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UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D. C. 20549

 

 Form 10-K

 

(Mark One)

☒ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2015

or

☐TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the transition period from              to              

Commission File Number: 001-31240

 

 

NEWMONT MINING CORPORATION

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

 

 

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code (303) 863-7414

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None

 

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act.    Yes  ☒    No  ☐ 

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act.    Yes  ☐    No  ☒ 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.    Yes  ☒    No  ☐ 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Web site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files).   Yes  ☒    No  ☐

Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of registrant’s knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K. ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting company. See definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer” and “smaller reporting company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act).    Yes  ☐    No  ☒

At June 30, 2015, the aggregate market value of the registrant’s voting and non-voting common equity held by non-affiliates of the registrant was $12,344,658,436 based on the closing sale price as reported on the New York Stock Exchange. There were 529,161,509 shares of common stock outstanding on February 9, 2016.

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

Portions of Registrant’s definitive Proxy Statement submitted to the Registrant’s stockholders in connection with our 2016 Annual Stockholders Meeting to be held on April 20, 2016, are incorporated by reference into Part III of this report.

 

 

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

 

 

 

PART I

 

ITEM 1.BUSINESS (dollars in millions, except per share, per ounce and per pound amounts)  

 

Introduction 

 

Newmont Mining Corporation is primarily a gold producer with significant operations and/or assets in the United States, Australia, Peru, Indonesia, Ghana and Suriname. At December 31, 2015, Newmont had attributable proven and probable gold reserves of 73.7 million ounces and an aggregate land position of approximately 20,000 square miles (52,000 square kilometers). Newmont is also engaged in the production of copper, principally through Batu Hijau in Indonesia, Boddington in Australia and Phoenix in the United States. Newmont Mining Corporation’s original predecessor corporation was incorporated in 1921 under the laws of Delaware.

 

Newmont’s corporate headquarters are in Greenwood Village, Colorado, USA. In this report, “Newmont,” the “Company,” “our” and “we” refer to Newmont Mining Corporation together with our affiliates and subsidiaries, unless the context otherwise requires. References to “A$” refer to Australian currency, “C$” to Canadian currency and “NZ$” to New Zealand currency.

 

Newmont’s Sales and long-lived assets are geographically distributed as follows:

 

 

Segment Information, Export Sales, etc.  

 

Our regions include North America, South America, Asia Pacific, and Africa. Our North America segment consists primarily of Carlin, Phoenix and Twin Creeks in the state of Nevada and Cripple Creek &Victor (“CC&V”) in the state of Colorado, in the United States. Our South America segment consists primarily of Yanacocha in Peru. Our Asia Pacific segment consists primarily of Boddington, Tanami and Kalgoorlie in Australia and Batu Hijau in Indonesia. Our Africa segment consists primarily of Ahafo and Akyem in Ghana. Merian is located in Suriname and is included in Corporate and other in Note 4 of the Consolidated Financial Statements. See Item 1A, Risk Factors, below, and Note 4 to the Consolidated Financial Statements for information relating to our operating segments, domestic and export sales and lack of dependence on a limited number of customers.

 

Products 

 

References in this report to “attributable gold ounces” or “attributable copper pounds” mean that portion of gold or copper produced, sold or included in proven and probable reserves based on our ownership and/or economic interest, unless otherwise noted.

 

Gold

 

General. We had consolidated gold production of 5.7 million ounces (5.0 million attributable ounces) in 2015, 5.2 million ounces (4.8 million attributable ounces) in 2014 and 5.5 million ounces (5.1 million attributable ounces) in 2013. Of our 2015 consolidated gold production, approximately 29% came from North America, 16% from South America, 41% from Asia Pacific, and 14% from Africa.

 

For 2015, 2014 and 2013, 84%, 90% and 91%, respectively, of our Sales were attributable to gold. Most of our Sales come from the sale of refined gold. The end product at our gold operations, however, is generally doré bars. Doré is an alloy consisting primarily of gold but also containing silver and other metals. Doré is sent to refiners to produce bullion that meets the required market standard of 99.95% gold. Under the terms of our refining agreements, the doré bars are refined for a fee, and our share of the refined gold and the separately-recovered silver is credited to our account or delivered to buyers. Gold sold from Batu Hijau in Indonesia and a portion of the gold from Boddington and Kalgoorlie in Australia and Phoenix in Nevada is sold in a concentrate containing other metals such as copper and silver.

 

Gold Uses. Gold generally is used for fabrication or investment. Fabricated gold has a variety of end uses, including jewelry, electronics, dentistry, industrial and decorative uses, medals, medallions and official coins. Gold investors buy gold bullion, official coins and jewelry.

 

Gold Supply. A combination of mine production, recycling and draw-down of existing gold stocks held by governments, financial institutions, industrial organizations and private individuals make up the annual gold supply. Based on public information available, for the years 2013 through 2015, mine production has averaged over 70% of the annual gold supply.

 

Gold Price. The following table presents the annual high, low and average daily afternoon LBMA Gold Price over the past ten years on the London Bullion Market ($/ounce):

 

 

Source: London Bullion Market Association

 

On February 9, 2016, the afternoon fixing gold price on the London Bullion Market was $1,191 per ounce.

 

We generally sell our gold at the prevailing market price during the month in which the gold is delivered to the buyers. We recognize revenue from a sale when the price is determinable, the gold has been delivered, the title has been transferred and collection of the sales price is reasonably assured.

 

Copper

 

General. We had consolidated copper production of 619 million pounds (365 million attributable pounds) in 2015, 271 million pounds (191 million attributable pounds) in 2014 and 262 million pounds (179 million attributable pounds) in 2013. Copper sales are in the form of concentrate that is sold to smelters for further treatment and refining, and cathode. For 2015, 2014 and 2013, 16%, 10% and 9%, respectively, of our Sales were attributable to copper.

 

Copper Uses. Refined copper is incorporated into wire and cable products for use in the construction, electric utility, communications and transportation industries. Copper is also used in industrial equipment and machinery, consumer products and a variety of other electrical and electronic applications and is also used to make brass. Copper substitutes include aluminum, plastics, stainless steel and fiber optics. Refined, or cathode, copper is also an internationally traded commodity.

 

Copper Supply. A combination of mine production and recycled scrap material make up the annual copper supply. Mine production since 2013 has accounted for over 80% of total refined production.

 

Copper Price. The copper price is quoted on the London Metal Exchange in terms of dollars per metric ton of high grade copper. The following table presents the dollar per pound equivalent of the annual high, low and average daily prices of high grade copper on the London Metal Exchange over the past ten years ($/pound):

 

 

Source: London Metal Exchange

 

On February 9, 2016, the high grade copper closing price on the London Metal Exchange was $2.05 per pound.

 

We generally sell our copper concentrate based on the monthly average market price for the third month following the month in which the delivery to the smelter takes place. We recognize revenue from a sale when the price is determinable, the concentrate has been loaded on a vessel or received by the smelter, the title has been transferred and collection of the sales price is reasonably assured. For revenue recognition, we use a provisional price based on the estimated forward price of the month of final settlement. The copper concentrate is marked to market through earnings as an adjustment to revenue until final settlement.

 

We generally sell our copper cathode based on the weekly average market price for the week following production. Title is transferred upon loading of the buyer’s truck.

 

Gold and Copper Processing Methods

 

Gold is extracted from naturally-oxidized ores by either milling or heap leaching, depending on the amount of gold contained in the ore, the amenability of the ore to treatment and related capital and operating costs. Higher grade oxide ores are generally processed through mills, where the ore is ground into a fine powder and mixed with water into a slurry, which then passes through a carbon-in-leach circuit. Lower grade oxide ores are generally processed using heap leaching. Heap leaching consists of stacking crushed or run-of-mine ore on impermeable pads, where a weak cyanide solution is applied to the surface of the heap to dissolve the gold. In both cases, the gold-bearing solution is then collected and pumped to process facilities to remove the gold by collection on carbon or by zinc precipitation.

 

Gold contained in ores that are not naturally-oxidized can be directly milled if the gold is liberated and amenable to cyanidation, generally known as free milling ores. Ores that are not amenable to cyanidation, known as refractory ores, require more costly and complex processing techniques than oxide or free milling ore. Higher grade refractory ores are processed through either roasters or autoclaves. Roasters heat finely ground ore to a high temperature, burn off the carbon and oxidize the sulfide minerals that prevent efficient leaching. Autoclaves use heat, oxygen and pressure to oxidize sulfide ores.

 

Some gold sulfide ores may be processed through a flotation plant or by bio-milling. In flotation, ore is finely ground, turned into slurry, then placed in a tank known as a flotation cell. Chemicals are added to the slurry causing the gold-containing sulfides to attach to air bubbles and float to the top of the tank. The sulfides are removed from the cell and converted into a concentrate that can then be processed in an autoclave or roaster to recover the gold. Bio-milling incorporates patented technology that involves inoculation of suitable crushed ore on an impermeable leach pad with naturally occurring bacteria strains, which oxidize the sulfides over a period of time. The ore is then processed through an oxide mill.

 

At Batu Hijau, ore containing copper and gold is crushed to a coarse size at the mine and then transported from the mine via conveyor to a concentrator, where it is finely ground and then treated by successive stages of flotation, resulting in a copper/gold concentrate containing approximately 26% to 29% copper. The concentrate is dewatered and stored for loading onto ships for transport to smelters.

 

At Boddington and Phoenix, ore containing copper and gold is crushed to a coarse size at the mine and then transported via conveyor to a process plant, where it is further crushed and then finely ground as a slurry. The ore is initially treated by successive stages of flotation resulting in a copper/gold concentrate containing approximately 15% to 20% copper. Flotation concentrates are also processed via a gravity circuit to recover fine liberated gold and then dewatered and stored for loading onto ships or rail for transport to smelters. The flotation tailings have a residual gold content that is recovered in a carbon-in-leach circuit.

 

In addition, at Phoenix, copper heap leaching is performed on copper oxide ore and enriched copper sulfide ore to produce copper cathodes. Heap leaching is accomplished by stacking uncrushed ore onto impermeable, synthetically lined pads where it is contacted with a dilute sulfuric acid solution thus leaching the acid soluble minerals into a copper sulfate solution. The copper sulfate solution is then collected and pumped to the solvent extraction (“SX”) plant. The SX process consists of two steps. During the first step, the copper is extracted into an organic solvent solution. The loaded organic solution is then pumped to the second step where copper is stripped with a strong acid solution before being sent through the electrowinning (“EW”) process. Cathodes produced in electrowinning are 99.99% copper.

 

Hedging Activities 

 

Our strategy is to provide shareholders with leverage to gold and copper prices by selling our gold and copper at spot market prices and consequently, we do not hedge our gold and copper sales. We continue to manage certain risks associated with commodity input costs and foreign currencies using the derivative market.

 

For additional information, see Hedging in Item 7A, Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk, and Note 17 to the Consolidated Financial Statements.

 

Gold, Copper and Silver Reserves 

 

At December 31, 2015, we had 73.7 million attributable ounces of proven and probable gold reserves. We reduced proven and probable reserves by 5.1 million ounces of revisions, depleted 6.5 million ounces, acquired 4.0 million ounces and divested 0.3 million ounces during 2015. Reserves at December 31, 2015 were calculated at a gold price assumption of $1,200 or A$1,500 per ounce. A reconciliation of the changes in attributable proven and probable gold reserves during the past three years is as follows:

 

 

A reconciliation of the changes in attributable proven and probable gold reserves for 2015 by region is as follows:

 

 

 

At December 31, 2015, we had 5,670 million attributable pounds of proven and probable copper reserves. We decreased proven and probable reserves by 1,861 million pounds of revisions and depleted 399 million pounds during 2015. Reserves at December 31, 2015 were calculated at a copper price of $2.75 or A$3.45 per pound. A reconciliation of the changes in attributable proven and probable copper reserves during the past three years is as follows:

 

 

A reconciliation of changes in attributable proven and probable copper reserves for 2015 by region is as follows:

 

 

 

Silver reserves are generally a by-product of gold and/or copper reserves and are included in calculations for mine planning and operations. At December 31, 2015, we had 113.3 million ounces of attributable proven and probable silver reserves. We reduced proven and probable reserves by 22.2 million ounces of revisions and depleted 8.1 million ounces during 2015. Reserves at December 31, 2015 were calculated at a silver price of $19.00 per ounce. A reconciliation of the changes in proven and probable silver reserves during the past three years is as follows:

 

 

A reconciliation of the changes in attributable proven and probable silver reserves for 2015 by region is as follows:

 

 

 

Our exploration efforts are directed to the discovery of new Mineralized Material and converting it into proven and probable reserves. We conduct near-mine exploration around our existing mines and greenfields exploration in other regions globally. Near-mine exploration can result in the discovery of additional deposits, which may receive the economic benefit of existing operating, processing, and administrative infrastructures. In contrast, the discovery of mineralization through greenfields exploration efforts will require capital investment to build a stand-alone operation. Our Exploration expense was $156, $164 and $247 in 2015, 2014 and 2013, respectively.

 

For additional information, see Item 2, Properties, Proven and Probable Reserves.

 

Licenses and Concessions 

 

Other than operating licenses for our mining and processing facilities, there are no third party patents, licenses or franchises material to our business. In many countries, however, we conduct our mining and exploration activities pursuant to concessions granted by, or under contracts with, the host government. These countries include, among others, the United States, Australia, Ghana, Indonesia, Peru and Suriname. The concessions and contracts are subject to the political risks associated with operations. See Item 1A, Risk Factors, below. For a more detailed description of our Indonesian Contract of Work, see Item 2, Properties, below.

 

Condition of Physical Assets and Insurance 

 

Our business is capital intensive and requires ongoing capital investment for the replacement, modernization or expansion of equipment and facilities. For more information, see Item 7, Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Consolidated Financial Condition and Results of Operations and Liquidity and Capital Resources, below.

 

We maintain insurance policies against property loss and business interruption and insure against risks that are typical in the operation of our business, in amounts that we believe to be reasonable. Such insurance, however, contains exclusions and limitations on coverage, particularly with respect to environmental liability and political risk. There can be no assurance that claims would be paid under such insurance policies in connection with a particular event. See Item 1A, Risk Factors, below.

 

Environmental Matters 

 

Our United States mining and exploration activities are subject to various federal and state laws and regulations governing the protection of the environment, including the Clean Air Act; the Clean Water Act; the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act; the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act; the Endangered Species Act; the Federal Land Policy and Management Act; the National Environmental Policy Act; the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act; and related state laws. These laws and regulations are continually changing and are generally becoming more restrictive. Our activities outside the United States are also subject to various levels of governmental regulations for the protection of the environment and, in some cases, those regulations can be as, or more, restrictive than those in the United States.

 

We conduct our operations so as to protect public health and the environment and believe our operations are in compliance with applicable laws and regulations in all material respects. Each operating mine has a reclamation plan in place that meets all applicable

legal and regulatory requirements. At December 31, 2015, $1,553 was accrued for reclamation costs relating to current or recently producing properties.

 

We are involved in several matters concerning environmental obligations associated with former, primarily historic, mining activities. Generally, these matters concern developing and implementing remediation plans at the various sites. Based upon our best estimate of our liability for these matters, $318 was accrued at December 31, 2015 for such obligations associated with properties previously owned or operated by us or our subsidiaries. The amounts accrued for these matters are reviewed periodically based upon facts and circumstances available at the time.

 

For a discussion of the most significant reclamation and remediation activities, see Item 7, Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Consolidated Financial Condition and Results of Operations, and Note 5 and Note 30 to the Consolidated Financial Statements.

