"It's difficult to overstate the importance of this mine to Newcrest," Robinson said at Cadia yesterday.

"This is an enormous deal for Newcrest. This is our most significant mine.

"It's taken eight years of both design and structure to deliver it, and it will be the flagship for the company for the next 20 years."

Robinson said the project had been a major part of his life since he joined Newcrest in 1996. He welcomed his predecessor, Ian Smith, and former Newcrest chairman Don Mercer, who were there to help celebrate the milestone.

Incoming CEO Sandeep Biswas, who will take over from Robinson in July, described the mine as very "special"

Premier Mike Baird was on hand to formally open the mine.

"It represents a huge amount of work, a huge amount of engineering excellence and it's something Newcrest and every single member of this team can be very proud of," he said.

Baird joined Robinson to unveil a statue of a "modern miner", a life-sized bronze complete with iPad in hand.

Robinson said it was fitting given that the mine was at the forefront of technology.

"We're very proud of what we've been able to do and I don't exaggerate when I say we're absolutely cutting edge in world mining," he said.

Cadia East is the latest development at the Cadia Valley operations, which started life in 1998 as the Cadia Hill open pit before the Ridgeway underground opened in 2007.

"Each mine has demonstrated the ability of Newcrest and in particular local people to demonstrate the "can do" Australian spirit to push the technical boundaries of mining development," Robinson said.

"Although the operations have a low profile, Cadia Valley is one of the great mining success stories in Australia."

Panel Cave 1 at Cadia East started commercial production in January last year at a capital cost of $2 billion, while Panel Cave 2 is still under development with estimated capital expenditure of at least $340 million this financial year.

The panel cave mine, which will produce 700,000 ounces of gold per annum from 2017, is the first of its kind in Australia.

Shares in Newcrest were up 0.1% to $A10.13 this morning.

Look out for a full profile of the Cadia East mine next week on MiningNewsPremium.

Kristie Batten travelled to Orange as a guest of Newcrest this week.