NEM
#Thanks, <UNK>
Newmont operations delivered a strong first half, and we're positioned to continue that trajectory in the second
In North America our teams are delivering solid results and advancing profitable expansions
In South America, we expect a stronger second half as our operations dry up, and we're making steady progress on growth prospects
Australia was offsetting adverse weather impacts from earlier this year, while setting new records for mill productivity
And the region remains on track to commission the Tanami expansion in the coming weeks
We're also outperforming in Africa, primarily as a result of mill throughput and recovery improvements, and the Ahafo expansion projects are well underway
Finally, with Dean Gehring's arrival in Peru in early June, our regional leaders are in place and hitting their stride
Turning to more details on slide 16. North American operations have more than offset the impact of a slip in Carlin Silverstar mine late last year, primarily through mill and leach pad performance at Cripple Creek & Victor, optimized mine plans at Carlin, and higher throughput at Twin Creeks
As a result, we've improved both our original cost and production outlook for 2017. Highlights include, at Carlin, we completed our annual plant maintenance shutdown at Mill 6 ahead of schedule and under budget
We also completed geotechnical studies to guide safe reentry at Silverstar, where production represents upside beginning in 2018. Ground control rehabilitation at Leeville is largely finished as well
At Cripple Creek & Victor, production is up 15% versus prior year quarter on the back of new leach production, mill grades and ongoing full potential improvements
Long Canyon continues to ramp up and operate smoothly, and at Twin Creeks outperformance is largely due to optimized ore blends and lower displacement by Turquoise Ridge ore
Looking forward, vent fans are up and running at Northwest Exodus, a mine which has been designed to support autonomous equipment
As <UNK> mentioned, the Twin Underground project is underway, and we'll start to mine this higher grade ore later in the year, with commercial production forecast at mid-2018. Finally, we continue to advance our Long Canyon Phase 2 studies
Moving to South America on slide 17. As I mentioned, our South American operations are recovering from adverse weather in the first quarter
At Yanacocha, dilution from extreme rainfall impacted leach pad recoveries
Productivity is improving and we're expecting a stronger second half
At Merian, the team is focusing its Full Potential program on mine improvements to match above nameplate mill performance
Initiatives to optimize expenses, grade control, payloads and haul routes are all underway, and we're on track to complete our primary crusher installation by the end of 2018 when we expect to reach fresh rock in the mine
Looking to the future, our team at Suriname is making steady progress towards securing permits, consulting stakeholders and advancing drilling to develop the nearby Sabajo deposit
In Peru, we expect to reach a decision to develop the Quecher Main oxide project in the second half of the year
This project would sustain around 200,000 ounces of consolidated annual production from 2020 through 2025 and is not included in current guidance
Finally, work to optimize the Yanacocha sulfides project is going well
We continue to see good results from exploration drilling in the Chaquicocha decline
We started a second exploration drift and our autoclave pilot tests are going well
We'll have an update for you later this year
This project could come online in the early 2020s and extend profitable production for more than 15 years
Turning to Australia on slide 18. Our Full Potential program was piloted in Australia in 2013 and continues to deliver outstanding results
All three Australian operations are now mill constrained, making debottlenecking a priority
As you can see from these graphs, we have made solid gains in mill throughput over the last four years
Boddington has offset the impacts of 100-year storm event in February and is now ahead of schedule, primarily by reaching new recovery and throughput records for three of the last six months
Whilst higher stripping will reduce production by about 10% as we further develop the next lay back, performance in the first half has been strong enough to support improving guidance for the operation and the region as a whole
Tanami remains on track to meet 2017 guidance, despite a one month shutdown in the first quarter caused by record rainfall flooding all supply routes
The team has begun commissioning activities in the mill and we expect the Tanami expansion to reach commercial production in the coming weeks
KCGM has offset the impact of a slip in the west wall of the Fimiston Pit earlier this year and remains on track to meet 2017 guidance
Remediation is underway and we expect to complete that work in 2018. We'll reach a decision to proceed with the Morrison layback at KCGM in the first quarter of 2018, to accommodate additional metallurgical testing
Turning to Africa on slide 19. Africa performed strongly in the first half of 2017, primarily due to mill throughput and recovery improvements delivered through the Full Potential program
As a result, we have lowered our cost outlook and raised our production outlook for the remainder of the year