 

In addition to legal and regulatory compliance, we have developed complementary programs to guide our Company toward achieving transparent and sustainable environmental and socially responsible performance objectives. In support of our management’s commitment towards these objectives, our corporate headquarters are located in an environmentally sustainable, LEED, gold-certified building. We are committed to managing climate change related risks and responsibly managing our greenhouse gas emissions. We have publicly reported our greenhouse gas emissions since 2004 to the Carbon Disclosure Project (now known only as CDP). Our greenhouse gas emissions are independently verified to satisfy all the requirements for emissions reporting under ISO International Standard 14064-3:2006. We actively participate in the International Council on Mining and Metals (“ICMM”) and are committed to the ICMM’s 10 Principles of Sustainable Development and its commitment to implement the UN Global Compact's 10 principles on human rights, bribery and corruption, labor and the environment. In 2015, all Newmont operated sites maintained their certification as ISO 14001 compliant, except for Akyem in Ghana. Akyem began production in late 2013 and is currently working through the process to achieve its ISO 14001 certification by mid-year 2016. We transparently report on our sustainability performance in accordance with the Global Reporting Initiative “GRI” guidelines, including the Mining and Metals Sector Supplement to meet the requirements of GRI Application Level A+. In 2015, the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index (DJSI World) ranked Newmont as the mining industry’s leader in overall sustainability, marking the ninth consecutive year the Company has been included on the index. Newmont also received the highest score in the mining sector across a number of areas measured by the index including climate strategy; environmental policy/management systems; corporate citizenship and philanthropy; and labor practices and human rights. As of the end of 2015, all of our relevant sites were certified through the International Cyanide Management Code (ICMC), or in the process for re-certification by independent auditors. The Long Canyon and Merian Projects, both in construction now, are planned to be audited under the ICMC within one year of commercial production.

 

Health and Safety 

 

We conduct our operations so as to protect the health and safety (“H&S”) of our employees and contractors and believe that our operations are in compliance with applicable laws and regulations in all material respects. In addition, the Company has an established Health & Safety Management System and Technical Standards that in most cases exceed the regulatory requirements in the jurisdictions in which we operate. The quality of our Health & Safety Management System is audited regularly as part of our assurance and governance process.

 

In early 2013, Newmont set a five-year target to lead the industry in H&S performance as measured by zero fatalities and the lowest Total Recordable Injury Frequency Rate and Occupational Illness Rate among its peers in the ICMM. To achieve our five-year target and embed a culture of Zero Harm, Newmont has centered its H&S activities on four key focus areas: health and safety leadership, fatality prevention, behaviors and engagement and occupational health and wellness.

 

Managing fatal and health risks remains a core component of our Safety Journey. In 2015, Newmont introduced a process to assess the effectiveness of critical controls that are in place to manage significant safety and health risks. This critical management process requires sites to identify risks, select team members across all levels, determine the critical controls, verify the controls’ effectiveness and develop improvement plans where and when needed.

 

Visible felt leadership is being demonstrated through Safety Shares, Personal Safety Plans and by undertaking quality Safety Interactions in the field. Our frontline leaders are a vital link in our safety programs and we have continued work which began in 2014 to improve their competencies in vital safety areas through the Safety Leadership Coaching Program. Our workforce has been engaged through Newmont’s Safety Journey programs (My Safety Journey and Vital Behaviors) toward providing the leadership competencies and the focus on individual contributions as safety leaders.

 

Externally we strive to help improve the overall safety performance of the mining industry and actively participate in the ICMM Health & Safety Committee, the Mining Safety Round Table, the National Mining Association’s CORESafety program, Earth Moving Equipment Safety Round Table and other industry bodies promoting Health & Safety in mining.

 

Employees and Contractors 

 

Approximately 15,600 people were employed by Newmont and Newmont subsidiaries at December 31, 2015. In addition, approximately 16,800 people were working as contractors in support of Newmont’s operations at December 31, 2015.

 

Forward-Looking Statements 

 

Certain statements contained in this report (including information incorporated by reference herein) are “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), and are intended to be covered by the safe harbor provided for under these sections. Words such as “expect(s)”, “feel(s)”, “believe(s)”, “will”, “may”, “anticipate(s)”, “estimate(s)”, “should”, “intend(s)” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Our forward-looking statements may include, without limitation:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Where we express an expectation or belief as to future events or results, such expectation or belief is expressed in good faith and believed to have a reasonable basis. However, our forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors, which could cause actual results to differ materially from future results expressed, projected or implied by those forward-looking statements. Such risks include, but are not limited to:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

More detailed information regarding these factors is included in Item 1, Business; Item 1A, Risk Factors; and elsewhere throughout this report. Many of these factors are beyond our ability to control or predict. Given these uncertainties, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on our forward-looking statements.

 

All subsequent written and oral forward-looking statements attributable to Newmont or to persons acting on its behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by these cautionary statements. We disclaim any intention or obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required under applicable securities laws.

 

Available Information 

 

Newmont maintains a website at www.newmont.com and makes available, through the Investor Relations section of the website, its Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K, Section 16 filings and all amendments to those reports, as soon as reasonably practicable after such material is electronically filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). Certain other information, including Newmont’s Corporate Governance Guidelines, the charters of key committees of its Board of Directors and its Code of Conduct are also available on the website.

 

ITEM 1A.    RISK FACTORS (dollars in millions, except per share, per ounce and per pound amounts) 

 

Our business activities are subject to significant risks, including those described below. You should carefully consider these risks. If any of the described risks actually occurs, our business, financial position and results of operations could be materially adversely affected. Such risks are not the only ones we face and additional risks and uncertainties not presently known to us or that we currently deem immaterial may also affect our business. This report contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Our actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements as a result of a number of factors, including the risks described below. See “Forward-Looking Statements.”

 

Risks Related to Our Business

 

A substantial or extended decline in gold or copper prices would have a material adverse effect on Newmont.

 

Our business is dependent on the prices of gold and copper, which fluctuate on a daily basis and are affected by numerous factors beyond our control. Factors tending to influence prices include:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Any decline in our realized gold or copper price adversely impacts our revenues, net income and operating cash flows, particularly in light of our strategy of not engaging in hedging transactions with respect to gold or copper sales. We have recorded asset impairments in the past and may experience additional impairments as a result of lower gold or copper prices in the future.

 

In addition, sustained lower gold or copper prices can:

 

 

 

 

 

 

We may be unable to replace gold and copper reserves as they become depleted.

 

Gold and copper producers must continually replace reserves depleted by production to maintain production levels over the long term and provide a return on invested capital. Depleted reserves can be replaced in several ways, including expanding known ore bodies, by locating new deposits or acquiring interests in reserves from third parties. Exploration is highly speculative in nature, involves many risks and uncertainties and is frequently unsuccessful in discovering significant mineralization. Accordingly, our current or future exploration programs may not result in new mineral producing operations. Even if significant mineralization is discovered, it will likely take many years from the initial phases of exploration until commencement of production, during which time the economic feasibility of production may change.

 

We may consider, from time to time, the acquisition of ore reserves from others related to development properties and operating mines. Such acquisitions are typically based on an analysis of a variety of factors including historical operating results, estimates of and assumptions regarding the extent of ore reserves, the timing of production from such reserves and cash and other operating costs. Other factors that affect our decision to make any such acquisitions may also include our assumptions for future gold or copper prices or other mineral prices and the projected economic returns and evaluations of existing or potential liabilities associated with the property and its operations and projections of how these may change in the future. In addition, in connection with any acquisitions we may rely on data and reports prepared by third parties and which may contain information or data that we are unable to independently verify or confirm. Other than historical operating results, all of these factors are uncertain and may have an impact on our revenue, our cash flow and other operating issues, as well as contributing to the uncertainties related to the process used to estimate ore reserves. In addition, there may be intense competition for the acquisition of attractive mining properties.

 

As a result of these uncertainties, our exploration programs and any acquisitions which we may pursue may not result in the expansion or replacement of our current production with new ore reserves or operations, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, results of operations and financial position.

 

Estimates of proven and probable reserves and Mineralized Material are uncertain and the volume and grade of ore actually recovered may vary from our estimates.

 

The reserves stated in this report represent the amount of gold and copper that we estimated, at December 31, 2015, could be economically and legally extracted or produced at the time of the reserve determination. Estimates of proven and probable reserves are subject to considerable uncertainty. Such estimates are, to a large extent, based on the prices of gold and copper and interpretations of geologic data obtained from drill holes and other exploration techniques, which data may not necessarily be indicative of future results. Producers use feasibility studies to derive estimates of capital and operating costs based upon anticipated tonnage and grades of ore to be mined and processed, the predicted configuration of the ore body, expected recovery rates of metals from the ore, the costs of comparable facilities, the costs of operating and processing equipment and other factors. Actual operating and capital cost and economic returns on projects may differ significantly from original estimates. Further, it may take many years from the initial phases of exploration until commencement of production, during which time, the economic feasibility of production may change.

 

Additionally, the term “Mineralized Material” does not indicate proven and probable reserves as defined by the SEC or the Company’s standards. Estimates of Mineralized Material are subject to further exploration and development, and are, therefore, subject to considerable uncertainty. Despite the Company’s history of converting a substantial portion of Mineralized Material to reserves through additional drilling and study work, the Company cannot be certain that any part or parts of the Mineralized Material deposit will ever be confirmed or converted into SEC Industry Guide 7 compliant reserves or that Mineralized Material can be economically or legally extracted.

 

In addition, if the price of gold or copper declines from recent levels, if production costs increase or recovery rates decrease or if applicable laws and regulations are adversely changed, we can offer no assurance that the indicated level of recovery will be realized or that mineral reserves or Mineralized Material can be mined or processed profitably. If we determine that certain of our ore reserves

have become uneconomic, this may ultimately lead to a reduction in our aggregate reported reserves and Mineralized Material. Consequently, if our actual mineral reserves and Mineralized Material are less than current estimates, our business, prospects, results of operations and financial position may be materially impaired.

 

Increased operating and capital costs could affect our profitability.

 

Costs at any particular mining location are subject to variation due to a number of factors, such as variable ore grade, changing metallurgy and revisions to mine plans in response to the physical shape and location of the ore body, as well as the age and utilization rates for the mining and processing related facilities and equipment. In addition, costs are affected by the price and availability of input commodities, such as fuel, electricity, labor, chemical reagents, explosives, steel and concrete and mining and processing related equipment and facilities. Commodity costs are, at times, subject to volatile price movements, including increases that could make production at certain operations less profitable. Further, changes in laws and regulations can affect commodity prices, uses and transport. Reported costs may also be affected by changes in accounting standards. A material increase in costs at any significant location could have a significant effect on our profitability and operating cash flow.

 

We could have significant increases in capital and operating costs over the next several years in connection with the development of new projects in challenging jurisdictions and in the sustaining and/or expansion of existing mining and processing operations. Costs associated with capital expenditures may increase in the future as a result of factors beyond our control. Increased capital expenditures may have an adverse effect on the profitability of and cash flow generated from existing operations, as well as the economic returns anticipated from new projects.

 

Estimates relating to new development projects are uncertain and we may incur higher costs and lower economic returns than estimated.

 

Mine development projects typically require a number of years and significant expenditures during the development phase before production is possible. Such projects could experience unexpected problems and delays during development, construction and mine start-up.

 

Our decision to develop a project is typically based on the results of feasibility studies, which estimate the anticipated economic returns of a project. The actual project profitability or economic feasibility may differ from such estimates as a result of any of the following factors, among others:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our future development activities may not result in the expansion or replacement of current production with new production, or one or more of these new production sites or facilities may be less profitable than currently anticipated or may not be profitable at all, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and financial position.

 

We may experience increased costs or losses resulting from the hazards and uncertainties associated with mining.

 

The exploration for natural resources and the development and production of mining operations are activities that involve a high level of uncertainty. These can be difficult to predict and are often affected by risks and hazards outside of our control. These factors include, but are not limited to:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The occurrence of one or more of these events in connection with our exploration activities and development and production of mining operations may result in the death of, or personal injury to, our employees, other personnel or third parties, the loss of mining equipment, damage to or destruction of mineral properties or production facilities, monetary losses, deferral or unanticipated fluctuations in production, environmental damage and potential legal liabilities, all of which may adversely affect our reputation, business, prospects, results of operations and financial position.

 

Our business is subject to the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and other extraterritorial and domestic anti-bribery laws, a breach or violation of which could lead to civil and criminal fines and penalties, loss of licenses or permits and other collateral consequences and reputational harm.

 

We operate in certain jurisdictions that have experienced governmental and private sector corruption to some degree, and, in certain circumstances, compliance with anti-bribery laws and heightened expectations of enforcement authorities may be in tension with certain local customs and practices. For example, the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and other laws with extraterritorial reach, including the U.K. Bribery Act, and anti-bribery laws in other jurisdictions in which we operate generally prohibit companies and their intermediaries from making improper payments for the purpose of obtaining or retaining business or other commercial advantage. We have an ethics and compliance program which includes our Code of Conduct, Business Integrity Policy and other policies and standards, all of which mandate compliance with these anti-bribery laws by the Company and its subsidiaries and their personnel. Our program also includes a well-publicized hot line for raising issues and processes for investigating such issues and assurances of non-retaliation for persons who in good faith raise concerns. We report regularly to the Audit Committee of our Board

of Directors on such program. There can be no assurance that Newmont’s internal control policies and procedures will always protect it from misinterpretation of or noncompliance with applicable laws and internal policies, recklessness, fraudulent behavior, dishonesty or other inappropriate acts committed by the Company’s affiliates, employees, agents or associated persons for which we might be claimed to be responsible. As such, our corporate policies and processes may not prevent or detect all potential breaches of law or other governance practices. We occasionally identify or are apprised of information or allegations that certain employees, affiliates, agents or associated persons may have engaged in unlawful conduct for which we might be held responsible. Our policy when receiving credible information or allegations is to conduct internal investigations and compliance reviews to evaluate that information, determine compliance with applicable anti-bribery laws and regulations and company policies and take such remedial steps as may be warranted. In appropriate circumstances, we communicate with authorities in the United States and elsewhere about those investigations and reviews. Violations of these laws, or allegations of such violations, could lead to substantial civil and criminal fines and penalties, litigation, loss of operating licenses or permits and other collateral consequences, and may damage the Company’s reputation, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial position and results of operations or cause the market value of our common shares to decline.

 

Shortages of critical parts and equipment may adversely affect our operations and development projects.

 

The mining industry has been impacted, from time to time, by increased demand for critical resources such as input commodities, drilling equipment, trucks, shovels and tires. These shortages have, at times, impacted the efficiency of our operations, and resulted in cost increases and delays in construction of projects; thereby impacting operating costs, capital expenditures and production and construction schedules.

 

Mining companies are increasingly required to consider and provide benefits to the communities and countries in which they operate, and are subject to extensive environmental, health and safety laws and regulations.

 

As a result of public concern about the real or perceived detrimental effects of economic globalization and global climate impacts, businesses generally and large multinational corporations in natural resources industries, such as Newmont, in particular, face increasing public scrutiny of their activities. These businesses are under pressure to demonstrate that, as they seek to generate satisfactory returns on investment to shareholders, other stakeholders, including employees, governments, communities surrounding operations and the countries in which they operate, benefit and will continue to benefit from their commercial activities. Such pressures tend to be particularly focused on companies whose activities are perceived to have a high impact on their social and physical environment. The potential consequences of these pressures include reputational damage, legal suits, increasing social investment obligations and pressure to increase taxes and royalties payable to governments and communities.

