(Reuters) - Newcrest Mining said on Wednesday it received government regulatory nod to start construction work at its Havieron gold-copper project for which the Australian miner has approved a funding of A$146 million ($113.44 million).
Havieron, an underground project in Western Australia, is a joint venture (JV) between Newcrest and UK-based miner Greatland Gold PLC.
Newcrest said in its initial resource estimate last month that it expects to produce 3.4 million ounces of gold and 160,000 tonnes of copper over the mine's life.
It would be the second massive development in Western Australia's Paterson region after Rio Tinto (LON:RIO)'s Winu find, which sparked a gold rush into the remote precinct.
Construction at the project also provides an opportunity for Newcrest to provide feed for its Telfer processing plant, RBC analysts said in a note to clients last month.
"Havieron project could add a substantial source of feed, which we could see entering the mine plan at some point in the future and extending mine life at the asset", they wrote.
Newcrest had entered the JV deal with Greatland and inked a $50 million loan agreement to fund certain early works and growth drilling activities at the project in November last year.
The miner said it expects to complete a pre-feasibility study for the project by late 2021.
($1 = 1.2870 Australian dollars)