(Reuters) - Newcrest Mining Ltd <NCM.AX> said on Monday its fourth quarter gold production fell 7.7 percent from a year ago after its flagship Cadia mine was hit by an earthquake, but output was just enough to meet its full-year target.
Production of 551,815 ounces of gold in the quarter helped Australia's biggest gold miner by market capitalisation reach annual output of 2.38 million ounces, at the low end of its target of 2.35 to 2.60 million ounces, in line with a warning in April.
A minor earthquake in April forced Newcrest to suspend operations at the Cadia mine in eastern Australia, cutting production at the site by more than half in the June quarter from the prior quarter.
The company anticipates production from Cadia in the September quarter to be above the June quarter, but expects output to remain below pre-earthquake levels as it continues repair work at the site.
The miner said last week production had restarted at one part of the mine and that a second panel remains on track for start-up this quarter.
Newcrest, which also operates mines in Papua New Guinea, Ivory Coast and Indonesia, posted full year copper production of 83,941 tonnes, within guidance of 80,000 to 90,000 tonnes for the year to June 2017.
(Reporting by Susan Mathew in Bengaluru; Editing by Sonali Paul and Richard Pullin)