 

In addition, our ability to successfully obtain key permits and approvals to explore for, develop and operate mines and to successfully operate in communities around the world will likely depend on our ability to develop, operate and close mines in a manner that is consistent with the creation of social and economic benefits in the surrounding communities, which may or may not be required by law. Our ability to obtain permits and approvals and to successfully operate in particular communities may be adversely impacted by real or perceived detrimental events associated with our activities or those of other mining companies affecting the environment, human health and safety of communities in which we operate. Delays in obtaining or failure to obtain government permits and approvals may adversely affect our operations, including our ability to explore or develop properties, commence production or continue operations. Key permits and approvals may be revoked or suspended or may be varied in a manner that adversely affects our operations, including our ability to explore or develop properties, commence production or continue operations.

 

Our exploration, development, mining and processing operations are subject to extensive laws and regulations governing worker health and safety and land use and the protection of the environment, which generally apply to air and water quality, protection of endangered, protected or other specified species, hazardous waste management and reclamation. For example, in May 2015, the U.S. Department of the Interior released a plan to protect the greater sage grouse, a species whose natural habitat is found across much of the western United States. The U.S. Department of the Interior’s plan is intended to guide conservation efforts on approximately 70 million acres of national public lands, including in Nevada. No assurances can be made that restrictions relating to conservation will not have an adverse impact on our growth plans or not result in delays in project development, constraints on exploration and constraints on operations in impacted areas. During 2015, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service engaged in an extensive review and considered whether the greater sage grouse would be placed on the endangered species list under protection of the Endangered Species Act. In late 2015, it was determined that the greater sage grouse would not currently be placed on the endangered species list. Nonetheless, federal land management agencies, including the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, may impose additional restrictions and mitigation obligations on development activities occurring on federal lands, which could also adversely impact our business.

 

Some of the countries in which we operate have implemented, and are developing, laws and regulations related to climate change and greenhouse gas emissions. We have made, and expect to make in the future, significant expenditures to comply with such laws and regulations. Compliance with these laws and regulations imposes substantial costs and burdens, and can cause delays in obtaining, or failure to obtain, government permits and approvals which may adversely impact our closure processes and operations.

 

Future changes in applicable laws, regulations, permits and approvals or changes in their enforcement or regulatory interpretation could substantially increase costs to achieve compliance, lead to the revocation of existing or future exploration or mining rights or otherwise have an adverse impact on our results of operations and financial position. For instance, the operation of our mines in the United States is subject to regulation by the Federal Mine Safety and Health Administration (“MSHA”) under the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977 (the “Mine Act”). MSHA inspects our mines on a regular basis and issues various citations and orders when it believes a violation has occurred under the Mine Act. Over the past several years MSHA has significantly increased the numbers of citations and orders charged against mining operations and increased the dollar penalties assessed for citations issued. If MSHA inspections result in an alleged violation, we may be subject to fines, penalties or sanctions and our mining operations could be subject to temporary or extended closures. For example, in early July 2015, the Company’s Leeville operation received 103(k) orders relating to ground control resulting in a temporary shut down of certain levels at Leeville. MSHA issued fines, penalties or sanctions and mandated temporary or extended closures could have an adverse effect on our results of operations and financial position. See Exhibit 95 to this report for additional information regarding certain MSHA orders and citations issued during the year ended December 31, 2015.

 

Increased global attention or regulation on consumption of water by industrial activities, as well as water quality discharge, and on restricting or prohibiting the use of cyanide and other hazardous substances in processing activities could similarly have an adverse impact on our results of operations and financial position due to increased compliance and input costs.

 

We have implemented a management system designed to promote continuous improvement in health and safety, environmental performance and community relations. However, our ability to operate, and thus, our results of operations and our financial position, could be adversely affected by accidents or events detrimental (or perceived to be detrimental) to the health and safety of our employees, the environment or the communities in which we operate.

 

Mine closure and remediation costs for environmental liabilities may exceed the provisions we have made.

 

Natural resource extractive companies are required to close their operations and rehabilitate the lands that they mine in accordance with a variety of environmental laws and regulations. Estimates of the total ultimate closure and rehabilitation costs for gold and copper mining operations are significant and based principally on current legal and regulatory requirements and mine closure plans that may change materially. For example, we have conducted extensive remediation work at two inactive sites in the United States. We are conducting remediation activities at a third site in the United States, an inactive uranium mine and mill site formerly operated by a subsidiary of Newmont.

 

Any underestimated or unanticipated rehabilitation costs could materially affect our financial position, results of operations and cash flows. Environmental liabilities are accrued when they become known, are probable and can be reasonably estimated. Whenever a previously unrecognized remediation liability becomes known, or a previously estimated reclamation cost is increased, the amount of that liability and additional cost will be recorded at that time and could materially reduce our consolidated net income attributable to Newmont stockholders in the related period. In addition, regulators are increasingly requesting security in the form of cash collateral, credit, trust arrangements or guarantees to secure the performance of environmental obligations, which could have an adverse effect on our financial position.

 

The laws and regulations governing mine closure and remediation in a particular jurisdiction are subject to review at any time and may be amended to impose additional requirements and conditions which may cause our provisions for environmental liabilities to be underestimated and could materially affect our financial position or results of operations. For a more detailed description of potential environmental liabilities, see the discussion in Environmental Matters in Note 30 to the Consolidated Financial Statements.

 

Regulations and pending legislation governing issues involving climate change could result in increased operating costs which could have a material adverse effect on our business.

 

Producing gold is an energy-intensive business, resulting in a significant carbon footprint. Energy costs account for approximately twenty percent of our overall operating costs, with our principal energy sources being purchased electricity, diesel fuel, gasoline, natural gas and coal.

 

A number of governments or governmental bodies have introduced or are contemplating regulatory changes in response to the potential impacts of climate change that are viewed as the result of emissions from the combustion of carbon-based fuels. At the 18th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (“UNFCC”) held in 2012, Parties to the Kyoto Protocol agreed to a second commitment period of emissions reductions from January 1, 2013 to December 31, 2020, which takes the form of an amendment to the Protocol. The 37 countries with binding targets in the second commitment period include Australia and all members of the European Union. Several Annex I Parties who participated in Kyoto’s first-round have not taken on new targets in the second commitment period, including Japan, New Zealand and Russia. Other Annex I Parties without second-round targets are the United States (which never became a member to the Kyoto Protocol) and Canada (which withdrew from the Kyoto Protocol effective 2012). At the 21st Conference of the Parties of the UNFCC held in Paris in 2015, the Paris Agreement was adopted which is intended to govern emission reductions beyond 2020. The Paris Agreement will open for signature in April 2016 to all 187 parties of the UNFCC: all members of the United Nations, as well as Cook Islands, Niue, Palestine and the European Union. It will enter into force (and then become fully effective) only if 55 countries that produce at least 55% of the world's greenhouse gas emissions ratify, accept, approve or accede to the agreement. While there are no immediate impacts to business from the Paris Agreement, the goal of limiting global warming to “well below 2o C” will be taken up at national levels. Industrialized nations (e.g., Australia, United States) are likely to implement national emission reduction targets that require an investment shift towards low carbon technologies and systems, shifting away from coal and diesel power generation. The temperature change goal implies a move to net zero greenhouse gas emissions from energy use and industrial activities by 2050 to 2060. The relevant details of the shift towards low carbon technologies are defined in the national plans, which will need further definition in new rules from each country by 2020.

 

Some of the countries in which we operate have implemented, and are developing, laws and regulations related to climate change and greenhouse gas emissions. In December 2009, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) issued an endangerment finding under the U.S. Clean Air Act that current and projected concentrations of certain mixed greenhouse gases, including carbon dioxide, in the atmosphere threaten the public health and welfare. The United States is presently promulgating new EPA rules to reduce greenhouse gas emissions as a result of the endangerment finding and has a five-year plan to reduce emission by 17% below 2005 levels by the year 2020. Additionally, the United States and China signed a bilateral agreement in November 2014 that committed the United States to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by an additional 26% to 28% below 2005 levels by the year 2025. To date, U.S. regulations do not impose carbon tax on our operations but may in the future. Australia passed the Clean Energy Act in 2011 that sets up a mechanism to mitigate climate change by imposing a “carbon tax” on greenhouse gas emissions and encourage investment in clean energy, which had the potential to impact our Australian operations. However, the Australian Clean Energy Act was subsequently repealed, thereby removing the related “carbon tax”. The current legislation, Direct Action, remains to be defined and it is currently unclear if it will have a cost impact on our business.

 

Legislation and increased regulation and requirements regarding climate change could impose increased costs on us, our venture partners and our suppliers, including increased energy, capital equipment, environmental monitoring and reporting and other costs to comply with such regulations. In August 2015, the EPA issued the final rules for the Clean Power Plan under Section 111(d) of the Clean Air Act. The Clean Power Plan is intended to reduce carbon emissions through EPA mandated reduction targets for each state. Nevada regulatory authorities are currently preparing Nevada’s plan to comply with the EPA reduction targets. Newmont’s TS Power Plant is currently subject to the requirements of the Clean Power Plan and could possibly be impacted by such requirements depending upon the compliance plan adopted by Nevada and approved by the EPA. Until the timing, scope and extent of any future requirements becomes known, we cannot predict the effect on our financial condition, financial position, results of operations and ability to compete.

 

The potential physical impacts of climate change on our operations are highly uncertain, and would be particular to the geographic circumstances in areas in which we operate. These may include changes in rainfall and storm patterns and intensities, water shortages, changing sea levels and changing temperatures. Operations that rely on national hydro-electric grid power can be adversely affected by drought resulting in power load-shedding and lost production. These impacts may adversely impact the cost, production and financial performance of our operations.

 

Our operations are subject to risks of doing business.

 

Exploration, development, production and mine closure activities are subject to regional, political, economic, community and other risks of doing business, including:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Consequently, our exploration, development and production activities may be affected by these and other factors, many of which are beyond our control, some of which could materially adversely affect our financial position or results of operations.

 

Our Batu Hijau operation in Indonesia is subject to political and economic risks.

 

We have a substantial investment in Indonesia, a nation that since 1997 has undergone periods of financial crises and currency devaluation, outbreaks of political and religious violence and acts of terrorism, changes in national leadership, devolution of authority to regional governments, and the secession of East Timor, one of its former provinces. These factors heighten the risk of abrupt changes in the national policy toward foreign investors, which in turn could result in unilateral modification of concessions or contracts, regulatory changes that impose greater financial burdens, increased taxation and royalties (at both the national and regional level), denial of permits or permit renewals or expropriation of assets. In 2014, elections for the president of Indonesia and the national parliament were held and the new administration’s policies pertaining to foreign investment remain under development. In regard to issues of resource nationalism, certain government officials and members of parliament may have a preference for government or domestic company ownership of Indonesia’s mineral assets and mining operations, and the government has advocated policies intended to result in development of additional in-country processing and refining of minerals mined in Indonesia and restrictions on exportation, including the smelting and refining and exportation of copper concentrates.

 

In 2014, the Indonesian government issued new regulations pertaining to the export of copper concentrate that contain potentially restrictive conditions in respect of obtaining an export permit and impose a new export duty. The 2009 mining law preserves the validity of PT Newmont Nusa Tenggara’s (“PTNNT,” the entity operating the Batu Hijau mine) Contract of Work (the investment agreement entered into by PTNNT and the Indonesian government in 1986, which includes the right to export copper concentrates and a prohibition against new taxes, duties, and levies), and the Company believes and contended that these 2014 regulations were contrary to the Contract of Work. After PTNNT’s Batu Hijau mine was shut down in June 2014 due to an inability to export copper concentrate and PTNNT and its majority shareholder filed for international arbitration, PTNNT and the government entered into a Memorandum of Understanding in September 2014 in which, among other things, PTNNT agreed to pay higher royalties and certain export duties and the government agreed to issue permits to allow PTNNT to export and sell copper concentrates. The government then issued several six month export permits commencing in September 2014, March 2015 and November 2015. The most recent November permit was issued following a two month delay and expires in May 2016. PTNNT is continuing to work with the government to amend its Contract of Work to resolve ongoing issues pertaining to in-country smelting and refining and export of copper concentrate. However, due to the limited smelting and refining capacity in Indonesia, the 2014 regulations could result in the inability to export copper concentrate or additional financial obligations, which could adversely impact our future operating and financial results.

 

Violence committed by radical elements in Indonesia and other countries and U.S. involvement in conflicts in the Middle East, may increase the risk that foreign operations owned by U.S. companies will be the target of violence. If our Batu Hijau operation were so targeted it could have an adverse effect on our business.

 

Our Batu Hijau operation faced demonstrations by the local community in 2011 and again in 2015 relating to a worker recruitment process, including protests and roadblocks. We cannot predict whether similar or more significant incidents will occur and the recurrence of significant opposition from the local community could disrupt mining activities and, thereby, adversely affect Batu Hijau’s assets and operations. Batu Hijau also faced temporary work stoppages in 2011 and 2012. Indonesia has seen greater worker and union activism in recent times, and a strike or other labor disputes could adversely affect Batu Hijau’s operations.

 

We are required to apply for renewals of certain key permits related to Batu Hijau. For example, PTNNT utilizes a submarine tailings placement (“STP”) system. The STP system is operated pursuant to a permit from the government of Indonesia that was renewed in 2011 and expires in mid-2016. The inability to renew the STP permit, the export permit or other key permits would be expected to adversely impact Batu Hijau operations and may adversely impact our future operating and financial results.

 

Our ownership interest in Batu Hijau has been reduced in accordance with the Contract of Work issued by the Indonesian Government and future reductions in our interest in PTNNT may result in our loss of control over the Batu Hijau operations.

 

We currently have a 31.5% direct ownership interest in PTNNT, held through Nusa Tenggara Partnership B.V. (“NTPBV”), which is owned with an affiliate of Sumitomo Corporation of Japan (“Sumitomo”). We have a 56.25% interest in NTPBV and a Sumitomo affiliate holds the remaining 43.75%. NTPBV in turn owns 56% of PTNNT, the Indonesian subsidiary that owns Batu Hijau. In December 2009, Newmont entered into a transaction with P.T. Pukuafu Indah (“PTPI”), an unrelated noncontrolling shareholder in PTNNT, whereby we agreed to advance certain funds to PTPI in exchange for (i) a pledge of PTPI’s 20% shareholding in PTNNT; (ii) an assignment of dividends payable on the shares, net of withholding tax; (iii) a commitment to support the application

of our standards to the operation of the Batu Hijau mine; and (iv) as of September 16, 2011, powers of attorney to vote and sell the PTNNT shares (only as further security for the financing arrangement in support of the pledge, and only enforceable in an event of default). On June 25, 2010, PTPI completed the sale of approximately a 2.2% interest in PTNNT to PT Indonesia Masbaga Investama (“PTIMI”), and, to effectuate PTPI’s desire to sell the shares, Newmont entered into a transaction with PTIMI whereby we agreed to advance certain funds to PTIMI in exchange for (i) a pledge of PTIMI’s 2.2% shareholding in PTNNT; (ii) an assignment of dividends payable on the shares, net of withholding tax; and (iii) a commitment to support the application of our standards to the operation of the Batu Hijau mine. Under the terms of the transaction, the Company has no powers of attorney or other right to vote PTIMI’s shares. Based on the above transactions, Newmont recognizes an additional 17% effective economic interest in PTNNT. Combined with Newmont’s 56.25% ownership in NTPBV, Newmont has a 48.5% effective economic interest in PTNNT and continues to consolidate Batu Hijau in its Consolidated Financial Statements.

