The miner’s problematic mine was forced to shut down over the weekend due to “illegal actions” by some community members.

The plant was phased down in accordance with the PNG Mine Safety Act, and was shut down for around 36 hours.

Newcrest said there was some lost production but it maintained 2015 financial year guidance of 680,000-720,000 ounces of gold.

The operation resumed last night.

Newcrest said the Mineral Resource Authority had previously provided notice that only it had the power to disrupt mining activity and any action outside of that is deemed illegal.

The recent actions, initiated by a small subset of community and local commercial interests, was not authorised by the MRA.

Newcrest said it was engaging with the MRA and other stakeholders and last month agreed to an audit process to be led by the MRA.

“The continued, predictable and lawful operation of the Lihir gold mine and plant contributes to the long-term sustainable benefit of all stakeholders, including the host community,” Newcrest said.

“Newcrest is committed to working with landowners and all levels of government to create that outcome.”

Lihir is Newcrest’s largest mine but has consistently underperformed.

The operation hit a run-rate of 11.1 million tonnes per annum in the March quarter and the company is targeting 12Mtpa by the end of June.

The mine produced 179,000oz gold at all-in sustaining costs of $A1391 per ounce in the March quarter.

Shares in Newcrest opened at $13.57, a 0.7% fall.