Newmont says Elang mine to start operation in 2020

Copper and gold miner PT Newmont Nusa Tenggara (NNT) said on Tuesday that it would start commercial operation at its Elang mine in either 2019 or 2020, after a series of exploration that will last from this year through 2017, the company?s president director said.

Martiono Hadianto said once the exploration program has been completed in 2017, the company will enter construction phase, which is expected to take around 2 or 3 years, before starting commercial operation.

The company has yet to decide whether to use the existing processing plant at its Batu Hijau mine or build a new one in the Elang concession to process the Elang ore, he said.

Elang is located about 60 km east of Batu Hijau, but both are part of thee contract of work.

The company has said that in terms of resources, Elang is potentially larger than Batu Hijau, which holds ~18 million oz Au and ~18 billion lbs Cu in reserves.

The company needs US$3 billion to develop Elang, which is estimated to have sufficient reserves for production until 2060, he added. (denny)