Cadia Mine is a large open cut

Open-pit mining

Open-pit mining or opencast mining refers to a method of extracting rock or minerals from the earth by their removal from an open pit or borrow....

 gold and copper

Copper

Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is soft and malleable; an exposed surface has a reddish-orange tarnish...

 mine

Mining

Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, from an ore body, vein or seam. The term also includes the removal of soil. Materials recovered by mining include base metals, precious metals, iron, uranium, coal, diamonds, limestone, oil shale, rock...

 located about 20 kilometres south of the regional city of Orange, New South Wales

Orange, New South Wales

Orange is a city in the Central West region of New South Wales, Australia. It is west of the state capital, Sydney, at an altitude of . Orange has an estimated population of 39,329 and the city is a major provincial centre....

, Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

. The mine has been developed throughout the 1990s and is a major employer in the region with an expected lifespan of several decades. Cadia is the second largest open cut mine in Australia after the Super Pit

Super Pit gold mine

The Fimiston Open Pit, colloquially known as the Super Pit, is Australia's largest open cut gold mine. The Super Pit is located off the Goldfields Highway on the south-east edge of Kalgoorlie-Boulder, Western Australia. The pit is oblong in shape and is approximately 3.5 kilometres long, 1.5...

 at Kalgoorlie. Large mineral

Mineral

A mineral is a naturally occurring solid chemical substance formed through biogeochemical processes, having characteristic chemical composition, highly ordered atomic structure, and specific physical properties. By comparison, a rock is an aggregate of minerals and/or mineraloids and does not...

 deposits are also being uncovered from the more recently developed Ridgeway

Ridgeway

A ridgeway is a road or path that follows a ridge, or the highest part of the landscape.-Roads and pathways:*The Ridgeway, an ancient track in southern England, which now forms part of the Ridgeway Path or National Trail...

 underground mine which is adjacent to the Cadia Mine.

The mine is operated by Newcrest Mining

Newcrest Mining

Newcrest Mining Limited engages in the exploration, development, mining and sale of gold and gold-copper concentrate. Newcrest is an Australian based Company which initially incorporated in Victoria in 1980. Today it has become Australia’s leading gold mining company...

. Cadia-Ridgeway is one of three gold mines Newcrest currently operates in Australia, the other two being Telfer

Telfer Mine

The Telfer Mine is a copper and gold mine located at Telfer, in the Great Sandy Desert of Western Australia. It is owned by Newcrest Mining, Australia's largest gold producer....

 in Western Australia

Western Australia

Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...

 and Cracow in Queensland

Queensland

Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...

. A fourth gold mine owned by the company is the Gosowong Mine in Indonesia

Indonesia

Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...

.

Water Supply

In May 2007, due to the prolonged drought which was likely to adversely affect production in the near future, the company approached Orange City Council

City of Orange

The City of Orange is a Local Government Area of New South Wales, Australia, including Orange and the surrounding areas. It is on the Mitchell Highway and the Main Western railway line.It includes the villages of Lucknow, Shadforth, Spring Hill and March....

 requesting to use some of the town water supply. Orange City Council subsequently agreed to allow a supply initially from Gosling Creek Reservoir

Gosling Creek Reservoir

Gosling Creek Reservoir, located just to the south of Orange, New South Wales at ) was the first significant water supply reservoir for Orange, opening in 1890. Subsequently further water supply dams were built at Lake Canobolas in 1918 and then Spring Creek Reservoir in 1931...

 and then if necessary from Lake Canobolas

Lake Canobolas

Lake Canobolas, formerly known as Meadow Creek Dam, is a body of water located approximately 10 kilometres to the south west of Orange, New South Wales. The dam was constructed in 1918 by the then Canobolas Shire Council as water supply to Orange. Since that time the administration of the dam has...

. The two main water supplies for Orange, Suma Park Dam

Suma Park Dam

Suma Park Dam impounds the water of Summer Hill Creek to form Suma Park Reservoir, the primary source of water for Orange, New South Wales, Australia. It is located approximately four kilometres east of Orange, with the secondary water source Spring Creek Reservoir being located approximately four...

 and Spring Creek Reservoir will not be used. Cabonne Shire Council later offered to supply water from a disused quarry on Icely Road to the east of Orange. There is also a recent dispute (July 2009) currently in the courts between Orange City Council and Newcrest Mining to the current rights to the towns treated Effluent water that the mine has received for free since beginning its operations in the late 1990s. Orange City Council believes the mine has broken the original agreement they had with the mine due to the mine's recent expansion and development of Cadia East and Ridgeway Deeps projects, they now would like the mine to purchase the treated effluent water.

External links

• Cadia Valley Operations - Newcrest Mining