A dam wall collapse at one of the biggest gold mines in Australia has forced it to be shut down.
The Cadia mine, about 20km south of Orange in New South Wales, suffered a partial breakthrough on one of the dam embankments on Friday afternoon.
The collapse came after two earthquakes were felt in the area on Thursday.
A dam collapse at the Cadia mine (pictured) around 250km west of Sydney has forced operations to shut down
The site’s operator Newcrest Mining said earlier inspections had revealed cracks in the wall.
The material, which was described as ‘a slurry of finely ground rock, water and a low level of benign processing re-agents’, was contained to the southern dam.
‘We believe there is no threat to personal safety,’ Newcrest said in a statement on Saturday.
Geotechnical engineers were called in following the discovery of the cracks.
Operators Newcrest said in a statement that engineers were already on site to inspect the breach (stock image)
Newcrest said the dams had also been regularly inspected, reviewed and monitored.
‘Safety is our highest priority,’ the company’s statement added.
‘We have secured the area around the tailings dam, and have implemented a comprehensive geotechnical monitoring system.’
NSW regulators were notified and the Environment Protection Authority said it was inspecting.
‘NSW EPA understand the tailing has been contained,’ a spokeswoman said.
Geoscience Australia recorded the two earthquakes as occurring southwest of Cadia on Thursday at a depth of 10km and magnitude 2.7.
Cadia is Newcrest’s biggest and lowest-cost mine.
It has produced over nine million ounces of gold since it opened in 1999.
The mine also produces more than 60,000 tonnes of copper every year.
The region was also hit by a magnitude 4.3 earthquake in early April 2017, prompting suspension of operations.
There was a partial return to production in July, with remediation work and a gradual ramp-up in output affecting the first half of the financial year.
The company’s first-half profit was halved to $98 million.