 

Under the Contract of Work executed in 1986 between the Indonesian government and PTNNT, 51% of PTNNT’s shares were required to be offered for sale, first, to the Indonesian government or, second, to Indonesian nationals by March 31, 2010. As PTPI owned 20% of PTNNT’s shares at relevant times and an additional 24% stake in PTNNT had previously been divested, a final 7% stake was offered to the Indonesian government in March 2010. On May 6, 2011 we announced that a definitive agreement was signed with an agency of the Indonesian Government’s Ministry of Finance for the sale of the final 7% divestiture stake. Subsequently, a dispute over the legality of the purchase under relevant laws and regulations arose between certain members of parliament and the Ministry of Finance, and the transaction never closed despite NTPBV and the agency repeatedly agreeing to extend the period for satisfying the closing conditions. Upon divestment of the 7% stake, our ownership interest in the Batu Hijau mine’s production, assets and proven and probable reserves would reduce to a 27.5625% direct ownership interest as NTPBV’s ownership interest in PTNNT would reduce to 49%, thus potentially affecting our ability to control the operation at Batu Hijau. We will also continue to hold, however, a 17% effective economic interest in PTNNT through the financing arrangements with existing shareholders described above, and we have identified Variable Interest Entities in connection with our economic interests in PTNNT due to these financing arrangements and shareholder commitments. Therefore, we expect to continue to consolidate PTNNT in our Consolidated Financial Statements after the final 7% sale is completed. Loss of effective control over PTNNT operations may result in our deconsolidation of PTNNT for accounting purposes, which would reduce our reported consolidated sales, total assets and operating cash flows. See Note 30 to the Consolidated Financial Statements for more information on the PTNNT share divestiture.

 

As part of the negotiation of the 2009 divestiture share sale agreements with PT Multi Daerah Bersaing (“PTMDB”), the nominee of the local governments, the parties executed an operating agreement (the “Operating Agreement”), under which each recognizes the rights of Newmont and Sumitomo to apply their operating standards to the management of PTNNT’s operations, including standards for safety, environmental stewardship and community responsibility. The Operating Agreement became effective in February 2010 and will continue for so long as Newmont and Sumitomo collectively own more shares of PTNNT than PTMDB. If the Operating Agreement terminates, then Newmont may lose control over the applicable operating standards for Batu Hijau and will be at risk for operations conducted in a manner that detracts from value or results in safety, environmental or social standards below those adhered to by Newmont and Sumitomo.

 

The Contract of Work has been and may continue to be the subject of dispute, legal review, or requests for renegotiation by the Indonesian government, and is subject to termination by the Indonesian government if we do not comply with our obligations, which would result in the loss of all or much of the value of Batu Hijau.

 

The divestiture provisions of the Contract of Work have been the subject of dispute. In 2008, Indonesia’s Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (the “MEMR”) alleged that PTNNT breached its divestiture requirements under the Contract of Work and threatened to terminate the Contract of Work if PTNNT did not agree to divest shares in accordance with the direction of the MEMR. The matter was resolved by an international arbitration panel in March 2009. The arbitration decision led to NTPBV divesting 24% of PTNNT’s shares to PTMDB, the party nominated by the MEMR.

 

Although the Indonesian government has not, since the 2008 arbitration, alleged that PTNNT is in breach of the Contract of Work, future disputes may arise under the Contract of Work. From time to time, some Indonesian government officials have advocated for the elimination of Contracts of Work and could instigate future disputes surrounding the Contract of Work, particularly given that Batu Hijau is a large business operated by a non-Indonesian company. Although any dispute under the Contract of Work is subject to international arbitration, there can be no assurance that we would prevail in any such dispute and any termination of the Contract of Work could result in substantial diminution in the value of our interests in PTNNT. See Note 30 to the Consolidated Financial Statements for more information about the disputes involving the Contract of Work.

 

 

In January 2009, the Indonesian Government passed a new mining law. While the law preserves the validity of the Contract of Work, and therefore, PTNNT’s right to operate Batu Hijau pursuant to the Contract of Work, in January 2014 the Indonesian

government issued new regulations pertaining to domestic processing and refining and the export of copper concentrate that contained restrictive conditions for export permits and a new export duty, which regulations conflict with the provisions of the Contract of Work. After PTNNT’s Batu Hijau mine was shut down in June 2014 due to an inability to export copper concentrate and PTNNT and its majority shareholder filed for international arbitration, PTNNT and the government entered into a Memorandum of Understanding in September 2014 that set out a framework for negotiating an amendment to the Contract of Work. PTNNT and the Indonesian government have not yet reached agreement on terms for an amendment to the Contract of Work and no assurances can be made in respect of the outcome of such negotiations or future permit renewals. Future disputes relating to the Contract of Work or the failure to obtain export permits could impact operating plans at Batu Hijau and adversely impact our future operating and financial results.

 

Our operations at Yanacocha and the development of our Conga Project in Peru are subject to political and social unrest risks.

 

During the last several years, Minera Yanacocha S.R.L. (“Yanacocha”), in which we own a 51.35% interest, and whose properties include the mining operations at Yanacocha and the Conga Project in Peru, has been the target of local political and community protests, some of which blocked the road between the Yanacocha mine and Conga project complexes and the City of Cajamarca in Peru and resulted in vandalism and equipment damage. We cannot predict whether similar or more significant incidents will occur in the future. The recurrence of significant political or community opposition or protests could continue to adversely affect Conga’s development and the continued operation of Yanacocha.

 

Construction activities on our Conga Project were suspended on November 30, 2011, at the request of Peru’s central government following increasing protests in Cajamarca by anti-mining activists led by the regional president. At the request of the Peruvian central government, the environmental impact assessment prepared in connection with the project, which was previously approved by the central government in October 2010, was reviewed by independent experts in an effort to resolve allegations around the environmental viability of Conga. This review concluded that the environmental impact assessment complied with international standards and provided some recommendations to improve water management. Yanacocha is currently focusing on the construction of water reservoirs prior to the development of other project facilities. However, development of Conga is contingent upon generating acceptable project returns and getting local community and government support. Under the current social and political environment, the Company does not anticipate being able to develop Conga for the foreseeable future. Given recent expiration of operating and construction permits and the related uncertainty around the renewal of those permits, as well as the deferral of the project, the Company has removed Conga from its Reserves statement and reclassified the project as Mineralized Material. Should the Company be unable to develop Conga, the Company may in the future reprioritize and reallocate capital to other development alternatives, which may result in an impairment of the Conga Project and further reclassification of the related Mineralized Material.

 

The Central Government of Peru continued to support responsible mining as a vehicle for the growth and future development of Peru in 2014. However, we are unable to predict whether the Central government will continue to take similar positions in the future. The regional government of Cajamarca and other political parties actively opposed the Conga Project and continue to reject the viability of its development. We are unable to predict the positions that will be taken in the future and whether such positions or changes in law will affect Yanacocha or Conga. Such changes may include increased labor regulations, environmental and other regulatory requirements, and additional taxes and royalties, as well as future protests, community demands and road blockages. We cannot predict future positions of either the Central or regional government on foreign investment, mining concessions, land tenure or other regulation. Any change in government positions or laws on these issues could adversely affect the assets and operations of Yanacocha or Conga, which could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and financial position. Additionally, the inability to develop Conga or operate at Yanacocha could have an adverse impact on our growth and production in the region.

 

 

In addition, in early 2015, the Peruvian government agency responsible for certain environmental regulations, the Ministry of the Environment (“MINAM”), issued proposed water quality criteria for designated beneficial uses which apply to mining companies, including Yanacocha. These criteria would modify the in-stream water quality criteria pursuant to which Yanacocha has been designing water treatment processes and infrastructure. In 2015, MINAM issued the final regulation that modified the water quality standards and extended the compliance deadline. This law provides 60 days to notify whether the Company is able to comply with the new standards and one year to submit a modification to the previously approved Environmental Impact Assessment. A total of up to four years are allowed for permitting, detailed engineering, and construction of water treatment facilities required for compliance with the new water quality standards. Yanacocha is currently assessing treatment options in connection with the new water quality standards. Those treatment options may result in increased costs. If Yanacocha is unsuccessful in designing, constructing and implementing effective treatment options in the next four years, it could result in potential fines and penalties relating to potential intermittent non-compliant exceedances. These impacts may adversely impact the future cost, production and financial performance of our operations in Peru.

 

Our business depends on good relations with our employees.

 

Production at our mines is dependent upon the efforts of our employees and, consequently, our maintenance of good relationships with our employees. Due to union activities or other employee actions, we could experience labor disputes, work stoppages or other disruptions in production that could adversely affect us. At December 31, 2015, various unions represented approximately 41% of our employee work force worldwide. The collective bargaining agreements with the workforce in Ghana expired in 2014. The 2014 wage negotiations with the union in connection with the collective bargaining process concluded in September 2015 through arbitration after a prolonged negotiation. Wage negotiations in Ghana for 2015 wages remain ongoing. Batu Hijau also faced temporary work stoppages in 2011 and 2012, and the operation’s collective bargaining agreement with the workforce expires at the end of 2016. Indonesia has seen greater worker and union activism in recent times and during those negotiations. The labor agreement in Peru will expire in April 2016 and the collective labor agreement in Nevada will expire in January 2019. A failure to successfully enter into new contracts could result in future labor disputes, work stoppages or other disruptions in production that could adversely affect our operations and financial performance. As such, there can be no assurance that any future disputes will be resolved without disruptions to operations.

 

Our Company and the mining industry are facing continued geotechnical challenges, which could adversely impact our production and profitability.

 

Newmont and the mining industry are facing continued geotechnical challenges due to the older age of certain of our mines and a trend toward mining deeper pits and more complex deposits. This leads to higher pit walls, more complex underground environments and increased exposure to geotechnical instability and hydrological impacts. As our operations are maturing, the open pits at many of our sites are getting deeper and we have experienced certain geotechnical failures at some of our mines, including, without limitation, in Indonesia at the Batu Hijau open-pit mine and at our operations in Australia, Nevada, Peru and Colorado.

 

No assurances can be given that unanticipated adverse geotechnical and hydrological conditions, such as landslides and pit wall failures, will not occur in the future or that such events will be detected in advance. Geotechnical instabilities can be difficult to predict and are often affected by risks and hazards outside of our control, such as severe weather and considerable rainfall, which may lead to periodic floods, mudslides, wall instability and seismic activity, which may result in slippage of material.

 

Geotechnical failures could result in limited or restricted access to mine sites, suspension of operations, government investigations, increased monitoring costs, remediation costs, loss of ore and other impacts, which could cause one or more of our projects to be less profitable than currently anticipated and could result in a material adverse effect on our results of operations and financial position.

 

Currency fluctuations may affect our costs.

 

Currency fluctuations may affect the costs that we incur at our operations. Gold and copper are sold throughout the world based principally on the U.S. dollar price, but a portion of our operating expenses are incurred in local currencies. The appreciation of those local currencies against the U.S. dollar increases our costs of production in U.S. dollar terms at mines located outside the United States.

 

The foreign currency that primarily impacts our results of operations is the Australian dollar. We estimate that every $0.10 increase in the U.S. dollar/Australian dollar exchange rate increases annually the U.S. dollar Costs applicable to sales by approximately $79 for each ounce of gold sold from operations in Australia before taking into account the impact of currency hedging. During the majority of 2015, the Australian dollar was relatively weaker than the U.S. dollar compared to 2014. The annual average Australian dollar exchange rate depreciated by approximately 7% from December 31, 2013 to December 31, 2014. The annual average Australian dollar exchange rate further depreciated by approximately 17% from December 31, 2014 to December 31, 2015. We hedge a portion of our future forecasted Australian dollar denominated operating expenditures to reduce the variability of our Australian dollar exposure. At December 31, 2015, we had hedged 12%, 8%, and 4%, of our forecasted Australian denominated operating costs in 2016, 2017, and 2018, respectively. Our Australian dollar derivative programs will limit the benefit to Newmont of future decreases, if any, in the U.S. dollar/Australian dollar exchange rates.

 

Our business requires substantial capital investment and we may be unable to raise additional funding on favorable terms.

 

The construction and operation of potential future projects and various exploration projects will require significant funding. Our operating cash flow and other sources of funding may become insufficient to meet all of these requirements, depending on the timing

and costs of development of these and other projects. As a result, new sources of capital may be needed to meet the funding requirements of these investments, fund our ongoing business activities and pay dividends. Our ability to raise and service significant new sources of capital will be a function of macroeconomic conditions, future gold and copper prices, our operational performance and our current cash flow and debt position, among other factors. In the event of lower gold and copper prices, unanticipated operating or financial challenges, or a further dislocation in the financial markets as experienced in recent years, our ability to pursue new business opportunities, invest in existing and new projects, fund our ongoing operations, retire or service all of our outstanding debt and pay dividends could be significantly constrained.

 

To the extent that we seek to expand our operations and increase our reserves through acquisitions, we may experience issues in executing acquisitions or integrating acquired operations.

 

From time to time, we examine opportunities to make selective acquisitions in order to provide increased returns to our shareholders and to expand our operations and reported reserves and, potentially, generate synergies. The success of any acquisition would depend on a number of factors, including, but not limited to:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There can be no assurance that we will be able to conclude any acquisitions successfully or that any acquisition will achieve the anticipated synergies or other positive results. Any material problems that we encounter in connection with such an acquisition could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial position.

 

Our operations may be adversely affected by energy shortages.

 

Our mining operations and development projects require significant amounts of energy. Our principal energy sources are electricity, purchased petroleum products, natural gas and coal. Some of our operations are in remote locations requiring long distance transmission of power, and in some locations we compete with other companies for access to third party power generators or electrical supply networks. A disruption in the transmission of energy, inadequate energy transmission infrastructure or the termination of any of our energy supply contracts could interrupt our energy supply and adversely affect our operations.

 

We have periodically experienced power shortages in Ghana resulting primarily from drought, insufficient rainfall, unavailability of thermal plants, shortage of fuel or other circumstances, increasing demands for electricity and insufficient hydroelectric or other generating capacity which caused curtailment of production at our Ahafo and Akyem operations in 2015. In late January 2015, in response to power shortages in Ghana resulting from insufficient rainfall and thermal plant unavailability, the Government of Ghana imposed a country-wide power reduction and notified the mining industry of the need to reduce power usage by 33%. In order to address shut downs and load shedding concerns, the Company engaged the power generating company and the Ministry of Power to produce alternative plans to help reduce our load shedding requirements. These alternative methods may cause increases in our diesel consumption and increase our costs. By year-end, the Company entered into a three-year power supply purchase agreement that provides the Company with a fixed percentage of power supply on a take-or-pay basis to reduce the potential future load reductions. Future power shortages or disruptions and increased costs may adversely affect our results of operations and financial position.

 

Continuation of our mining production is dependent on the availability of sufficient water supplies to support our mining operations.

