Aug 12 (Reuters) - Newcrest Mining Ltd (NCM) said on Thursday...

Aug 12 (Reuters) - Newcrest Mining Ltd (NCM) said on Thursday it had committed A$246 million ($181.4 million) to expand open pit mining at its Telfer mine in Western Australia, which will extend its operations for at least two years.

Australia's largest listed gold miner said it had entered into a contract for work on a cutback, which refers to removal of material to proceed from one pit to the next in an open pit mine, at the gold, copper and silver mine.

"This cutback is an investment in Telfer's future which will ensure the operation is able to continue for at least the next two years," Chief Executive Officer Sandeep Biswas said.

"With additional drilling, we believe there is the potential for further mine life extensions in the open pit and the underground beyond this time."

Production stripping for the cutback will start next month, with first ore production expected to be delivered to the Telfer mine in March 2022, Newcrest said.

The announcement comes weeks after the miner reported a 5.4% drop in its June quarter output, following unplanned downtime at its Lihir mine in Papua New Guinea.

($1 = 1.3561 Australian dollars)