Aurora to close down C. Kalimantan mine in 2002

Australian gold miner Aurora Gold Limited said Wednesday that it would continue with the plan to close down gold mine in Central Kalimantan by September 2002 despite exploration success to identify possible new resources.

"While we have had exploration success at Mt Muro, particularly the prospective areas in the south west of our contract of work (CoW), this will not provide additional ore reserves in time to avoid closure of the existing mining operation by September 2002," Alan Scott, Aurora?s managing director said in a report to Australian Stock Exchange.

Scott further said that the close down might only be temporary if Aurora was able to find significant new resources within its CoW area.

Aurora operates the Central Kalimantan gold mine through its wholly owned subsidiary, PT Indo Muro Kencana (IMK).

"In the meantime, we will continue with a focused mining and operational plan at Mt Muro, which will generate sufficient cash to fully cover all rehabilitation, exploration and closure costs," said Scott.

IMK posted bullion production of 106,581 gold equivalent ounces for the first half of 2001, a drop of 9.4 percent compared with previous corresponding half.

Scott said he was expecting a much stronger operational performance IMK operations in the third and fourth quarters driven by improved ore throughput and grades. (alex)