Newcrest will fill the damaged vent rise that's brought a halt to underground work at Cadia East Underground Mine.
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Cadia's general manager, Aaron Brannigan confirmed Newcrest's response plan on Wednesday after workers were evacuated due to the blocked vent rise on July 22.
Newcrest presented the proposed response plan and participated in an "open and transparent" discussion on Tuesday night, with projected timelines around the re-opening of Cadia Road and the mine's underground operations.
Mr Brannigan said the plan will consist of a series of steps.
The first step will be the initial assessment of the area directly surrounding the vent rise, to ensure it is safe to access.
The second step in the response plan, will be the mobilisation of drill rigs - which will install a high-pressure grout curtain to minimise the water inflow.
Last in the plan, the company will be filling the vent rise with inert rock material to stabilise it.
Newcrest has released a statement to address the mine's recent complications in more depth, though there's no official date or timeline provided at this stage, for when the mine will be able to resume underground work at Cadia.
"We believe this response plan will be the safest and most timely way to ensure the safe re-opening of Cadia Road and re-commencing underground operations," Mr Brannigan said.
A snapshot since July 22
Below the surface work stopped at Cadia East on July 22, with its underground workforce evacuated due to a blocked vent rise.
Remaining closed ever since, it's understood that the VR14-1 blockage contributed to the mine's rising water levels, leading to the company reporting the issue to relevant regulatory authorities.
Newcrest said surface activities to be operational as usual, with the company reporting the use of geotechnical engineering to assess and investigate the site.
Taking a "precautionary approach", the mining company also requested temporary closure of Cadia Road, effective from July 29 to current.
Newcrest releases statement, August 3
Moving forward, Cadia's general manager, Aaron Brannigan released a formal statement to the public on Wednesday.
As part of the announcement, the company outlined plans to take a dedicated and "rigorous" approach in dealing with the present circumstances.
The statement also included Cadia's "proposed response plan", which was disclosed during a community event on Tuesday evening.
"Cadia is committed to an incredibly rigorous and thoughtful process around the conduct of our operations and a central part of what we do is listening to the community," Mr Brannigan said.
"Last night, we held a local community resident's meeting to provide an update on the situation as we know it to be at the time and a summary of our investigations surrounding the vent rise to date.
"We presented the proposed response plan and participated in an open and transparent discussion on the situation, projected timelines around the re-opening of Cadia Road and the underground operations."
Mr Brannigan said the company has concluded that the response plan will consist of a series of steps, which were addressed across the below three stages.
"The initial assessment of the area directly surrounding the vent rise to ensure it is safe to access," he said of the first step.
"The mobilisation of drill rigs to install a high-pressure grout curtain to minimise the water inflow," he said of the second step, "and filling of the vent rise with inert rock material to stabilise it."
Cadia is committed to an incredibly rigorous and thoughtful process around the conduct of our operations
- Cadia's general manager, Aaron Brannigan
With the "safety of our people and that of the community" remaining paramount, Mr Brannigan also said that Cadia was taking a very precautionary approach to the current issue.
"We believe this response plan will be the safest and most timely way to ensure the safe re-opening of Cadia Road and re-commencing underground operations," he said.
Cadia Road's temporary closure will continue to be reviewed in collaboration with Blayney Shire Council, the general manager reported.
Mr Brannigan also reassured the public that above-ground works will continue as usual.
"The response plan and proposed time frames continue to have no impact on production," he said, "and all surface and maintenance activities remain operational."
A prospective time and day for a media briefing remain in-progress at this stage.
It is expected that a timeframe for the works will be outlined at this event.
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