RI 2000 gold output may drop by 15 tons

Indonesia's gold output in 2000 might drop by 10-15 percent from last year's 155 tons if a production cut at the Grasberg copper and gold mine continues throughout this year, according to a gold mining expert.

"Production (of gold in Indonesia) may drop to 140 tons from 155 tons last year," director of PT Austindo Mining Corp. Colin Davies was quoted by the Indonesian Observer as saying.

Davies said that the projection was based on an assumption that a production cut by the giant PT Freeport Indonesia at its Grasberg mine would continue for the rest of the year.

Freeport agreed last week with the government to temporarily cut down production to 200,000 tons of ore a day following a fatal landslide incident at the company's waste dumping site.

But Davies said that there's a possibility that production would return to normal levels by the end of this year, considering that the mine is an important source of income for both the mining companies and the government. (*)