Newmont Explained

Newmont Corporation
Type:	Public
Location:	Greenwood Village, Colorado, U.S.
Founder:	William Boyce Thompson
Num Employees:	21,700 (2023)
Industry:	Metals and Mining
Products:	Gold, copper, silver, zinc, lead
Revenue:	(2023)
Operating Income:	(2023)
Net Income:	(2023)
Assets:	(2023)
Equity:	(2023)
Footnotes:	^[1]

Newmont Corporation is an American gold mining company based in Greenwood Village, Colorado. It is the world's largest gold mining corporation.^[2] Incorporated in 1921, it owns gold mines in Nevada, Colorado, Ontario, Quebec, Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Australia, Ghana, Argentina, Peru, and Suriname.^[3] In addition to gold, Newmont mines copper, silver, zinc and lead.^[4]

The Newmont Corporation bought Canadian mining company, Goldcorp in 2019 for $10 billion.

Newmont has approximately 31,600^[5] employees and contractors worldwide, and is the only gold company in the S&P 500 stock market index.

History

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.^[6] 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.^[7] Newmont began mining at Carlin, Nevada, in 1965. The "Carlin Trend" or "Carlin Unconformity" is the largest gold discovery in North America during the 20th century. In 1971 Newmont began heap leaching low grade ores there.^[8]

In 1971, the South-West African (now Namibia) Tsumeb & Kombat mines managed by Newmont, had its operations stopped during the 1971–72 Namibian contract workers strike over the contract labor system and apartheid.^{[9] [10]}

Major growth

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

In 1987, defending against a $6.3 billion bid by T. Boone Pickens, the company paid a US$33 per share special dividend to all shareholders, US$2.2 billion in cash, 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.^[11]

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 Railroad (a former Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway subsidiary, sold in preparation for the merger that produced the BNSF^[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 and Franco-Nevada. 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 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 CA$2.3 billion. This made the company the world's second-largest gold producer.^[14]

In 2017, Newmont produced 5.65 million ounces of gold at all-in sustaining costs of US$924 per ounce.^[15] The company reported adjusted net income of $780 million for the year, and further reduced net debt down to US$0.8 billion.

In 2019, it acquired Canada's Goldcorp for $10 billion.^[16] In May 2023, Newmont agreed terms to purchase Newcrest.^{[17] [18]} The Deal was completed in November 2023.^[19]

Goldcorp had previously been under public scrutiny for documented human-rights abuses, including poisoning river-water that led to severe illnesses in local children living close to the mining operation (https://theviolenceofdevelopment.com/the-true-cost-of-gold-in-honduras/)

Controversies

Buyat Bay, Sulawesi, Indonesia

In August 2004, the Indonesian Ministry of Environment filed a civil lawsuit against Newmont,^[20] 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.^[21]

Ghana

See main article: Akyem mine and Ahafo mine. In 2009, a group of NGOs awarded Newmont with the Public Eye on Davos award (a criticism for "purely profit-oriented globalization") 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”.^[22]

In 2010, Newmont was fined $4.9 million by the Ghanaian Environmental Protection Agency for not preventing, reporting and investigating a cyanide spill at Ahafo mine in an "appropriate and timely manner".^[23]

