Newcrest reviews mines after gold slump NEWCREST Mining is reviewing the future of its higher-cost mines after a slump in gold prices including last week's dramatic plunge to two-year lows. The price of gold fell by about $US300 an ounce in a fortnight, to below $US1400, threatening Australia's higher cost producers. Newcrest said in its March quarter update that it was reviewing all of its business activities, particularly those related to higher-cost current or future production. It revealed it had cut 150 jobs in March, mostly from its Brisbane and Melbourne offices. The company's most expensive mine, Hidden Valley in Papua New Guinea, is losing money, and cost $1,790 per ounce of gold in the latest quarter while production had fallen eight per cent from the previous quarter. Newcrest, which has a 50 per cent stake in the project, called Hidden Valley's production and cost performance unacceptable. It said its improvement plan included installing a new crusher to process higher-grade mill feed. The company noted that operating and capital costs were high in the global gold mining industry, adding that the drop in prices had not been accompanied by a reduction in the strength of the Australian and PNG currencies. Newcrest expects to produce between 2.0 and 2.15 million ounces of gold this financial year. It produced 2.29 million ounces last year. It produced 514,421 ounces in the three months to the end of March, down three per cent on the previous quarter, and at a cost of $799 an ounce, a 31 per cent jump on $609 an ounce of a year ago. The company's shares had fallen 31 cents, or 1.82 per cent, to $16.70 by 1150 AEST.