(Adds details on Q1 production, comment from company statement)...

(Adds details on Q1 production, comment from company statement)

Oct 24 (Reuters) - Newcrest Mining Ltd (NCM) , Australia's largest independent gold miner, said on Wednesday that gold production rose 5 percent in the first quarter from the year-ago period, led by a sharp increase at its flagship Cadia mine.

Production rose to 548,351 ounces for the quarter ended Sept. 30 from 522,917 ounces a year ago. This was less than the UBS forecast of 619,000 ounces, and below the 634,950 ounces in the prior quarter.

Gains at Cadia partly offset declines at Newcrest's Lihir, Telfer and Gosowong mines, the company said in a statement.

The Cadia mine in New South Wales, which was hit by an earthquake last year, produced 213,514 ounces in the first quarter, up about 77 percent over the year-ago quarter and 37 percent over the previous quarter. Damage to a tailings dam wall in March at Cadia temporarily halted production.

The all-in sustaining cost for the company fell to $778 per ounce from $898 a year ago as production ramped up.

Newcrest affirmed its gold production estimate of 2.35 million ounces to 2.60 million ounces for fiscal 2019.

Total copper production during the quarter was 25 kilo tonne, up 49 percent from a year ago.

Newcrest's stock has fallen more than 9 percent this year, compared with a roughly 6 percent drop in spot gold XAU= prices.