Australia’s largest gold miner Newcrest has extended its debt facility by more than $200 million as it faces a class action from shareholders over its massive financial writedown.

Newcrest Mining said it had signed documentation with a new bank to provide a bilateral loan facility for an additional $US200 million over three years.

“The new facility provides Newcrest with additional liquidity headroom, expertise and diversity, as well as extending the average debt maturity of its bilateral loan facilities,” the company said in a statement.

Newcrest in June downgraded its production forecasts and reduced the value of its assets by more than $6 billion, partly due to the significant fall in the gold price.

The corporate regulator is investigating possible breaches of disclosure laws, due to speculation analysts were given market sensitive information before it was released to the wider investment market.

Newcrest shares closed seven cents, or 0.8 per cent, lower at $8.80.