We've mined first ore at Subika Underground and produced first gold in June
And the mill expansion workforce has been mobilized and civil works for the primary crusher are well underway
Looking ahead, we continue to advance our regional growth studies, which center on developing underground resources at Ahafo and Akyem as well as Ahafo North
Ahafo North is located approximately 30 kilometers north of our existing operations and encompasses 15 deposits along a 12 kilometer strike length
Before I turn back to <UNK>, I want to touch briefly on how we assess and invest in technology to support continued value delivery through our Full Potential program
Turing to slide 20. I'll start by confirming that we rely on technology in every aspect of our business, to map and mine ore-bodies, operate process plants, protect our people, and stay in touch with our stakeholders
And we'll continue to harness technology and pursue targeted innovation and R&D where it adds value
Our approach to investing in new technology is the same as our approach to all investments, grounded in technical and financial discipline
Benchmarking shows that no one company has all the answers, so we are taking a measured approach, that includes conducting digital assessments to prioritize solutions based on their value and viability, working with leading technology companies, including GE, Cisco, Caterpillar, IBM and Infosys, advancing game-changing technologies to improve performance across the entire mine life cycle, and developing the underlying systems and change management programs that are necessary for both successful and importantly sustainable implementation
We recently completed a digital assessment at Twin Creeks to prioritize opportunities to deliver additional value
Outcomes of this assessment fall into three broad categories
Enablers that improve efficiency and safety, such as radiofrequency IDs for our team and digital field tools that provide real-time operational and production data, point solutions such as B-TAG tire monitors that support payload monitoring and management, as well as ore blend management, and ore control optimization solutions
All these solutions feature minimal disruption and high payback
For example, payload monitoring has delivered more than $17 million in annual productivity improvements since it was targeted as part of our Full Potential program in 2014. And, finally strategic opportunities, that include fleet automation, advance process control, predictive analytics and centralized operation centers
During my time at Rio Tinto Iron Ore, I led the implementation of the industry's first fully autonomous open pit mine, and was a member of the leadership team for the centralized Pilbara operations center in Perth
We'll have a good understanding of the change management required to implement these opportunities
Realizing the full potential of digital solutions also requires quality data and a sharp focus on business drivers and values
One leading technology company told us that the quality and organization of our data enable them to compress their predictive analytics work from 12 weeks into 4. Finally, we are leveraging and improving technologies such as virtual reality to improve understanding of our ore bodies and to optimize our drilling and mine plants
We believe that taking a measured approach supported by repeatable, scalable process and robust change management is critical to maximizing return on our technology and innovation investments
With that, I'll turn it back to <UNK> on slide 21.
Thanks, John
I think the important thing is making sure that just because something worked in iron ore in the Pilbara in that context doesn't necessarily mean it works elsewhere
So I think it's a better understanding of your business context and each of our four regions have different context from each other
But if a pickup in North America, where we've got a number of mines close together, the opportunity around looking at centralizing some of the asset health work, centralizing some of the truck dispatch work, enables us to identify opportunities, where, for instance, if I think about asset health, we look at component life
And if we have got a consistency in the component life of some key pieces of equipment on our 793 haul truck, then we can be making some decisions about asset strategy that's going to deliver value, maybe keep those components in service for longer or identify where they are failing before they fail and change them out in a controlled manner
And it's doing those sorts of things by looking at those operations at a whole and having some form of central monitoring center that is going to help a place like Nevada reduce their operating costs, and therefore, as you're saying, be able to bring more reserve into the system
<UNK>, it's Tom <UNK> here
It's pretty consistent with what – it's the last of the Yanacocha oxide
So the pit will be mined at similar rates to what you're seeing today in Yanacocha, and what you've seen historically in Yanacocha
That's right, <UNK>
So, we're – as I talked in the call and doing a fair bit of work on improving mine productivity and working our way through the wet season which is coming towards its end in Suriname
So we're expecting to see pretty consistent third quarter and probably then stepping up in the fourth quarter for stronger second half
