Newcrest Mining Ltd on Wednesday said it had achieved sufficient water levels at its Cadia gold and copper mine, easing production-related concerns at the New South Wales-based project for at least two years.

The state of New South Wales had heavy rains in February, bringing much-needed respite from a harsh, long-running drought of seven years that had crippled businesses in the region.

The country’s biggest gold miner said that along with the rainfall, recent purchases of water licences helped improve the supplies being captured in its storage facilities.

“Newcrest’s latest internal modelling indicates that Cadia should have enough water to avoid any water-related production interruption for at least the next two years,” the company said.

In its quarterly report last month, the company had flagged that if adequate rainfall was not received, Cadia’s production might be reduced in early 2021.

Newcrest reported lower-than-expected gold production for the March quarter as output from its Cadia mine declined due to planned shutdowns.

(By Anushka Trivedi; Editing by Tom Hogue)