 

Our mining operations require significant quantities of water for mining, ore processing and related support facilities. Our operations in North and South America and Australia are in areas where water is scarce and competition among users for continuing access to water is significant. Continuous production at our mines is dependent on our ability to maintain our water rights, claims and contracts and to defeat claims adverse to our current water uses in legal proceedings. Although each of our operations currently has sufficient water rights, claims and contracts to cover its operational demands, we cannot predict the potential outcome of pending or future legal proceedings relating to our water rights, claims, contracts and uses. Water shortages may also result from weather or environmental and climate impacts out of the Company’s control. For example, the continuation of the below average rainfall or the occurrence of drought in southwest Australia could impact our raw water supply at Boddington. While we incorporated systems to address the impact of dry season as part of our operating plans, we can make no assurances that those systems will be sufficient to address all shortages in water supply, which could result in production and processing interruptions. The loss of some or all water rights for any of our mines, in whole or in part, or shortages of water to which we have rights could require us to curtail or shut down mining production and could prevent us from pursuing expansion opportunities. Laws and regulations may be introduced in some jurisdictions in which we operate which could limit our access to sufficient water resources in our operations, thus adversely affecting our operations.

 

We are dependent upon information technology systems, which are subject to disruption, damage, failure and risks associated with implementation and integration.

 

We are dependent upon information technology systems in the conduct of our operations. Our information technology systems are subject to disruption, damage or failure from a variety of sources, including, without limitation, computer viruses, security breaches, cyber-attacks, natural disasters and defects in design. Cybersecurity incidents, in particular, are evolving and include, but are not limited to, malicious software, attempts to gain unauthorized access to data and other electronic security breaches that could lead to disruptions in systems, unauthorized release of confidential or otherwise protected information and the corruption of data. Various measures have been implemented to manage our risks related to information technology systems and network disruptions. However, given the unpredictability of the timing, nature and scope of information technology disruptions, we could potentially be subject to production downtimes, operational delays, the compromising of confidential or otherwise protected information, destruction or corruption of data, security breaches, other manipulation or improper use of our systems and networks or financial losses from remedial actions, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our cash flows, competitive position, financial condition or results of operations.

 

We could also be adversely affected by system or network disruptions if new or upgraded information technology systems are defective, not installed properly or not properly integrated into our operations. Various measures have been implemented to manage our risks related to the system implementation and modification, but system modification failures could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial position and results of operations and could, if not successfully implemented, adversely impact the effectiveness of our internal controls over financial reporting.

 

The occurrence of events for which we are not insured may affect our cash flow and overall profitability.

 

We maintain insurance policies that mitigate against certain risks related to our operations. This insurance is maintained in amounts that we believe are reasonable depending upon the circumstances surrounding each identified risk. However, we may elect not to have insurance for certain risks because of the high premiums associated with insuring those risks or for various other reasons; in other cases, insurance may not be available for certain risks. Some concern always exists with respect to investments in parts of the world where civil unrest, war, nationalist movements, political violence or economic crises are possible. These countries may also pose heightened risks of expropriation of assets, business interruption, increased taxation or unilateral modification of concessions and contracts. We do not maintain insurance policies against political risk. Occurrence of events for which we are not insured may affect our results of operations and financial position.

 

We rely on contractors to conduct a significant portion of our operations and construction projects.

 

A significant portion of our operations and construction projects are currently conducted in whole or in part by contractors. As a result, our operations are subject to a number of risks, some of which are outside our control, including:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In addition, we may incur liability to third parties as a result of the actions of our contractors. The occurrence of one or more of these risks could adversely affect our results of operations and financial position.

 

We are subject to litigation and may be subject to additional litigation in the future.

 

We are currently, and may in the future become, subject to litigation, arbitration or other legal proceedings with other parties. If decided adversely to Newmont, these legal proceedings, or others that could be brought against us in the future, could have a material adverse effect on our financial position or prospects. For a more detailed discussion of pending litigation, see Note 30 to our Consolidated Financial Statements.

 

In the event of a dispute arising at our foreign operations, we may be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of foreign courts or arbitral panels, or may not be successful in subjecting foreign persons to the jurisdiction of courts or arbitral panels in the United States. Our inability to enforce our rights and the enforcement of rights on a prejudicial basis by foreign courts or arbitral panels could have an adverse effect on our results of operations and financial position.

 

Title to some of our properties may be defective or challenged.

 

Although we have conducted title reviews of our properties, title review does not preclude third parties from challenging our title or related property rights. While we believe that we have satisfactory title to our properties, some titles may be defective or subject to challenge. In addition, certain of our Australian properties could be subject to native title or traditional landowner claims, and our ability to use these properties is dependent on agreements with traditional owners of the properties. A determination of defective title or restrictions in connection with a challenge to title rights could impact our ability to develop and operate at certain properties, which could have an adverse effect on our results of operations and financial position. For more information regarding native title or traditional landowner claims, see the discussion under the Asia Pacific Section of Item 2, Properties, in this report.

 

Civil disturbances, criminal activities, including illegal mining, and artisanal mining, occurs on or adjacent to certain of our properties, which can disrupt business and expose the Company to liability.

 

Civil disturbances and criminal activities such as trespass, illegal mining, sabotage, theft and vandalism may cause disruptions and could result in the suspension of operations and development at certain sites. Incidents of such activities have occasionally led to conflict with security personnel and/or police, which in some cases resulted in injuries including in Peru and Suriname. Although security measures have been implemented by the Company to protect employees, property and assets, such measures will not guarantee that such incidents will not continue to occur in the future, or result in harm to employees or trespassers, decrease operational efficiency or construction delays, increase community tensions or result in liabilities. The manner in which the Company’s personnel, national police or other security forces respond to civil disturbances and criminal activities can give rise to additional risks where those responses are not conducted in a manner consistent with international and Newmont standards relating to the use of force and respect for human rights. Newmont takes seriously our obligation to respect and promote human rights, is a signatory to and active participant in the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights, and has adopted a Sustainability and Stakeholder Engagement Policy and Human Rights Standard in-line with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. Nonetheless, although the Company has implemented a number of significant measures and safeguards which are intended to ensure that their personnel understand and uphold these standards, the implementation of these measures will not guarantee that personnel, national police or other security forces will uphold these standards in every instance. The failure to conduct security operations in accordance with these standards can result in harm to employees, community members or trespassers, increase community tensions, reputational harm to Newmont or result in criminal and/or civil liability and/or financial damages or penalties.

 

Artisanal and illegal miners have been active on, or adjacent to, some of Newmont’s African, Indonesian and South American properties, including recently at Suriname. Illegal mining, which involves trespass into the development or operating area of the mine, is both a security and safety issue, which may present a security threat to property and human life. The illegal miners from time to time have clashed with security staff and law enforcement personnel who have attempted to move them away from the facilities. Although, under certain circumstances, artisanal mining may be a legally sanctioned activity, artisanal mining is also associated with a number of negative impacts, including environmental degradation, poor working practices, erosion of civil society, human rights abuse and funding of conflict. The environmental, social, safety and health impacts of artisanal and illegal mining are frequently attributed to formal mining activity, and it is often assumed that artisanally-mined gold is channeled through large-scale mining operators, even though artisanal and large-scale miners may have separate supply chains. These misconceptions impact negatively on the reputation of the industry. The activities of the illegal miners could cause damage to Newmont’s properties for which Newmont could potentially be held responsible. The presence of illegal miners could lead to exploration and project delays and disputes regarding the development or operation of commercial gold deposits. Illegal mining and theft could also result in lost gold production and reserves, mine and development stoppages, and have a material adverse effect on financial condition or results of operations or project development.

 

Competition from other natural resource companies may harm our business.

 

We compete with other natural resource companies to attract and retain key executives, skilled labor, contractors and other employees. We also compete with other natural resource companies for specialized equipment, components and supplies, such as drill rigs, necessary for exploration and development, as well as for rights to mine properties containing gold, copper and other minerals. We may be unable to continue to attract and retain skilled and experienced employees, to obtain the services of skilled personnel and contractors or specialized equipment or supplies, or to acquire additional rights to mine properties, which could have an adverse effect on our competitive position or adversely impact our results of operations.

 

Our ability to recognize the benefits of deferred tax assets is dependent on future cash flows and taxable income.

 

We recognize the expected future tax benefit from deferred tax assets when the tax benefit is considered to be more likely than not of being realized, otherwise, a valuation allowance is applied against deferred tax assets. Assessing the recoverability of deferred tax assets requires management to make significant estimates related to expectations of future taxable income. Estimates of future taxable income are based on forecasted cash flows from operations and the application of existing tax laws in each jurisdiction. To the extent that future cash flows and taxable income differ significantly from estimates, our ability to realize the deferred tax assets could be impacted. In the future, our estimates could change requiring a valuation allowance or impairment of our deferred tax assets. Additionally, future changes in tax laws could limit our ability to obtain the future tax benefits represented by our deferred tax assets. At December 31, 2015, the Company’s long-term deferred tax assets were $1,718.

 

Returns for investments in pension plans are uncertain.

 

We maintain pension plans for certain employees which provide for specified payments after retirement. The ability of the pension plans to provide the specified benefits depends on our funding of the plans and returns on investments made by the plans. Returns, if any, on investments are subject to fluctuations based on investment choices and market conditions. A sustained period of low returns or losses on investments could require us to fund the pension plans to a greater extent than anticipated. If future plan investment returns are not sufficient, we may be required to increase the amount of future cash contributions.

 

Any downgrade in the credit ratings assigned to our debt securities could increase our future borrowing costs and adversely affect the availability of new financing.

 

There can be no assurance that any rating currently assigned by Standard & Poor’s Rating Services or Moody’s Investors Service to Newmont will remain unchanged for any given period of time or that a rating will not be lowered if, in that rating agency’s judgment, future circumstances relating to the basis of the rating so warrant. If we are unable to maintain our outstanding debt and financial ratios at levels acceptable to the credit rating agencies, or should our business prospects or financial results deteriorate, our ratings could be downgraded by the rating agencies. In November 2013, Standard & Poor’s lowered our credit rating from BBB+ to BBB, and, in June 2014, revised its outlook to negative from stable. In January 2014, Moody’s Investors Service issued a notice that Newmont’s debt had been placed on “Review for possible downgrade.” Subsequently in May 2014, Moody’s Investors Service issued a notice that Newmont’s debt has been downgraded to Baa2 with negative outlook. In June 2015, Standard & Poor’s reaffirmed our credit rating at “BBB” rating and revised its outlook from negative to stable. In January 2016, the Company was one of 11 mining companies rated in the U.S. that was placed on review by Moody’s Investor Services for potential downgrade. We cannot make assurances regarding the outcome of the rating agencies future reviews. A downgrade by the rating agencies could adversely affect the value of our outstanding securities, our existing debt and our ability to obtain new financing on favorable terms, if at all, and increase our borrowing costs, which in turn could impair our results of operations and financial position.

Future funding requirements may affect our business.

 

Potential future investments, including projects in the Company’s project pipeline, acquisitions and other investments, will require significant funds for capital expenditures. Depending on gold and copper prices, our operating cash flow may not be sufficient to meet all of these expenditures, depending on the timing of development of these and other projects. As a result, new sources of capital may be needed to meet the funding requirements of these investments, fund our ongoing business activities and pay dividends. Our ability to raise and service significant new sources of capital will be a function of macroeconomic conditions, future gold and copper prices as well as our operational performance, current cash flow and debt position, among other factors. In light of the limited global availability of credit, and given our existing debt position, we may determine that it may be necessary or preferable to issue additional equity or other securities, defer projects or sell assets. Additional financing may not be available when needed or, if available, the terms of such financing may not be favorable to us and, if raised by offering equity securities, any additional financing may involve substantial dilution to existing shareholders. In the event of lower gold and copper prices, unanticipated operating or financial challenges, or new funding limitations, our ability to pursue new business opportunities, invest in existing and new projects, fund our ongoing business activities, retire or service all outstanding debt and pay dividends could be significantly constrained.

 

The price of our common stock may be volatile, which may make it difficult for you to resell the common stock when you want or at prices you find attractive.

 

The market price and volume of our common stock may be subject to significant fluctuations due not only to general stock market conditions but also to a change in sentiment in the market regarding our operations, business prospects or liquidity. Among the factors that could affect the price of our common stock are:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The stock markets in general have experienced extreme volatility that has at times been unrelated to the operating performance of particular companies. These broad market fluctuations may adversely affect the trading price of our common stock.

 

Holders of our common stock may not receive dividends.

 

Holders of our common stock are entitled to receive only such dividends as our Board of Directors may declare out of funds legally available for such payments. We are incorporated in Delaware and governed by the Delaware General Corporation Law. Delaware law allows a corporation to pay dividends only out of surplus, as determined under Delaware law or, if there is no surplus, out of net profits for the fiscal year in which the dividend was declared and for the preceding fiscal year. Under Delaware law, however, we cannot pay dividends out of net profits if, after we pay the dividend, our capital would be less than the capital represented by the outstanding stock of all classes having a preference upon the distribution of assets. Our ability to pay dividends will be subject to our future earnings, capital requirements and financial condition, as well as our compliance with covenants and financial ratios related to existing or future indebtedness. Although we have historically declared cash dividends on our common stock and utilized a gold price-linked dividend policy, we are not required to declare cash dividends on our common stock and our Board of Directors may modify the dividend policy or reduce, defer or eliminate our common stock dividend in the future.

 

ITEM 2.PROPERTIES (dollars in millions, except per share, per ounce and per pound amounts) 

 

 

Production and Development Properties 

 

Newmont’s significant production and development properties are described below. Operating statistics for each region are presented in a table in the Operating Statistics section.

 

North America

 

The North America region maintains its headquarters in Elko, Nevada. The region operates four sites – Carlin, Phoenix, Twin Creeks and Cripple Creek & Victor.

 

In Nevada, mining taxes are assessed on up to 5% of net proceeds of a mine. Net proceeds are calculated as the excess of gross yield over direct costs. Gross yield is determined as the value received when minerals are sold, exchanged for anything of value or removed from the state. Direct costs generally include the costs to develop, extract, produce, transport and refine minerals.

 

Carlin, Nevada, USA. (100% owned) The Carlin property is located 25 miles west of Elko, Nevada off of Interstate 80 and can be accessed by paved highway. Newmont either owns the private fee land and unpatented mining claims or controls the land through long term mining leases, with regard to the minerals and surface area within the boundaries of the present operations. Properties held under long term mining leases expire at varying dates over the next 40 years. With respect to a portion of the Gold Quarry pit, we pay a royalty equivalent to 16.2% of the mineral production. With respect to various other Carlin deposits, we pay third party royalties that vary from 1% to 8% of production.

 

Carlin’s integrated mining operations consist of three open pits and four underground mines. The open pits include the Emigrant pit and the Gold Quarry pit in the South end of the Carlin Trend and the Silverstar pit at the North end of the Carlin Trend. The underground mines include Leeville, which is a shaft mine, along with Chukar, Pete Bajo and Exodus, which are portal mines. The majority of the underground ore as well as higher-grade surface refractory ores are processed through the roaster (Mill 6) which consists of a grinding circuit, roasting circuit and a conventional carbon-in leach circuit. Mill 6 processed approximately 3.5 million tons of ore in 2015. Higher-grade surface oxide ores are processed by conventional milling and cyanide leaching at Mill 5.

Additionally, Mill 5 operates as a flotation mill treating lower grade, non-carbonaceous, sulfidic refractory ore to produce a gold/pyrite concentrate. Mill 5 processed approximately 5 million tons of ore in 2015. Lower-grade surface material with suitable cyanide solubility is treated on one of four heap leach pads. Carlin’s available mining fleet consists of six shovels and fifty-four haul trucks which range from 150 to 250 tons. We have been mining gold at Carlin since 1965.

