Mystery prevails over who will test Busang samples<\/p>\n
SYDNEY (Reuter): Eleven tons of Indonesian ore seemed to
\nvanish into thin air yesterday as Australian laboratories refused
\nto say who would decide if the Busang gold deposit still rated as
\nthe world's largest.<\/p>\n
Drilling samples totaling 11,795 kg from the controversial
\nBusang gold property in Indonesia's Kalimantan province left
\nJakarta on Tuesday for testing in the west Australian city of
\nPerth.<\/p>\n
A Busang spokeswoman said the samples were placed in a 20-foot
\n(6.1-metre) container and flown out under escort by a security
\nteam hired from London by Canadian mining consultant Strathcona
\nMineral Services, who did the drilling.<\/p>\n
But yesterday their whereabouts were a mystery. Perth's major
\nlaboratories clammed up on whether they would be doing the tests
\nto determine whether the samples lived up to billion-dollar
\nexpectations or were just so much fool's gold.<\/p>\n
All major laboratories contacted in Perth by Reuters knew the
\nsamples were either on their way or had already landed.<\/p>\n
But all said they could "neither confirm nor deny" they would
\nbe the ones to test the samples.<\/p>\n
"I can't really tell you because of client confidentiality,"
\nsaid an official with Perth's leading laboratory, Scientific
\nServices' Analabs, when asked if his agency would do the tests.<\/p>\n
The unidentified official said he knew nothing about the
\nsamples and that he hadn't spoken to Toronto-based Strathcona.<\/p>\n
"I can't tell you that," an official with Amdel Laboratories
\nsaid when asked the same question. "But at this stage I'm not
\naware of it," he said.<\/p>\n
The reply from Australian Laboratory Services (ALS) was
\nsimilar: "I can't really say," an official said. "But I don't
\nthink its going to be us."<\/p>\n
But the ALS official offered the nugget that work on the
\nsamples would involve metallurgical testing, more the sort of
\nwork which Normet Pty Ltd carried out, he said.<\/p>\n
Normet helped start the Indonesian gold rush when it performed
\ninitial sampling which indicated that Busang was a major deposit.<\/p>\n
Normet director Phil Hearse for comment but another Normet
\nofficial said it was not known where the latest Busang samples
\nwould be tested.<\/p>\n
All officials contacted said they would know if their
\nlaboratory was the one to do the Busang tests.<\/p>\n
Canada's Bre-X Minerals Ltd has a 45-percent stake in Busang,
\nFreeport McMoRan Copper and Gold Inc of the United States has 15
\npercent, the Indonesian government 10 percent and the Nusamba
\nGroup and its local partner the rest.<\/p>\n
Bre-X shocked the mining community last month by admitting it
\nwas possible the amount of gold in the Busang deposit had been
\noverstated after initially estimating it contained 70.95 million
\nounces, which would make it the century's biggest find.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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