Everything TT has said is possible speculation and I agree with. There is also an old mining pit that is no longer used (link not handy unfortunately - Sydney morning herald maybe??) that NCM have approval to turn into a tailings dam, but the infrastructure to transport the tailings to the pit is not yet in place and could take up to 6 months to set up.
So even if we have a new tailings area as an alternative we could still be 6 months from production again.
A lot of people have zoned in on cadia being a disaster and that's fair, but seem to have forgotten that NCM has 5 mines other than Cadia which are currently operating and has feasibility studies for 2 new mines in Papua New Guinea and Fiji which are promising.
The Telfer mine in the Pilbara is set to be their biggest gold mine from what I have read.
So even if it does take 6 months to get Cadia running again this is by no means the end of the world.
Full disclosure: have recently topped up on newcrest shares given above research and sharp price dip.
Walrus
NCM Price at posting:
$19.86 Sentiment: Buy Disclosure: Held