 

Carlin is a sediment-hosted disseminated gold deposit. Work has been completed to expand underground airflow at the Leeville mine to allow for increased mining rates and future mine expansion. Near-mine exploration and development of new reserves is ongoing. 

 

Power is supplied by Wells Rural Electric Company (“WREC”) in the southern section of the property and in the northern section of the property power is partially supplied by a power plant Newmont built and placed in operations in 2008. Power generated is sold to NV Energy and then repurchased by the operations.

 

Carlin’s gross Property, plant and mine development at December 31, 2015 was $3,887. Carlin produced 886,000 ounces of gold in 2015, and at December 31, 2015, reported 16.8 million ounces of gold reserves.

 

Phoenix, Nevada, USA. The Phoenix property is comprised of the Phoenix operations and the Lone Tree operations, both of which are 100% owned. The Phoenix and Lone Tree properties are owned through fee property and unpatented mining claims.

 

Phoenix is an open pit operation, located approximately 10 miles south of Battle Mountain, Nevada and can be accessed by paved highway to a Newmont maintained dirt road. Phoenix was acquired through the Battle Mountain Gold merger and began operations in 2006.

 

Phoenix is a skarn-hosted polymetallic massive sulfide replacement deposit. The Phoenix mill produces a gravity gold concentrate and a copper/gold flotation concentrate and recovers additional gold from cyanide leaching of the flotation tails. The Phoenix surface mine’s available mining fleet consists of three shovels and sixteen 240 ton haul trucks. Process facilities include a flotation mill which processed approximately 11 million tons of ore in 2015, a carbon-in-leach plant, a copper leach pad and solvent extraction electrowinning (“SX/EW”) plant. The copper leach and SX/EW plant was constructed in 2013, which allows for the production of copper cathode. Near-mine exploration and development of new reserves is ongoing.

 

Lone Tree is an open pit operation, located approximately 20 miles northwest of Battle Mountain, Nevada and can be accessed by paved highway. Lone Tree was acquired through the Santa Fe merger and began operations in 1991. Mining was completed in 2007, with residual leaching and ongoing reclamation activities. Lone Tree’s available mining fleet consists of four haul trucks, which range from 150 tons to 190 tons, to rehandle leach material for residual leaching operations. The site also has an autoclave and flotation mill, which are currently on care and maintenance.

 

Power is partially supplied by a power plant Newmont built and placed in operations in 2008. Power generated is sold to NV Energy and then repurchased by the operations.

 

The Phoenix operations gross Property, plant and mine development at December 31, 2015 was $1,261. The Phoenix operations produced 205,000 ounces of gold and 46 million pounds of copper in 2015, and at December 31, 2015, reported 5.1 million ounces of gold reserves and 1,750 million pounds of copper reserves.

 

Twin Creeks, Nevada, USA. The Twin Creeks property is comprised of the Twin Creeks mine and the Turquoise Ridge Joint Venture.

 

Twin Creeks (100% owned) is an open pit operation, located approximately 15 miles north of Golconda, Nevada and can be accessed by paved highway to a Newmont maintained dirt road. The Twin Creeks mine is an open pit mine that began operations in 1987 and was acquired through the Santa Fe merger in 1997. The property is owned through fee property and unpatented mining claims.

 

Twin Creeks is a sediment-hosted disseminated gold deposit. Higher-grade oxide ores are processed by conventional milling and cyanide leaching at the Juniper mill. The autoclaves (Sage) process higher-grade refractory ores and lower-grade material with suitable cyanide solubility is treated on heap leach pads. Twin Creeks’ available mining fleet consists of three shovels and fourteen 240 ton haul trucks. The process facilities include an autoclave which processed approximately 3.7 million tons of ore in 2015, an oxide mill which processed 1.2 million tons of ore in 2015 and three leach pads. Near-mine exploration and development of new reserves is ongoing.

 

Power is partially supplied by a power plant Newmont built and placed in operations in 2008. Power generated is sold to NV Energy and then repurchased by the operations.

 

We have a 25% interest in a joint venture with a subsidiary of Barrick Gold Corporation (“Barrick”) in Turquoise Ridge. Turquoise Ridge Joint Venture is an underground gold mine located in Golconda, Nevada. Operations at Turquoise Ridge consist of an underground mine. We report our interest in Turquoise Ridge on a pro rata basis. Turquoise Ridge is a refractory ore deposit which utilizes the Twin Creeks autoclave for processing. We have an agreement to provide up to 2,000 tons per day of milling capacity at Twin Creeks to the joint venture. Barrick is the operator of the joint venture. In 2015, gold production of 68,000 ounces was attributable to Newmont from the joint venture.

 

The Twin Creeks operations gross Property, plant and mine development at December 31, 2015 was $1,462. The Twin Creeks operation produced 471,000 ounces of gold in 2015, and at December 31, 2015, reported 5.4 million ounces of attributable gold reserves.

 

Long Canyon, Nevada, USA. (100% owned) Long Canyon is located approximately 75 miles east of Elko, Nevada off of Interstate 80 and can be accessed by paved highway. The Long Canyon Project was acquired in 2011 through the purchase of Fronteer Gold Inc. Newmont owns the private fee land and unpatented mining claims, with regard to all of the minerals and surface area within the boundaries of the present operations.

 

Long Canyon is a sediment-hosted disseminated gold deposit which will utilize heap leaching to recover the minerals. Construction is underway to construct an open pit operating mine with leach facilities. Near-mine exploration and development of new reserves is ongoing.

 

Power is supplied by WREC.

 

Long Canyon’s gross Property, plant and mine development at December 31, 2015 was $1,015. At December 31, 2015, Long Canyon reported 1.2 million ounces of gold reserves.

 

Cripple Creek & Victor, Colorado, USA. (100% owned) Cripple Creek &Victor (“CC&V”) is an open pit operation, located next to the town of Victor, Colorado and can be accessed by paved highway. On August 3, 2015, Newmont acquired CC&V through a purchase from AngloGold Ashanti Limited. The vast majority of the property is controlled through fee patented mining claims as well as long term mining leases. Royalties on various sections of the deposit vary up to 5% of production.

 

CC&V is an epithermal alkalic deposit which utilizes heap leaching to recover the minerals. A newly constructed mill is used to recover higher grade ore. CC&V’s available mining fleet consists of three shovels and thirty-one haul trucks with capacity ranges from 85 tons to 240 tons. The process facilities include a newly built mill, a leach pad currently under construction and one operating leach pad. Construction of the mill was completed in early 2015 while work continues to complete the construction of the new leach pad and second recovery plant. Near-mine exploration and development of new reserves is ongoing.

 

Power is supplied by Black Hills Energy.

 

CC&V’s gross Property, plant and mine development at December 31, 2015 was $740. CC&V produced 81,000 ounces of gold from August through December 2015, and at December 31, 2015, CC&V reported 3.8 million ounces of gold reserves.

 

South America

 

The properties of Minera Yanacocha S.R.L. (“MYSRL”) include operations at Yanacocha and the Conga Project. We hold a 51.35% interest in MYSRL with the remaining interests held by Compañia de Minas Buenaventura, S.A.A. (“Buenaventura”) (43.65%) and the International Finance Corporation (5%).

 

MYSRL and a related entity have mining concessions granted by the Peruvian mining authority. Mining concessions grant MYSRL an exclusive and irrevocable right to carry out exploration and exploitation activities within a specified area. MYSRL must obtain the corresponding exploration and exploitation permits as well as the rights over the surface lands. General obligations to keep the concessions in good standing include the payment of an annual license fee and complying with a minimum annual production obligation. For mining concessions granted prior to 2008, if the production obligations are not met by the end of 2028, the mining concessions will expire. For mining concessions granted in 2008 or thereafter, if minimum production is not attained by the 20th year

from the date of grant, the mining concession will expire. Beginning October 1, 2011, mining companies are subject to a revised royalty and special mining tax, dependent on whether or not a stabilization agreement is in effect. The revised royalty and special mining taxes are based on a sliding scale, between 1% and 12%.

 

Yanacocha, Peru. Yanacocha is located approximately 375 miles (604 kilometers) north of Lima and 30 miles (48 kilometers) north of the city of Cajamarca and is primarily accessible by paved and dirt roads. Yanacocha began production in 1993 at Carachugo. The Yanacocha property consists of the following open-pit mines: Chaquicocha, Maqui Maqui, Cerro Yanacocha, La Quinua Complex (La Quinua, El Tapado, Tapado Oeste), Cerro Negro Este, Western Oxide pits (La Quinua Sur and Cerro Negro Oeste), Eastern Oxide pits (Marleny and Carachugo Alto). Yanacocha has four leach pads (Carachugo, Maqui Maqui, Cerro Yanacocha and La Quinua) and four processing facilities (Pampa Larga, Yanacocha Norte, La Quinua and the Yanacocha Gold Mill).

 

The Carachugo complex mined material from the Chaquicocha Sur pit. The Carachugo open-pit mine ceased mining operations in 2004, although the leach pad remains in operation. Marleny started mining operations in May 2013 and ceased operations in April 2014. There is now a plan to restart mining at Marleny in April 2016, deepening the pit, which is scheduled to be completed by the middle of 2016. The ore from the Chaquicocha pit was primarily placed on the Carachugo leach pad or in stockpiles for further processing.

 

Mining operations at Maqui Maqui began in October 1994 and ceased in September 2000. The Maqui Maqui East expansion commenced operations in 2010 and is expected to continue until the first quarter of 2016. Gold recovery from the leach pad at Maqui Maqui continues. The ore from Maqui Maqui was primarily placed on the Maqui Maqui leach pad or in stockpiles for further processing.

 

Cerro Yanacocha began operations in 1997. Cerro Yanacocha has had limited mining operations in recent years and expects to increase mining operations in 2016. The ore from Cerro Yanacocha was placed on the Yanacocha leach pad or in stockpiles for further processing.

 

The La Quinua complex is currently mining material from the La Quinua Sur, Tapado Oeste, Tapado Oeste Layback and Cerro Negro Oeste pits. The La Quinua complex operations began in 2001. La Quinua Sur commenced mining activities in May 2014 and is scheduled to finish in 2019. Tapado Oeste commenced mining activities in 2001 and is expected to complete operations by the middle of 2016. Tapado Oeste Layback commenced mining activities during the first quarter of 2015, and is currently focused on stripping areas and mining is expected to be completed in 2019. Mining activities commenced in Cerro Negro Oeste in 2010 and are scheduled to finish in 2016. The ore from these pits is primarily placed on the La Quinua leach pad or in stockpiles for further processing.

 

Leach pads are located at Carachugo (372 million tonne capacity), Maqui Maqui (64 million tonne capacity), Cerro Yanacocha (426 million tonne capacity) and La Quinua (581 million tonne capacity, including the Western Oxides). Each of these leach pads includes at least two leach solution storage ponds and storm water ponds located down gradient from each leach pad. The Cerro Yanacocha site has two additional solution ponds for the segregation of solution generated from the treatment of transition ores. A raw water pond is used both for storm containment and to store excess solution during the wet season.

 

Yanacocha has four processing facilities: Pampa Larga, Yanacocha Norte, La Quinua and the Yanacocha Gold Mill. The processing facilities can be used to process gold-bearing solutions from any of the leach pads through a network of solution pumping facilities located adjacent to the solution storage ponds or, in the case of the Yanacocha Gold Mill, to process high-grade gold ore to produce a gold-bearing solution for treatment at the La Quinua processing plant. The Yanacocha Gold Mill commenced operations in March 2008, and it processes between 5.5 and 6.0 million tonnes per year.

 

Yanacocha’s mining activities encompass 507,050 acres (205,196 hectares) covered by 327 mining concessions. Of these 507,050 acres (205,196 hectares), another entity by the name of S.M.R.L. Chaupiloma Dos de Cajamarca holds the mining rights related to 218,604 acres (88,466 hectares), covered by 137 mining concessions. MYSRL holds the mining rights related to 116,730 hectares covered by 190 concessions. Chaupiloma has assigned these mining concessions to Yanacocha pursuant to several assignments of mining rights, each with an initial term of 20 years and one agreement with extension of 17 years, which are renewable at Yanacocha’s request for an additional 17 and 20 year terms, respectively. Yanacocha has three processing concessions from the Ministry of Energy and Mines for its processing plants: Cerro Yanacocha (Yanacocha Gold Mill, Cerro Negro, La Quinua and Yanacocha), Yanacocha (Carachugo and Pampa Larga) and China Linda (non-metallic). The processing concessions have indefinite terms, subject to the payment of an annual fee based on nominal capacity for the processing plant.

 

The material mined is from an epithermal type deposit of high sulfidation hosted in volcanic rock formations. Gold is associated with iron-oxides and pyrite. Material that has suitable cyanide solubility is placed on leach pads whereas non-leachable material is

placed in stockpiles for processing through the Yanacocha Gold Mill. Solutions generated by the leach pad and the mill are further processed through the processing facilities. Mining and processing of oxide mineralization has been ongoing since the mine opened in 1993. Studies are underway to evaluate the potential for mining sulfide gold and copper mineralization. Near-mine exploration and development of new reserves is ongoing. The development of an underground exploration tunnel commenced in November 2015.

 

Power is supplied to the operation primarily by Duke Energy Company.

 

Yanacocha’s gross Property, plant and mine development at December 31, 2015 was $4,482. Yanacocha produced 918,000 ounces of gold (471,000 attributable ounces of gold) in 2015, and at December 31, 2015, reported 2.6 million attributable ounces of gold reserves.

 

Conga, Peru. The Conga Project is located approximately 16 miles (25 kilometers) northeast of Yanacocha, within close proximity of existing operations, and is accessible by paved and dirt roads. The project is planned to be an open pit mine. Newmont received Conga from CEDIMIN as part of the Minera Yanacocha unitization in 2001 and conducted comprehensive reviews of data and subsequent drilling campaigns through 2011.

 

Conga's mining activities would encompass 35,427 acres (14,337 hectares) covered by a mining concession called "Acumulacion Minas Conga." S.M.R.L. Chaupiloma Dos de Cajarma has assigned "Acumulacion Minas Conga" to MYSRL pursuant to assignment of mining, and renewal with a term of 20 years.

 

The Conga Project is a copper-gold porphyry deposit. Conga contains economic gold and copper mineralization associated with intense quartz veining felsic porphyries. Locally, magnetite-dominated skarns contain economic gold and copper mineralization and garnet dominated skarns are enriched in zinc, lead and silver. At Chailhuagon and Perol economic gold and copper mineralization is associated with stock works of quartz veinlets and copper sulfides, particularly chalcopyrite, bornite and digenite.

 

Following the approval of the Environmental Impact Assessment in 2010, the Project’s design and construction work began. As a result of a series of demonstrations staged in Cajamarca, at the request of the Central Government, in November 2011, the Company suspended all Conga Project construction activities. The results of the Peruvian Central Government initiated Environmental Impact Assessment (“EIA”) independent review were announced on April 20, 2012 and confirmed our initial EIA met Peruvian and International standards. The review made recommendations to provide additional water capacity and social funds, which we have largely accepted. We announced our decision to move the project forward on a “water first” approach on June 22, 2012. In the first half of 2014, a Conga Restart Study was completed to identify and test alternatives to advancing development of the project. Following this assessment, a new plan was developed to reduce spending to focus on only the most critical work – protecting people and assets, engaging with communities, and maintaining existing project infrastructure – while maintaining optionality. Newmont will not proceed with the full development of Conga without social acceptance, solid project economics and potentially another partner to help defray costs and risk; it is currently difficult to predict when or whether such events may occur. Under the current social and political environment, the Company does not anticipate being able to develop Conga for the foreseeable future. The continued delay and evaluation of other alternatives may result in a potential accounting impairment or further reclassification of Mineralized Material.

