Indonesia to Seek Independent Valuation of Newmont Unit Stake
2009-06-04

Indonesia will seek an independent appraiser to value a stake in a Newmont Mining Corp venture that the Southeast Asian nation plans to buy, a minister said.

“The gap of what Newmont asked for the stake and the price the government is seeking is too wide,” Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro told reporters today in Jakarta. “An independent appraiser will determine a price.”

An arbitration panel on March 31 ruled Denver-based Newmont, the largest U.S. gold producer, must sell a 17 percent stake in PT Newmont Nusa Tenggara to the government within six months.

The government said last month it expects to buy a 31% stake in Newmont Nusa Tenggara, which runs a copper mine.

Indonesia and Newmont signed a contract in 1986 that requires Newmont and other overseas investors to cut their combined holding in Nusa Tenggara to 49 percent by 2010. Newmont owns 45 percent of Nusa Tenggara, with Japanese investors including Sumitomo Corp. controlling 35 percent. Under the 1986 agreement, 3 percent of Nusa Tenggara was to be offered to the Indonesian government or its agencies in 2006, and 7 percent in each year from 2007 to 2010. The March 31 ruling covers the combined stake offers from 2006 to 2008.

Publishing Date: 15 Jun 2009 9:08am GMT

Source: Mining Journal