PRESS RELEASE: Minahasa mine closure in Indonesia is scheduled for 2003
Saturday, March 10 2001 - 04:00 AM WIB
Newmont Mining Corporation's Minahasa gold mine on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi is expected to cease production in
2003 after mining is completed in December of this year. This timetable has been scheduled for several years and reflects depletion of the ore body, where mining began in 1996.
Bloomberg News and Bridge News, relying on an article in the Jakarta Post, erroneously reported today that the company was closing two mines in Indonesia due in part to disruptions by illegal miners and protesters.
While a small number of protesters demanding higher compensation for land they sold six years ago blocked access to the mine on several occasions last year and illegal miners, who are common in Indonesia, are working on a small deposit adjacent to the mine, these activities have not altered the closure plan.
Newmont is working closely with government officials, local communities and its employees to develop an orderly closure plan in compliance with all environmental obligations.
Minahasa produced 364,000 ounces of gold in 2000 and expects to produce 320,000 ounces this year.
Newmont's second mine in Indonesia, Batu Hijau, on the island of Sumbawa, began operation in late 1999. With reserves of 9.9 billion pounds of copper and 11.7 million ounces of gold, Batu Hijau has an expected mine life of 20 years.
Contact: Wendy Yang of Newmont Mining Corporation, 303-837-6141. (*)