Newmont to sell Mongondow gold prospect

American copper and gold miner Newmont Corp said Tuesday it intended to sell its stake in the Mongondow gold prospect in North Sulawesi due to small reserve

Newmont has 80 percent stake in Newmont Mongondow Mining, while a company controlled by Indonesian mining magnate Jusuf Merukh controls the remaining 20 percent.

Newmont Pacific Nusantara president Richard Ness told Petromindo.com in an interview that the gold reserve in Mongondow was considered too little for Newmont to develop.

He said Newmont wanted to sell its entire stake in the prospect and currently there were five prospective buyers offering to buy the prospect.

However, he declined to name the prospective buyers on the ground of confidentiality.

But, an Australian mining firm, IGM Holdings, recently said it was interested to buy shares in the gold prospect. (Alex)