Pueblo Viejo mine

Operations

Asset	Country	Ownership^[24]	Mine Type	Metals	Projected attributable gold production in 2021 (troy ounces)^[25]	Attributable gold reserves in 2020 (troy ounces)^[26]
Cripple Creek & Victor Gold Mine	United States	100%	Surface	Gold, Silver	260,000	2.49 million
Nevada Gold Mines	United States	38.5%	10 Underground, 12 Surface	Gold, Copper, Silver	1.37 million	17.39 million
Éléonore	Canada	100%	Underground	Gold	270,000	1.26 million
Musselwhite mine	Canada	100%	Underground	Gold	200,000	1.79 million
Porcupine mine	Canada	100%	Underground, Open Pit, Stockpiles	Gold	360,000	3.05 million
Peñasquito Mine	Mexico	100%	Open Pit	Gold, Silver, Lead, Zinc	660,000	7.1 million
Cerro Negro mine	Argentina	100%	Underground	Gold	270,000	2.57 million
Merian	Suriname	75%	Surface	Gold	320,000	3.97 million
Pueblo Viejo mine	Dominican Republic	40%	Open Pit	Gold	325,000	4.11 million
Yanacocha	Peru	100%^[27]	Surface	Gold	160,000	3.41 million
Ahafo mine	Ghana	100%	Surface	Gold	515,000	6.06 million
Akyem	Ghana	100%	Surface	Gold	400,000	2.27 million
Boddington Gold Mine	Australia	100%	Surface	Gold, Copper	830,000	12.69 million
Tanami Mine	Australia	100%	Underground	Gold	500,000	5.87 million

Former operations

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

• Red Lake Mine: Newmont completed sale of Red Lake mine for $375 million on March 31, 2020.^[28]
• Continental Gold: Newmont sold its 19.9 percent equity stake and convertible bond in Continental Gold Inc. for $260 million on March 5, 2020.^[29]
• 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.^[30]
• Golden Grove Mine: Owned by Normandy Mining since 1991, Golden Grove was acquired by Newmont Australia Ltd in February 2002 when Newmont took over Normandy.^[31] Newmont sold the mine to Oxiana Limited in June 2005 for A$265 million.^[32]
• 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.^[33]
• Bronzewing Gold Mine: View Resources purchased the mine in July 2004 from Newmont for A$9.0 million, a package that also included the Mount McClure mining operation, 8 km west of Bronzewing.^[34]
• Wiluna Gold Mine: Also part of the Normandy acquisition, in December 2003 Newmont sold Wiluna to a local management buyout team for shares and A$3.65 million in cash. The mine was onsold 3 years later for A$29.5 million.^{[35] [36]}
• 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 expropriated the company's assets in 2006.^[37]
• 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.^[38]
• 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.^[39]
• 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.^[40]
• Martha Mine

Newmont completed the sale of its Waihi assets in New Zealand in October 2015.^[41]

• Batu Hijau mine

Newmont completed the sale of Batu Hijau to PT Amman Mineral Internasional in 2016.^[42]

Further reading

• Book: Morris. Jack H.. Going for Gold. The History of Newmont Mining Corporation. 2010. University of Alabama Press. 978-0-8173-1677-8.

