Newmont put real numbers on its biggest Canadian growth project this week. In its third-quarter 2026 results release, the company said development capital for the Red Chris Block Cave expansion in British Columbia now runs $4.2 billion to $4.8 billion, and The Northern Miner reported the project is aimed at a 2033 start for commercial production.
- What happened? Newmont priced its Red Chris Block Cave underground expansion at $4.2 billion to $4.8 billion in its third-quarter 2026 results.
- Where is it? The mine sits in British Columbia’s Golden Triangle, roughly 1,030 kilometers northwest of Vancouver.
- Who owns it? Newmont holds 70 percent and operates the joint venture; Imperial Metals owns the remaining 30 percent.
- When does it produce? Construction could start in 2027, with commercial production targeted for 2033.
What is the Red Chris Block Cave project?
Red Chris already runs as an open-pit gold-copper mine, but the ore body that made it worth building in the first place runs deeper than a pit can reach economically. The Block Cave project would mine that ore from underground, using a method where crews undercut a column of rock and let gravity and controlled collapse do much of the breaking, rather than drilling and blasting bench by bench. Newmont’s plan pairs the new underground workings with an expansion of the existing mill to 15 million tonnes a year and upgrades to site infrastructure built to run for decades. The company says Red Chris has the potential for up to 70 years of mine life if later expansion blocks, like the East Ridge target, get developed on top of this first phase.
How much will the expansion cost, and when will it produce metal?
The $4.2 billion to $4.8 billion estimate already accounts for a CA$500 million contribution the Canadian government pledged toward the project in July, with final terms expected before the end of 2026. Newmont’s feasibility study is nearing completion, and the company expects a full-funds investment decision, subject to board approval, in early 2027. If that decision is a yes, construction could begin in 2027, commercial production would start in 2033, and the first phase would ramp toward an average of 275,000 to 325,000 ounces of gold and 65,000 to 85,000 tonnes of copper a year between 2035 and 2040. That capital figure is well above a 2021 prefeasibility estimate from Red Chris’s prior owner, Newcrest, reflecting a larger scope and scale for the underground mine.
What does a British Columbia mega-project mean for Newmont’s Nevada footprint?
Red Chris sits nowhere near Newmont’s home turf, but it draws on the same global capital pool that funds Nevada Gold Mines, the joint venture Newmont runs with Barrick on the Carlin Trend. Where Nevada Gold Mines is a mature, steady producer, Red Chris is the kind of long-dated growth bet that keeps Newmont’s gold and copper output stretching past 2035. Copper is doing double duty here: the same metal described in our copper entry in the Strategic Metals Glossary wires the data centers and grids driving new demand, while the gold entry covers why Red Chris’s other half still anchors so much of the project’s value. Mining Our Future tracks announcements like this one because a multibillion-dollar bet placed in British Columbia today shapes how much capital Newmont has left for its US operations tomorrow.