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Newcrest Mining Limited (ASX:NCM) has announced a new plan for its Wafi-Golpu copper gold project in Papua New Guinea. 

 

The 50/50 joint venture with South African miner Harmony Gold is now set to be split into two stages with both scheduled to be complete by the end of 2015 and first production slated for 2020. 

 

Newcrest CEO Sandeep Biswas said, “By targeting the high value core of the ore body first, we have increased the economic returns from the mine by being cash flow positive earlier in the life of the mine as well as funding the infrastructure that will support the future stages of ore extraction and processing’.

 

The revised plan will cost nearly half of the original development proposal and costs could fall even lower if the local government chooses to take a 30 per cent stake in the mine.  

 

Newcrest produced a $2.2 billion loss for the 2014 financial year.