers) south of the local township of Charters Towers. Newmont sold the mine in late 2007; it is now owned by Conquest Mining.[25]
  • Bronzewing Gold Mine: View Resources purchased the mine in July 2004 from Newmont for A$9.0 million, a package that also included the McClure mining operation, 8 km west of Bronzewing.[26]
  • Wiluna Gold Mine: Also part of the Normandy acquisition, Gowit Limited, later Agincourt Resources, purchased the mine on 10 December 2003 from Newmont for shares and $3.65 million in cash.[27]
  • Zarafshan: Newmont was part of a joint venture gold project in Uzbekistan, the first major Western investment in the region since the breakup of the Soviet Union. A difficult place to operate, Uzbekistan expropriates the company's assets in 2006.[28]
  • Kori Kollo: The Kori Kollo open pit mine is on a high plain in northwestern Bolivia near Oruro, on government mining concessions issued to a Bolivian corporation, Empresa Minera Inti Raymi S.A. (“Inti Raymi”), in which Newmont had an 88% interest. The remaining 12% was owned by Mrs. Beatriz Rocabado. Inti Raymi owned and operated the mine. On July 23, 2009, Newmont announced the transfer of its interest in Empresa Minera Inti Raymi S.A., which owned the Kori Kollo gold mine and Kori Chaca gold mine, to Compania Procesadora de Minerales S.A. ("CPM"), a company controlled by Newmont's long-time Bolivian partner Jose Mercado.[29]
  • Minahasa: Newmont owns 80% of Minahasa and the remaining 20% interest is a carried interest held by P.T. Tanjung Serapung, an unrelated Indonesian company. Minahasa is located on the island of Sulawesi, approximately 1,500 miles (2,414 kilometers) northeast of Jakarta. Mining was completed in late 2001 and gold production was completed in 2004.
  • Golden Giant: Newmont's Canadian operations previously included two underground mines. Golden Giant (100% owned) was located approximately 25 miles (40 kilometers) east of Marathon, Ontario, Canada, and had been in production since 1985. Mining operations at Golden Giant were completed in December 2005 with remnant mining and milling production continuing throughout most of 2006.[30]
  • Holloway: Holloway was located approximately 35 miles (56 kilometers) east of Matheson, Ontario, and about 400 miles (644 kilometers) northeast of Golden Giant. It was in production since 1996. On November 6, 2006, Newmont completed the sale of the Holloway mine to St. Andrews Goldfields Ltd. resulting in a $13 pre-tax gain.[31]
  • Empire-Star: Located in Grass Valley, California, the mine has been closed since 1957
  • New Zealand and Indonesia: Newmont completed sale of its Waihi assets in October 2015.[32] Newmont completed its sale of the Batu Hijau mine to PT Amman Mineral Internasional in 2016.[33]

Controversies

Buyat Bay, Sulawesi, Indonesia

In August 2004, the Indonesian Ministry of Environment filed a civil lawsuit against Newmont,[34] claiming tailings from the company's Minahasa Raya mine polluted Buyat Bay. The company was cleared by an Indonesian court, with the judge ruling the pollution charges could not be proven.[35]

Akyem, Ghana

In 2009, a group of NGOs awarded Newmont with the Public Eye on Davos award for its Akyem project in Ghana. Newmont said the award was issued based on several paragraphs of text which “clearly were intended to distort the facts”.[36]

In 2010, Newmont was fined $4.9 million by the Ghanaian Environmental Protection Agency for not preventing, reporting and investigating a cyanide spill at its mine in Ghana in an “appropriate and timely manner”.[37] Newmont said it would collaborate with the agency to resolve any issues.[38]

