Newmont said it had decided to limit personnel at its Musselwhite mine in Ontario to prevent the possible transmission into communities, and at its Eléonore operations to comply with restrictions in Quebec and prevent possible transmission.
Argentina's travel restrictions to March 31 meant it would have to limit personnel at Cerro Negro and Yanacocha in Peru was already ramping down due to in-country restrictions.
Newmont president and CEO Tom Palmer said the company had no confirmed COVID-19 cases among its workforce and it was taking "significant, proactive measures" to ensure Newmont didn't become a pathway for transmission to others.
The company now expected to produce about 1.4 million attributable gold ounces and 325,000 co-product gold-equivalent ounces in the first quarter.
To February 29, Newmont said it had produced about 981,000oz and 227,000oz Au-eq respectively.
The company had earlier forecast attributable gold production of 6.4Moz this year and between 6.2-6.7Moz longer-term through 2024.
It had produced 6.3Moz in 2019.
It had put all-in sustaining cost guidance in January at US$975/oz for 2020, $850-$950/oz for 2021-22 and $800-$900/oz for 2023-24.
Newmont said today mines representing about 80% of its 2020 production outlook were continuing to operate in line with production targets and it had implemented heightened levels of health screening along with support services conducted remotely.
The company said these mines could also be reduced to care and maintenance "if at any point" Newmont determined that continuing operations posed an increased risk to the workforce or host communities.
"The company is withdrawing only its full-year 2020 guidance as some production could be deferred into 2021, potentially impacting costs in 2020 if some operations are on care and maintenance for an extended period," Newmont said.
"We are not currently experiencing significant delays in the shipping of concentrate or transportation and refining of doré, but they may occur in the coming days and weeks if certain government-required shutdowns and border restrictions occur."
Newmont reported having consolidated cash of $2.2 billion at December 31.
The company then closed a senior note offering of $1 billion last week.
"These are unprecedented times for all industries and while this pandemic brings a lot of uncertainty, Newmont is well positioned to safely and responsibly generate long-term value for all of our stakeholders," Palmer said.
Newmont's share price has ranged from $29.77-$52.50 over the past year and had closed down 2.8% on Friday to $40.56, capitalising it at $32.7 billion.