 

There is no exploration and/or development of new reserves as development of the project is on hold for the foreseeable future. See Item 1A, Risk Factors, above for a description of political risks related to the project’s development and the recent reclassification of previously declared reserves to Mineralized Material.

Merian, Suriname. The Merian Gold Project (“Merian”) is owned 75% by Surgold (100% indirectly owned by Newmont Mining corporation) and 25% by Staatsolie (a company wholly owned by the Republic of Suriname). Merian is located in East Suriname, approximately 40 miles (66 kilometers) south of the town of Moengo and 19 miles (30 kilometers) north of the Nassau Mountains, close to the French Guiana border. The site is accessible by paved road from Paramaribo to Moengo and a compacted laterite road maintained mainly by the Merian project crews. Construction began in August 2014, and is planned to be in commercial production in the fourth quarter of 2016. The project is planned to have two open pits and a process plant that will consist of conventional gold processing flowsheet with a carbon-in-leach circuit.

 

Surgold and Staatsolie have a Right of Exploitation for Merian as defined in a Mineral Agreement approved by the Surinamese National Assembly in November 2013 and signed by the parties in August 2014. The Right of Exploitation is for an area of 41,484 acres (16,788 hectares), for the period of twenty five years, recorded on November 7, 2014. Surgold is subject to a 6% net smelter return royalty to the Republic of Suriname. The government can choose to take metal in kind or receive cash.

 

All of the resource gold mineralization at Merian occurs within saprolite, saprock or fresh rock and is closely associated to quartz veining within siltstone and sandstone formations.

 

The Project has progressed to a 61% completion at the end of 2015. The project includes processing facilities with a capacity of 12 million tonnes per year reducing later to 8 million tonnes per year when the mill feed will be entirely from fresh rock. A power plant with initial installed capacity of 44.5MW will enable the operations to be self-sufficient in power generation. The mine will initially operate the Merian 2 open pit, currently being prepared for full production. In late 2018, the Maraba pit is scheduled to be added to the production stream. Maintenance facilities, camp facilities with a capacity of 1,200 workers, and various offices complete the project site. Near-mine exploration and development of new reserves is ongoing. All equipment is new and of proven technology and size.

 

Power for the property is self-generated using on-site heavy fuel oil driven generators.

 

Merian is currently included in Corporate and other in Note 4 of the Consolidated Financial Statements. Merian’s gross Property, plant and mine development at December 31, 2015 was $626. At December 31, 2015, Merian reported 3.8 million attributable ounces of gold reserves.

 

Asia Pacific

 

In Australia, mineral exploration and mining titles are granted by the individual states or territories. Mineral titles may also be subject to native title legislation or, in the Northern Territory, to Aboriginal freehold title legislation that entitles indigenous persons to compensation calculated by reference to the gross value of production and with Aboriginal Freehold Title indigenous people have a right of consent. In 1992, the High Court of Australia held that Aboriginal people who have maintained a continuing connection with their land according to their traditions and customs may hold certain rights in respect of the land (such rights commonly referred to as “native title”). Since the High Court’s decision, Australia has passed legislation providing for the protection of native title and established procedures for Aboriginal people to claim these rights. The fact that native title is claimed with respect to an area, however, does not necessarily mean that native title exists, and disputes may be resolved by the courts.

 

Generally, under native title legislation, all mining titles granted before January 1, 1994 are valid. Titles granted between January 1, 1994 and December 23, 1996, however, may be subject to invalidation if they were not obtained in compliance with applicable legislative procedures, though subsequent legislation has validated some of these titles. After December 23, 1996, mining titles over areas where native title is claimed to exist became subject to legislative processes that generally give native title claimants the “right to negotiate” with the title applicant for compensation and other conditions. Native title holders do not have a veto over the granting of mining titles, but if agreement cannot be reached, the matter can be referred to the National Native Title Tribunal for decision.

 

Native title claims are not expected to have a material adverse effect on any of our operations in Australia. The High Court of Australia determined in an August 2002 decision, which refined and narrowed the scope of native title, that native title does not subsist in minerals in Western Australia and that the rights granted under a mining title would, to the extent inconsistent with asserted native title rights, operate to extinguish those native title rights. Generally, native title is only an issue for Newmont with respect to obtaining new mineral titles or moving from one form of title to another, for example, from an exploration title to a mining title. In these cases, the requirements for negotiation and the possibility of paying compensation may result in delay and increased costs for mining in the affected areas. Similarly, the process of conducting Aboriginal heritage surveys to identify and locate areas or sites of Aboriginal cultural significance can result in additional costs and delay in gaining access to land for exploration and mining-related activities.

 

In Australia, various ad valorem royalties and taxes are paid to state and territorial governments, typically based on a percentage of gross revenues or earnings. Indigenous communities have negotiated compensation/royalty payments as a condition to granting access to areas where they have native title or other property rights.

 

Boddington, Australia. (100% owned) Boddington is located 81 miles (130 kilometers) southeast of Perth in Western Australia and is accessible primarily by paved road. Mining operations consist of two open pit operations located adjacent to each other. The milling plant has a nominal capacity to process approximately 39 million tonnes of ore per year. Other major facilities include an emulsion plant, residue disposal area (tailings facility), maintenance workshops and a 2,300 room accommodation camp. Additionally, 31 residential properties are owned in Boddington as employee housing. Boddington has been wholly owned since June 2009 when Newmont acquired the final 33.33% interest from AngloGold Ashanti Australia Limited.

 

The Boddington project area comprises 46,260 acres (18,721 hectare) of mining tenure leased from the State of Western Australia, of which 20,644 acres (8,354 hectare) is subleased from the South 32 Worsley Joint Venturers. Royalties are paid to the state government at 2.5% for gold and 5% for copper based on revenue. Shipping and Treatment and Refining costs are allowable deductions from revenue for royalty calculations for copper. There is an additional profit based royalty payable to AngloGold Ashanti. This royalty is capped at $100 (of which approximately $72 has been paid out). The remaining royalty of approximately $28 is payable quarterly and is equal to 50% of the amount by which the average margin for the quarter exceeds $600 per ounce (on a by-product basis) multiplied by 33.3% of gold ounces sold in that quarter. Mining tenure terms vary between 4 to 21 years, with renewal options available on all core mining tenements. Newmont owns 74,474 acres ( 30,139 hectare) of rural freehold property, some of which overlaps the mining tenure.

 

Boddington consists of greenstone diorite hosted mineralization and activities continue to develop the known reserve.

 

The mine operates two pits (North & South Pits) utilizing three Electric Rope shovels as its prime ex-pit material movers with a production haul truck fleet of 40 and fleet of ancillary equipment as required. Boddington has a current capacity to mine approximately 235,000 tonnes of material per day. The milling plant includes a three stage crushing facility (two Primary crushers, six Secondary crushers and four high pressure grinding rolls), four ball mills, a flotation circuit and carbon-in-leach circuit. The flotation circuit process recovers copper concentrate and a portion of the gold in a copper concentrate before the material is then processed by a traditional carbon-in-leach circuit where the remaining gold is recovered.

 

Boddington’s process plant poured its first gold in September 2009 and commenced commercial production in November 2009. October 2015 saw the approval of the next major layback in the South Pit which commenced in January 2016. There is a limited near mine exploration program currently underway.

 

Power for the operation is sourced through the local power grid under a long term power purchase agreement.

 

Boddington’s gross Property, plant and mine development at December 31, 2015 was $3,950. Boddington produced 794,000 ounces of gold and 79 million pounds of copper in 2015, and at December 31, 2015, reported 11.7 million ounces of gold reserves and 1,310 million pounds of copper reserves.

 

Kalgoorlie, Australia. Newmont has 50% ownership in Kalgoorlie. We report our interest in Kalgoorlie on a pro rata basis. The mines are managed by Kalgoorlie Consolidated Gold Mine Pty Ltd (“KCGM”) for the joint venture owners, Newmont and Barrick. On May 1, 2015, Newmont assumed management oversight of the Kalgoorlie operations, under the new Management Services Agreement signed by the joint venture partners. Kalgoorlie is located 373 miles (600 kilometers) east of Perth in Western Australia and is accessible primarily by paved road. Kalgoorlie comprises the Fimiston open pit (commonly referred to as the Super Pit) and Mt Charlotte underground mines. The milling plant includes Fimiston processing plant on site at the edge of Kalgoorlie town and Gidji plant 30km outside of town. The plant has the capacity to process approximately 12.5 million tonnes of ore per year (at 100%). Gold was first discovered in the area in 1893. In 1989, KCGM was formed to manage the assets and operations of the joint venture partners. Newmont acquired its ownership in the mine in 2002, as a result of the merger with Normandy.

 

Kalgoorlie consists of greenstone dolerite hosted mineralization. Near-mine exploration and development of new reserves is ongoing at both the Mt Charlotte underground operation and testing for extensions to the open pit Fimiston operation.

 

The Kalgoorlie operation encompasses approximately 83,956 acres (33,976 hectares), comprising 62,899 acres (25,454 hectares) of mining leases and other general purpose leases, 15,074 acres (6,100 hectares) of exploration and prospecting licenses and 5,983 acres (2,421 hectares) of miscellaneous licenses held for easements and rights-of-way. We are obligated to pay royalties on production to the State Government of 2.5%. Mining and processing operations and facilities are located on properties held under leases which expire at varying dates over the next 21 years. All core mining leases contain options to renew.

 

Kalgoorlie's processing plant was first commissioned in mid-1989 and has since undergone two major expansions (1991 and 1995) as well as de-commissioning of the Gidji roasters in 2015 to arrive at its current configuration. The Fimiston plant processes ore from the Super Pit and underground ore from the Mt Charlotte mine. Both ores are processed via two milling circuits which consist of two Semi-autogenous (SAG) and associated ball mills which are capable of treating up to 40,000 tonnes per day. After crushing and milling, the ores are processed via gravity and undergo bulk sulfide flotation to produce a gold-bearing sulfide flotation concentrate which is subsequently leached after ultra-fine grinding at either Fimiston or is filtered and trucked to the Gidji ultra-fine grinding processing plant. The flotation tailings are also leached at Fimiston by two carbon in pulp leaching circuits. Loaded carbon from both Fimiston and Gidji is treated at the centralized Fimiston elution (stripping) and electrowinning facility. The gold sludge from the electrowinning circuits is removed periodically from the cathodes and smelted to produce doré gold bars. Excess concentrate which is

unable to be treated on site is sold to overseas smelters for processing. In 2015, the two roasters at Gidji were de-commissioned and a new 30 tonne per hour (tph) ultra-fine grinding mill was installed. This was in addition to the already existing 10 tph ultra-fine grinding mills at Gidji since 2000 and at Fimiston processing plant since 2002. In conjunction with this project, a new carbon regeneration kiln (for a total of three) and scrubbing system was installed at Fimiston. In addition a retort and mercury collection system was commissioned at the Fimiston Gold Room.

 

Open pits have a fleet of four shovels, one loader, 40 haul trucks, as well as other ancillary equipment. The Mt Charlotte underground mine has underground loaders, a combination of 50 and 60 tonne trucks and drills to enable ore extraction.

 

Power for the operations is supplied through Newmont Power Pty Ltd (a wholly owned Newmont entity). Newmont Power Pty Ltd sources the power through a combination of purchase from the gas fired power plant in which Newmont holds a 50% interest and through purchase from the local power grid.

 

Kalgoorlie’s gross Property, plant and mine development at December 31, 2015 was $425. Kalgoorlie produced 316,000 attributable ounces of gold in 2015, and at December 31, 2015, reported 4.2 million attributable ounces of gold reserves.

 

Tanami, Australia. (100% owned) Tanami is located in the Northern Territory approximately 342 miles (550 kilometers) northwest of Alice Springs. The underground mining infrastructure and operation is located at Dead Bullock Soak. The processing infrastructure is located 25 miles (40 kilometers) to the east of the mining operations at the Granites. Ore is transported by road train to the processing plant. Supply of materials for the operations is done primarily by road while the workforce for Tanami utilizes a fly-in/fly-out program. Gold was first discovered and mined in the area around 1900. Mining Tenements were granted in 1983 and have continued to this date. Newmont acquired its ownership in the mine in 2002, as a result of the merger with Normandy.

 

The Newmont Tanami Operations has an area of 928,570 acres (375,939 hectares) of exploration licenses and 12,840 acres (5,196 hectares) of mining leases granted as per the Northern Territory Mineral Titles Act. The operation has been granted authorization as per the Northern Territory Mining Management Act to undertake mining activities on these mineral leases. For the exploration licenses, Tanami is required to make an annual payment to the Central Land Council of an administration payment for each Deed (17) and a payment equal to 5% of in ground exploration. The Mining Lease expiry dates range between 2034 and 2036, with the ability to renew. Expiration date for MLS8 (processing plant mineral lease) is May 2034 and MLS154 (mine mineral lease) is February 2036.

 

As per the Northern Territory Mineral Royalties Act, the operation is obliged to pay a profit based royalty of 20% to the Northern Territory government. The operation is located on Aboriginal Freehold Land as per the Northern Territory Aboriginal Land Rights Act which requires the operation to hold a mining agreement with the Traditional Owners on which the operation is located. The Mining Agreement is managed by the Central Land Council as per the statutory requirements of the Aboriginal Land Rights Act. This agreement dictates the required royalty payment of 2.5% of the gross value of the product to be paid to the traditional owners.

 

Mining operations are predominantly focused on the Callie and Auron ore bodies in the underground mine at Dead Bullock Soak. Tanami consists of sediment hosted sheeted quartz vein mineralization. Exploration is ongoing with the main focuses being underground ore definition drilling of the Auron ore body and drilling of the Federation ore body with the intention of declaring first probable reserves from this ore body by the end of 2016.

 

Tanami, as an underground mining operation, has a fleet of underground loaders and 18 dump trucks, each with a 60 tonne payload. The processing plant, originally commissioned in 1986, has undergone numerous expansions to reach its current capacity to process 2.3 million tonnes of ore per year. The processing plant currently consists of a crushing plant, a grinding circuit, gravity carbon in pulp tanks and a conventional tailings disposal facility. During the fourth quarter of 2015, Newmont approved the Tanami Expansion Project which includes building a second decline in the underground mine and additional plant capacity. Building a second decline at Tanami will support a step change in mining rates. The processing plant expansion includes adding a ball mill, thickener and gravity circuit to improve recoveries and expand mill capacity to 2.6 million tonnes per year. The Tanami Expansion Project is expected to be complete in 2017 with first commercial production anticipated in the second half of 2017. 

 

Power for the operations is exclusively sourced from diesel generators which are owned and operated by a business partner.

 

Tanami’s gross Property, plant and mine development at December 31, 2015 was $1,109. Tanami produced 436,000 ounces of gold in 2015, and at December 31, 2015, reported 3.5 million ounces of gold reserves.

 

Waihi, New Zealand. (100% owned) The sale of Waihi to OceanaGold Corporation was completed on October 29, 2015. Prior to the sale, the Waihi operation produced 119,000 ounces of gold in 2015.

