Gold miner Newcrest will resume mining at its Cadia mine in NSW after a partial tailings dam collapse halted operations a fortnight ago.
Newcrest was forced to stop production at its biggest and lowest-cost mine after a breach in the northern tailings dam on March 9 resulted in material flowing into the adjacent southern tailings dam.
The miner said it will restart mining on Tuesday but processing remains in a halt, with the company still considering recovery options such as diverting tailings into the old Cadia Hill open pit mine, which is no longer operational.
"Newcrest continues to work with the NSW regulators on permitting the Cadia Hill open pit tailings option and has commenced procurement of some of the necessary equipment to allow this possibility to be utilised if approved," the company said in a statement.
The Cadia mine was closed for three months last year because of earthquake damage.
The government's Geoscience Australia Earthquakes site reported a 2.7-magnitude seismic event southwest of Cadia the day before Newcrest said it first noted cracks in the tailings dam wall.
Newcrest on Tuesday said an assessment is underway with experts to explain the cause of the collapse.
The gold miner also previously confirmed it will miss its full-year production guidance and said it will be unable to satisfy contracts for copper concentrate product because of the Cadia mine closure.
Newcrest on Tuesday said it is too early to update its guidance.
The company's shares were down 25.5 cents, or 1.3 per cent to $19.915 at 1153 AEDT.
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