Cadia Holdings pleads guilty to dust emissions offences
Newmont Mining’s (formerly Newcrest Mining’s) Cadia Holdings Pty Ltd (Cadia) has pleaded guilty to two offences in a NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA) prosecution commenced in October this year.
The offences relate to an exceedance of the standard of concentration for solid particles (total) being emitted from a plant operated at Cadia gold mine in November 2021 and May 2023.
The offences came from the operation of mine surface exhaust fans attached to Ventilation Rise 8 (VR8) and were identified through EPA investigations into dust emissions from VR8.
The plea follows a separate plea of guilty by Cadia in September 2023 after the mine also exceeded the standard of concentration for solid particles (total) from operating surface exhaust fans attached to VR8 in March 2022.
The sentence hearing for all three offences is set down for 28 March 2024.
Two additional charges that were also commenced in October concerning alleged air pollution from the tailings dam in October 2022, have been adjourned until 23 February 2024.
The EPA will continue active investigations into Cadia’s mining operations and licence compliance and will take necessary regulatory action, including prosecutions, where appropriate.
More detail about the EPA’s October prosecution is available on our website.