Notes and References

1. Web site: 2023 Annual Report (Form 10-K) . February 29, 2024 . U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
2. News: Sanderson. Henry. January 6, 2020. Newmont ups dividend by 79 per cent as gold prices surge. Financial Times.
3. News: Operations & Projects. Newmont Corporation. January 27, 2020.
4. News: Chen. Jackson. December 2, 2019. Newmont Goldcorp provides five-year outlook. Mining.com.
5. News: Newmont Announces Full Year and Fourth Quarter 2019 Results. Business Wire. February 22, 2020.
6. News: Newmont History. Newmont Corporation. January 27, 2020.
7. Book: Fahey . John . Hecla: A Century of Western Mining . 1990 . University of Washington Press . Seattle . 9780295970141 . 77,110–111,152.
8. Book: Coope . J. Alan . SP013: Carlin trend exploration history: Discovery of the Carlin deposit . 1991 . NV Bureau of Mines & Geology . Reno, NV . 5 . 10.1.1.568.5758 .
9. Web site: January 7, 1972 . ACOA fact sheets: STRIKE IN NAMIBIA . AMERICAN COMMlTTEE ON AFRICA.
10. Rogers . Barbara . 1972 . Namibia's General Strike . Africa Today . 19 . 2 . 3–8 . 0001-9887.
11. News: Cole . Robert J . Newmont To Pay Out $2.2 Billion . 10 January 2022 . New York Times . 22 September 1987.
12. Railroad News, Trains, September 1994, pp. 14-16
13. News: Shah. Saeed. November 28, 2001. AngloGold battles for pole position in global gold mining. https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220618/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/analysis-and-features/anglogold-battles-for-pole-position-in-global-gold-mining-9183178.html . 2022-06-18 . subscription . live. The Independent.
14. News: Welsch. Edward. February 3, 2011. Newmont to Buy Gold Miner in $2.32 Billion Deal. The Wall Street Journal.
15. News: Newmont Announces Full Year and Fourth Quarter 2017 Results . Business Wire. February 22, 2018.
16. News: Biesheuvel. Thomas. Mazneva. Elena. January 14, 2019. Newmont to Buy Goldcorp in $10 Billion Deal, Creating World's Largest Gold Miner. Bloomberg.
17. https://web.archive.org/web/20230515105751/https://www.newmont.com/investors/news-release/news-details/2023/Newmont-Enters-into-Definitive-Agreement-to-Acquire-Newcrest/default.aspx Newmont Enters into Definitive Agreement to Acquire Newcrest
18. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-05-14/newmont-is-said-to-near-20-billion-deal-for-gold-rival-newcrest Newmont Seals $19 Billion Newcrest Deal to Dominate Gold Mining
19. https://web.archive.org/web/20231107220921/https://announcements.asx.com.au/asxpdf/20231106/pdf/05x195pxk8fhxg.pdf Implementation of Scheme
20. News: U.S. mining firm admits polluting . Casey. Michael. December 23, 2004. Seattle Times. 2012-02-19.
21. News: Wulandari. Fitri. April 23, 2007. Newmont cleared in Indonesian pollution case. Reuters.
22. News: Newmont: A Responsible Company in Ghana. Business & Human Rights Resource Centre. February 6, 2009.
23. News: Newmont Fined for Cyanide Spill in Ghana. Mining Technology. January 25, 2010.
24. Web site: Operations & Projects . Newmont Corporation . January 27, 2020 .
25. News: Newmont Delivers Record Full Year and Fourth Quarter Results. Business Wire. February 18, 2021.
26. Web site: Newmont Reserves and Resources 2020 Results . Newmont Corp . 10 January 2022 . Denver, CO . 7 . 10 February 2021.
27. Web site: Newmont to Acquire Remaining Stake in Yanacocha .
28. News: Newmont Completes Sale of Red Lake and Realizes Cash Proceeds of $375 million . Business Wire . March 31, 2020 .
29. News: Newmont Successfully Sells Stake in Continental Gold for $260 Million in Cash . Business Wire . March 5, 2020.
30. News: Chen . Jackson . January 2, 2020 . Newmont completes KCGM stake sale, updates outlook .
31. News: Robinson. Allan. January 19, 2002. Newmont wins Normandy bidding war. The Globe and Mail.
32. News: Newmont Mining sells WA mine to Oxiana . The Sydney Morning Herald. June 25, 2005.
33. News: NQ Metals in talks to buy Newmont mine . The Sydney Morning Herald . December 7, 2007.
34. News: View Resources adds golden string to bow. The Sydney Morning Herald. June 16, 2004 .
35. News: Newmont eyes $500m cast-offs float . The Sydney Morning Herald . May 30, 2002 .
36. News: Apex acquires Wiluna mine for $29.5m . 10 January 2022 . Sydney Morning Herald . 20 June 2007.
37. News: Gold miner Newmont resolves dispute with Uzbekistan. Reuters. July 23, 2007.
38. News: Newmont weighs up Kori Chaca. BN Americas. May 20, 2003.
39. News: Walters . Jeff . September 21, 2017 . A mine was once here: reclamation underway at Hemlo in northern Ontario . CBC News .
40. News: Hoffman . Andy . April 24, 2018 . St Andrew buys Timmins mine from Newmont . The Globe and Mail .
41. News: Jamasmie . Cecilia . June 5, 2015 . Newmont sells New Zealand mine to OceanaGold for $101 million. mining.com .
42. News: Mordant . Nicole . Newmont's Indonesia mine sale closure may slip into fourth quarter: CEO . Reuters . September 19, 2016.