Fire-hit gold mill back in production

Newmont's Waihi gold mill is back in operation after a fire cut production, costing the company nearly $50 million in lost revenue.

The fire in May destroyed switchboards controlling ore-crushing equipment and it was feared the mill would not be back in production until the end of this month.

No gold or silver, apart from a limited amount already in the system, was produced while the mill was out of operation, at a time when prices have been near historic highs.

Ore was stockpiled during the shutdown.

The loss of production cost $4 million a week over the past three months and led to some cutbacks in shifts in the Martha open cast mine in Waihi township.

During the mill shutdown some staff were also redeployed to help to commission the company's Boddington mine in Western Australia.

The company says that $4 billion project will be Australia's largest gold mine. Newmont completed its purchase in June of the remainder of the Boddington project in Australia from AngloGold Ashanti.

Newmont is the United States' largest gold miner and said last month that second-quarter profit fell 40 per cent to $162 million, partly because of a $42 million after-tax charge to acquire 33 per cent of Boddington.