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References
  1. "Newmont Announces Full Year and Fourth Quarter 2019 Results". Business Wire. February 20, 2020.
  2. "Newmont Announces Full Year and Fourth Quarter 2019 Results". Business Wire. February 20, 2020.
  3. Sanderson, Henry (January 6, 2020). "Newmont ups dividend by 79 per cent as gold prices surge". Financial Times.
  4. "Operations & Projects". Newmont Corporation. Retrieved January 27, 2020.
  5. Chen, Jackson (December 2, 2019). "Newmont Goldcorp provides five-year outlook". Mining.com.
  6. "Newmont Announces Full Year and Fourth Quarter 2019 Results". Business Wire. February 22, 2020.
  7. "Operations & Projects". Newmont Corporation. Retrieved January 27, 2020.
  8. "Newmont Announces Full Year and Fourth Quarter 2019 Results". Business Wire. February 22, 2020.
  9. "Newmont Announces Full Year and Fourth Quarter 2019 Results". Business Wire. February 22, 2020.
  10. "Newmont History". Newmont Corporation. Retrieved January 27, 2020.
  11. Fahey, John (1990). Hecla: A Century of Western Mining. Seattle: University of Washington Press. pp. 77, 110–111, 152. ISBN 9780295970141.
  12. Railroad News, Trains, September 1994, pp. 14-16
  13. Shah, Saeed (November 28, 2001). "AngloGold battles for pole position in global gold mining". The Independent.
  14. "Palazzo Verdi office building opens". Denver Business Journal. November 12, 2008.
  15. Welsch, Edward (February 3, 2011). "Newmont to Buy Gold Miner in $2.32 Billion Deal". The Wall Street Journal.
  16. "Newmont Announces Full Year and Fourth Quarter 2017 Results". Business Wire. February 22, 2018.
  17. "Newmont Announces Full Year and Fourth Quarter 2017 Results". Business Wire. February 22, 2018.
  18. "Newmont Announces Full Year and Fourth Quarter 2017 Results". Business Wire. February 22, 2018.
  19. Biesheuvel, Thomas; Mazneva, Elena (January 14, 2019). "Newmont to Buy Goldcorp in $10 Billion Deal, Creating World's Largest Gold Miner". Bloomberg.
  20. "Newmont Completes Sale of Red Lake and Realizes Cash Proceeds of $375 million". Business Wire. March 31, 2020.
  21. "Newmont Successfully Sells Stake in Continental Gold for $260 Million in Cash". Business Wire. March 5, 2020.
  22. Chen, Jackson (January 2, 2020). "Newmont completes KCGM stake sale, updates outlook".
  23. Robinson, Allan (January 19, 2002). "Newmont wins Normandy bidding war". The Globe and Mail.
  24. "Newmont Mining sells WA mine to Oxiana". The Sydney Morning Herald. June 25, 2005.
  25. "NQ Metals in talks to buy Newmont mine". The Sydney Morning Herald. December 7, 2007.
  26. "View Resources adds golden string to bow". The Sydney Morning Herald. June 16, 2004.
  27. "Newmont eyes $500m cast-offs float". The Sydney Morning Herald. May 30, 2002.
  28. "Gold miner Newmont resolves dispute with Uzbekistan". Reuters. July 23, 2007.
  29. "Newmont weighs up Kori Chaca". BN Americas. May 20, 2003.
  30. Walters, Jeff (September 21, 2017). "A mine was once here: reclamation underway at Hemlo in northern Ontario". CBC News.
  31. Hoffman, Andy (April 24, 2018). "St Andrew buys Timmins mine from Newmont". The Globe and Mail.
  32. Jamasmie, Cecilia (June 5, 2015). "Newmont sells New Zealand mine to OceanaGold for $101 million". mining.com.
  33. Mordant, Nicole (September 19, 2016). "Newmont's Indonesia mine sale closure may slip into fourth quarter: CEO". Reuters.
  34. Casey, Michael (December 23, 2004). "U.S. mining firm admits polluting". Seattle Times. Retrieved 2012-02-19.
  35. Wulandari, Fitri (April 23, 2007). "Newmont cleared in Indonesian pollution case". Reuters.
  36. "Newmont: A Responsible Company in Ghana" (PDF). Business & Human Rights Resource Centre. February 6, 2009.
  37. "Newmont Fined for Cyanide Spill in Ghana". Mining Technology. January 25, 2010.
  38. "Newmont Fined for Cyanide Spill in Ghana". Mining Technology. January 25, 2010.

Further reading
  • Morris, Jack H. (2010). Going for Gold. The History of Newmont Mining Corporation. University of Alabama Press. ISBN 978-0-8173-1677-8.
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