 

Batu Hijau, Indonesia. Newmont owns 31.50% of Batu Hijau through Nusa Tenggara Partnership B.V. (“NTPBV”), which we own with an affiliate of Sumitomo Corporation of Japan. We have a 56.25% interest in NTPBV and the Sumitomo affiliate holds the remaining 43.75%. NTPBV in turn owns 56% of PT Newmont Nusa Tenggara (“PTNNT”), the Indonesian subsidiary that owns the Batu Hijau copper and gold mine. The remaining 44% interest in PTNNT is owned by PT Multi Daerah Bersaing (“PTMDB”), 24%; P.T. Pukuafu Indah (“PTPI”), 17.8%; and PT Indonesia Masbaga Investama (“PTIMI”), 2.2%. Batu Hijau is located on the island of Sumbawa, approximately 950 miles (1,529 kilometers) east of Jakarta. The site is accessible by a paved road from the port facility at Benete Bay. The workforce can access the site by ferry from Lombok or by sea plane from both Lombok and Denpasar Bali. Batu Hijau is a large open pit porphyry copper/gold deposit mined using traditional truck and shovel techniques. The mill includes two SAG Mills and four ball mills with a flotation circuit. The deposit was discovered by Newmont in 1990. Development and construction activities began in 1997 and production of copper and gold concentrate commenced in late 1999.

 

On May 6, 2011, we announced that a definitive sale and purchase agreement was signed with Pusat Investasi Pemerintah (“PIP”), an agency of the Indonesian Government’s Ministry of Finance, for 7% of PTNNT’s shares, the final stake required to be divested by the foreign shareholders to Indonesian parties under the terms of PTNNT’s Contract of Work. Subsequent to signing the agreement, a disagreement arose between the Ministry of Finance and the Indonesian parliament in regard to whether parliamentary approval was required to allow PIP to make the share purchase, and the transaction has never closed.

 

We have identified Variable Interest Entities (“VIEs”) (see Note 2 to the Consolidated Financial Statements) in connection with our economic interests in PTNNT due to certain funding arrangements and shareholder commitments. We have financing arrangements with PTPI and PTIMI, unrelated noncontrolling shareholders of PTNNT, whereby we agreed to advance certain funds to them in exchange for (i) a pledge of their combined 20% share of PTNNT; (ii) an assignment of dividends payable on the shares, net of withholding tax; (iii) a commitment from them to support the application of our standards to the operation of Batu Hijau; and (iv) as of September 16, 2011, in respect of PTPI only, powers of attorney to vote and sell PTNNT shares in support of the pledge, enforceable in an event of default as further security for the funding. As a result, PTPI and PTIMI were determined to be VIEs and our effective economic interest in PTNNT increased by 17% (20% interest net of withholding tax) to 48.50% during 2010.

 

In Indonesia, prior to the 2009 mining law, rights were granted to foreign investors to explore for and to develop mineral resources within defined areas through Contracts of Work entered into with the Indonesian government. In 1986, PTNNT entered into a Contract of Work with the Indonesian government covering Batu Hijau, under which PTNNT was granted the exclusive right to explore in the contract area, construct any required facilities, extract and process the Mineralized Materials, and sell and export the minerals produced, subject to certain requirements including Indonesian government approvals and payment of royalties to the government. Under the Contract of Work, PTNNT has the right to continue operating the project for 30 years from operational start-up, or longer if approved by the Indonesian government. Effective May 27, 2011, PTNNT entered into a $600 revolving credit facility with a syndicate of banks. The Credit Facility matures in March 2017. PTNNT’s moveable assets, trade receivables and cash and cash equivalents in pledged bank accounts are pledged as collateral.

 

The deposit is hosted by a central stock of multiple tonalite porphyries intruded into older diorite and andesite volcanic wallrocks and activities continue to develop the reserve.

 

The Batu Hijau operation is currently extracting Phase 6 ore utilizing a mining fleet of 111 trucks, six electric shovels and three excavators which are capable of moving an average of 815,000 tonnes of material per day. The Batu Hijau Operation is currently undertaking a Definitive Feasibility Study relating to a Phase 7 layback, with Phase 7 ore within existing declared reserves. Execution of the Phase 7 investment could extend the life of the operation to 2033, with 2,200 million pounds of copper (1,067 million attributable pounds) and 3 million ounces of gold (1.5 million attributable ounces). A decision to proceed with Phase 7 is dependent upon project economics, financing and successful completion of the Contract of Work amendment.

 

Power for the operations is sourced from a coal and diesel fired power station owned by the Company.

 

Batu Hijau’s gross Property, plant and mine development at December 31, 2015 was $2,998. Batu Hijau produced 494 million pounds of copper (240 million attributable pounds) and 676,000 ounces of gold (328,000 attributable ounces) in 2015, and at December 31, 2015, reported 2,610 million attributable pounds of copper reserves and 2.7 million attributable ounces of gold reserves.

 

Our ownership interest in PTNNT may be reduced in the future to as low as 27.5625%, with NTPBV’s interest in PTNNT reduced to 49%, thus potentially reducing our ability to control the operations at Batu Hijau or apply our operating standards. As part

of the negotiation of the divestiture sale agreements with PTMDB, the parties executed an operating agreement under which each party recognizes the right of Newmont and Sumitomo to apply their operating standards at Batu Hijau and binds the parties to adhere to our standards for, among other things, safety, environmental stewardship and community responsibility. The operating agreement remains in effect for so long as NTPBV owns more shares of PTNNT than PTMDB. If the operating agreement terminates, then we could lose effective control over the operations of Batu Hijau and could be at risk for operations conducted in a manner that reduces the value of PTNNT or for safety, environmental or social standards below those adhered to by us. Such loss of effective control may cause us to deconsolidate PTNNT for accounting purposes, which would reduce our reported consolidated sales, cost applicable to sales, amortization, total assets and operating cash flow attributable to PTNNT. See Note 30 to the Consolidated Financial Statements and Item 1A, Risk Factors.

 

Africa

 

In December 2003, Ghana’s Parliament unanimously ratified an Investment Agreement (“IA”) between Newmont and the government of Ghana. The IA established a fixed fiscal and legal regime, including fixed royalty and tax rates, for the life of any Newmont project in Ghana. Under the IA, we would pay corporate income tax not to exceed 32.5% and fixed gross royalties on gold production of 3.0% (3.6% for any production from forest reserve areas). The government of Ghana was also entitled to receive 10% of a project’s net cash flow after we had recouped our investment and could acquire up to 20% of a project’s equity at fair market value on or after the 15th anniversary of such project’s commencement of production. The IA also contained commitments with respect to job training for local Ghanaians, community development, purchasing of local goods and services and environmental protection.

 

In 2012, the government of Ghana enacted a law that increased the corporate income tax from 25% to 35%, eliminated the National Fiscal Stabilization Levy, and changed capital allowances to 20% over 5 years from the previously allowed 80% deduction in year one and then 50% per year on the remaining balance. Per the IA, the increase in the corporate income tax rate would be limited to 32.5% and capital allowances remain at the old rates and basis. The government of Ghana also introduced a bill in Parliament that sought to impose a “windfall profit tax” of 10% on windfall profits of mining companies. The Company believed that the windfall tax of 10% would not be applicable to our Ghana operations due to our IA.

 

In addition, in 2012, the government of Ghana established a Mining Review Committee to review fiscal regimes and mining agreements with a view to ensuring that Ghana benefits adequately and fairly from the mining sector. Newmont was the first mining company in Ghana called to review its IA. In response, a review team was formed between Newmont and the Government concluding and recommending in November 2014, certain changes to the terms of the IA. After consideration and advancement to Parliament by the Cabinet, changes needed to be ratified and approved by Ghana’s Parliament to become effective. Until then, the current IA of 2003 remained effective and binding.

 

In December 2015, Ghana’s Parliament ratified the Revised Investment Agreements (“Ghana Investment Agreement” or “Revised IAs”). Key changes to the Revised IA include a change in tax stabilization from life of mine to 15 years from commercial production for each mine. After the stability period concludes, an extension is possible if the company commits to invest at least $300 per mine in mining projects. The maximum corporate income tax rate remains at 32.5%. The Revised IAs introduced a sliding scale royalty system that is based on monthly gold prices. The rates range from 3% to 5% of revenues. The additional 0.6%, as detailed in the IA described above, remains in effect for ounces mined in the forest reserve area. The government of Ghana is also entitled to receive 1/9th of the total amount paid as dividends to Newmont shareholders. Advanced payments on these amounts of 0.6% of total revenues are paid to the government when the average quoted gold price exceeds $1,300 per ounce within the calendar year. The IAs also still contain commitments with respect to job training for local Ghanaians, community development, purchasing of local goods and services and environmental protection. See Item 1A, Risk Factors for a description of risks inherent in contracts with governments.

 

The Ahafo and Akyem mines operate using electrical power generated by the Volta River Authority and transmitted to the sites by the Ghana Grid Company. Ghana has experienced power generation challenges, which has resulted in power rationing. The Ghana Power Project added 27MW in a co-generation diesel power capacity mode to enable uninterrupted operation of the Ahafo and Akyem processing plants and allow safe, sustainable production in the Africa Region.

 

Ahafo, Ghana. (100% owned) The Ahafo mine is located near Kenyasi in the Brong Ahafo Region of Ghana, approximately 180 miles (290 kilometers) northwest of the national capital city of Accra. The site is accessible by paved roads. The Ahafo Mine began with the 1997 acquisition by La Source of a 40% share in Rank Mining Company Limited (“Rank”) and the Rank JV Farm-In Agreement with Moydow Mines International Inc (“Moydow”) the holder of the remaining 60% of Rank, covering the Ntotoroso concessions. La Source increased its holding to 50% in 2001 by funding exploration and development in accordance with the agreement. In 2002, Newmont Mining Inc. merged with Normandy Mining Limited and as a result acquired the assets of Normandy

Ghana Gold Limited including 100% of Yamfo-Sefwi and 50% of Ntotoroso property. In 2003, Newmont purchased Moydow’s interest in Rank thereby making it a solely owned subsidiary. The Ahafo mine commenced commercial production in 2006 and currently operates a mill and three pits.

 

The Ahafo operations has an area of approximately 137,000 acres (55,000 hectares) for the mining lease concession with current mine take area of approximately 18,700 acres (7,600 hectares) that has been fully compensated and approximately 6,500 acres (2,600 hectares) of mining area that has not been fully compensated (i.e. payment would be necessary to move people from their land). Ahafo pays a royalty of 2% on Net Smelter Returns to Franco-Nevada for all gold ounces recovered from the Rank Mining Concession and a sliding scale royalty based on the monthly gold price ranging from 3% to 5% on gold production to the government.

 

The Ahafo mine is composed of three orogenic gold deposits that have oxide and primary mineralization. The gold is hosted in brittle shear zones cutting granitic intrusives that have kilometer-scale vertical and lateral extent. Gold occurs primarily in pyrite and secondarily as native gold in quartz veins.

 

The mining method at the Ahafo mine involves removal of ore and waste rock from an open pit mine. Ahafo has three open pits (Subika, Amoma and Awonsu), with current mining from the Amoma and Subika pits. Subika is in the third stage of a four stage pit, whereas Amoma is in the final stage of a two-stage pit. Ahafo’s available mining fleet consists of open pit loaders and 38 dump trucks, each with a 144 tonne payload. The processing plant was commissioned in 2006 to process 7.5 million tonnes of primary and oxide ore per year. Currently with the depletion of oxide ore, the plant throughput has decreased to 6.5 million tonnes per year. The processing plant consists of a crushing plant, a grinding circuit, carbon in leach tanks, elution circuit, counter current decantation circuit and a tailings disposal facility.

 

Ongoing development projects include Subika Underground, Ahafo Mill Expansion, Ahafo North and Apensu Deeps. The Subika Underground is currently in Definitive Feasibility Study Stage and is being evaluated for full funds approval in the second half of 2016. The Ahafo Mill Expansion has the potential to expand the existing plant by 3.2 million tonnes per year through the installation of a new crusher, coarse ore stockpile, a single stage SAG mill and two leach tanks. The Ahafo Mill Expansion is being evaluated for full funds approval in the second half of 2016. The expansion would maximize synergies between the Ahafo Mill expansion and Subika underground project at Ahafo and allow for a staged execution approach. Ahafo North is aiming to reduce the risks associated with the project. There is opportunity for Apensu Deeps to develop into an independent underground mine leveraging existing and planned infrastructure as well as site and regional overheads.

 

Ahafo’s gross Property, plant and mine development at December 31, 2015 was $1,779. Ahafo produced 332,000 ounces of gold in 2015, and at December 31, 2015, reported 9.3 million ounces of gold reserves.

 

Akyem, Ghana. (100% owned) The Akyem mine is located in Birim North District of the Eastern Region of Ghana, approximately 80 miles (125 kilometers) northwest of the national capital city of Accra. The site is accessible by paved roads. In August 2002, Normandy Mining Limited, an Australian company of which La Source SAS was a  subsidiary, was acquired by Newmont Mining Corporation and its name changed to Newmont La Source. In line with this acquisition, Golden Ridge Resources which was 85% owned by La Source, became a Newmont subsidiary with the other 15% owned by Kenbert Mines Ltd. In 2006, Newmont, through its subsidiary Newmont La Source, acquired the remaining 15% from Kenbert Mines Ltd. With the 100% ownership, the company's name was changed from Golden Ridge Resources to Newmont Golden Ridge Ltd. In June 2014, the 100% ownership of Newmont Golden Ridge Ltd was changed from Newmont La Source to Newmont Golden Ridge Holdings which is also a wholly owned subsidiary of Newmont. The Akyem operations are comprised of one mill and one open pit mine, and was completed and commenced commercial production in October 2013.

 

The Akyem operations have an area of approximately 15,500 acres (6,000 hectares) for the mining lease concession. The Akyem Mine is situated on two mining leases between the Government of Ghana and Newmont Golden Ridge Limited in the Birim North District of the Eastern Region. The leases grant the exclusive rights to work, develop and produce gold in the lease area for a term of fifteen years, including the processing, storing and transportation of ore and materials together with the rights and powers reasonably incidental thereto. The leases by law require Akyem to respect or perform certain financial and statutory reporting obligations. Akyem pays a sliding scale royalty based on the monthly gold price ranging from 3.6% to 5.6% on gold production to the government.

 

The Akyem mine is an orogenic gold deposit that has oxide and primary mineralization. The gold is found in shear zones within greenschist-facies metasediments that have kilometer-scale vertical and lateral extent. Gold occurs primarily in pyrite and secondarily as native gold in quartz veins.

 

The mining method at the Akyem mine involves removal of ore and waste rock from an open pit mine. The open pit is an elongated structure consisting of a large western lobe (Main Pit) and a small eastern lobe (East Pit), connected near the surface. The planned pit covers an area of approximately 345 acres (139 hectares). The available mining fleet consists of 18 136 tonne haul trucks loaded by two shovels and two excavators with bucket size of 18 cubic meters. The daily production rate is approximately 90,000 metric tons. The Akyem gold processing plant was commissioned in 2013 to treat an average of 8.5 million tonnes of ore annually. The processing plant currently consists of a crushing plant, a SAG and ball milling circuit, carbon-in-leach, elution and bullion smelting facilities, and a tailings storage facility.

 

Exploration efforts at Akyem are focused on defining the extension of the known mineralization below the planned pit shell.

 

Akyem’s gross Property, plant and mine development at December 31, 2015 was $1,254. Akyem produced 473,000 ounces of gold in 2015, and at December 31, 2015, reported 3.7 million ounces of gold reserves.

 

Operating Statistics 

 

The following tables detail operating statistics related to gold production, ounces sold and production costs per ounce: