Indo Muro records second highest gold output in 2000
Tuesday, January 23 2001 - 04:30 AM WIB
Australian mining firm announced on Monday that its gold mining subsidiary PT Indo Muro Kencana in Central Kalimantan recorded the second highest annual bullion production of 253,250 gold equivalent ounces in 2000.
The output exceeded the 1999 output of 224,085 ounces and was less than the 1998 record output of 255,603 ounces.
Aurora, which is listed on the Australian Stock Exchange Limited (ASX), said in a financial statement made available to Petromindo.Com that Indo Muro's bullion output for the fourth quarter of 2000 reached 61,867 ounces, compared with 73,780 ounces in the third quarter of 2000 and 45,926 ounces in the fourth quarter of 1999.
It said gold output dropped 16 percent in the fourth quarter of 2000 from the previous quarter as the result of a 23 percent decrease in gold grade from the previous quarter, following the completion of mining at the Kerikil 2 pit. Mining at Kerikil 2 was completed in December.
Indo Muro extracted gold from the Kerikil 2, Kerikil 3, Permata-Batu Badinding-Hulubai (PBH) and Bantian-Batu Tembak (BBT) pits in the fourth quarter of 2000, the company said.
Ore processed for the quarter was 400,628 tons, a marginal increase from 394,519 tons in the previous quarter.
The company said it had restarted exploration and environmental rehabilitation programs at the PBH and BBT areas after it regained access the areas, which had been occupied by illegal miners from 1999 to the second half of the year.
It said community development programs continued in the fourth quarter of 2000 with emphasis on agricultural assistance during rice-planting season, preparations for skills training course for local community participants and village infrastructure projects.
Aside from Indo Muro, Aurora also has two other subsidiaries in North Sulawesi that is PT Meares Soputan Mining (MSM) and PT Tambang Tondano Nusajaya (TTN).
It said its North Sulawesi subsidiaries still suspended its Toka Tindung gold project as they had yet to resolve the illegal mining problems.
"Illegal mining activity continues at Talawaan with widespread and uncontrolled use and discharge of mercury.
"The company continues to press government agencies to address the illegal mining problems at Talawaan," Aurora said.
It further said it had commissioned an independent investigation of the extent and environmental damage impacts of the illegal mining at Talawaan.
"The investigation is being carried out by PT URS Indonesia, a wholly owned subsidiary of URS Corporation, which incorporates Dames & Moore, and is expected to be finalized in the coming quarter," the company said.
The company voiced pessimism that it could continue operation in North Sulawesi.
"In light of continued country difficulties that have impacted negatively on project economics by increasing risk factors, the company can at this time no longer reasonably demonstrate that economic mining exploitation of this (Toka Tindung) project is possible," it said (Bodega)