Newmont asks govt to further extend divestment deadline

Copper and gold miner PT Newmont Nusa Tenggara (NNT), the Indonesian unit of U.S. mining giant Newmont Mining Corp said on Friday it asked the government to extend a deadline for share divestment to another month until April.

"We have sent a letter to the government, asking for extension until April 3 because we have to deal with a lot of parties here. It is not easy to make them all sit together in a room," said the company's spokesman Rubi Purnomo, adding that the firm had not yet received a response from the government.

On Wednesday, NNT asked the governments of West Nusa Tenggara province, West Sumbawa regency and Sumbawa regency to hold a meeting to settle problems related to the firm?s share divestment.

NNT said in a statement on Wednesday, ?We believe we are close to finalizing an agreement revolving around the divestment and we are optimistic that a solution can be reached if we are given another chance to meet to talk about details.?

The meeting aims to talk about ?principle agreements? with the local governments on the divestment for which the central government has set March 3, 2008 as the deadline.

Earlier, West Nusa Tenggara provincial administration and West Sumbawa regency administration warned that they would take a legal action against NNT for using the company's shares as loan collateral.

NNT, which obtained its contract of works to operate a copper and gold mine in Batu Hijau, West Nusa Tenggara in 1986, is required to divest up to 51 percent of its shares to the government or Indonesian companies by 2010. By the end of 2007, the company should have divested 10 percent of its shares as part of the mandatory divestment program.

Currently, NNT?s shareholders are Newmont Mining Corp (45 percent), local company PT Pukuafu Indah (PI) which controls 20 percent and a consortium led by?s Sumitomo (35 percent). (*)