Tom Palmer
CEO: Newmont Mining
‘As with other miners in Ghana, Newmont will be keeping close tabs on government mining policy’
AFRICA comprises only 6% of Newmont Mining’s total reserves of 128 million ounces. But what reserves they are. Even after disposing of its stake in Akyem, in Ghana, to China’s Zijin Mining for $1bn, the US miner stands to extract 850,000oz/yr from the continent. This is due entirely to another Ghanaian asset, Ahafo.
Opened in 2006, Ahafo is undergoing a $950m to $1.05bn upgrade by dint of the Ahafo North expansion, scheduled to come on-stream in the second half. Commenting in an investor quarter update, Newmont said the mine was progressing, having recently shifted focus from earthworks to construction of mine infrastructure. The expansion is quite the beauty. Costs will come in at between $800 to $900/oz and there’s potential to extend the operation to 2050, well beyond its current operating life of mine of about 13 years.
At the same time, Newmont has been selling off non-core assets aggressively since its $16.8bn takeover of Newcrest in 2023. In addition to Akyem it has dispensed with Musselwhite to Orla Mining for $850m and then agreed a $795m sale of Éléonore mine to Dhilmar, a private-owned firm in the UK. As with other miners operating in Ghana, Newmont will be keeping close tabs on government mining policy post the election in December.
A hot-button topic is ‘galamsey’ or small-scale miners. They produced 1.2 million oz of gold in the first seven months of last year, which was more than in the whole of 2023. Galamsey account for 40% of Ghana’s output but the majority of these mines are unlicensed.
LIFE OF TOM
Palmer is an engineer by profession, holding a Bachelor of Engineering degree and a Master of Engineering Science degree from Monash University in Melbourne, Australia. Before joining Newmont, he spent 20 years with Rio Tinto, where he became COO at the group’s Pilbara iron ore mines in Western Australia. Prior to that, Palmer held a number of positions with Rio Tinto. He served in various senior vice-president positions after joining Newmont and before being appointed COO in May 2016.
