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    Newmont’s Red Chris underground expansion: block cave design and capex notes for engineers

    June 20, 2026|

    Reviewed by Tom Sullivan

    Newmont’s Red Chris underground expansion: block cave design and capex notes for engineers

    First reported on MINING.com

    30 Second Briefing

    Newmont’s Red Chris mine in British Columbia has secured an amended Environmental Assessment Certificate and Mines Act permit, allowing a shift from open-pit to underground block caving and extending operations into the mid-2040s. The copper-gold porphyry deposit in the Golden Triangle hosts an estimated 20 million oz of gold and 13 billion lb of copper, with the block cave expected to lift Canada’s copper output by about 15%. The project entails several billion dollars in capital, around 1,800 construction jobs and roughly 1,500 operating roles at peak.

    Technical Brief

    • Block caving transition is now enabled by an amended Environmental Assessment Certificate and Mines Act permit.
    • Regulatory approvals were secured through a consent-based process with the Tahltan Nation, embedding Indigenous decision-making.
    • Newmont operates Red Chris with a 70% interest; Imperial Metals retains a 30% joint venture stake.
    • The porphyry system’s resource base totals ~20 Moz Au and 13 billion lb Cu (all categories).
    • The Red Chris Block Cave is one of seven major BC mine or mine-extension approvals in the last 18 months.

    Our Take

    PwC Canada’s recent BC Mine 2025 commentary on British Columbia and Yukon risking critical minerals investment leakage to the US and Australia makes the rapid permitting of Red Chris in northwest BC a concrete example of the province trying to counter that narrative for copper and gold projects.

    With seven major BC mines or extensions permitted over the last 18 months and Newmont already active in other copper-gold jurisdictions like Côte d’Ivoire (Odienné project coverage), the Red Chris Block Cave project suggests the company is consolidating a multi-continent portfolio of long-life copper-gold systems rather than relying on single-region exposure.

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    Prepared by collating external sources, AI-assisted tools, and Geomechanics.io’s proprietary mining database, then reviewed for technical accuracy & edited by our geotechnical team.

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