Aurora expects more gold

Aurora expects more gold

PERTH (Reuters): Aurora Gold Ltd said yesterday it expects this year's gold production from its Mt. Muro lode in Indonesia to show little change from last year's 250,000 ounces.

"We're budgeting for a bit better than a quarter million equivalent ounces, which will be about 180,000 ounces of gold and four million ounces of silver," managing director Ian Burston told Reuters.

"That about the same as last year and we're at that plateau now," Burston said.

The Mt. Muro mine was weathering the global downturn in the gold industry better than its Australian neighbors due to the weakness of the Indonesian rupiah, currently valued at about 14,500 to one U.S. dollar, he said.

Average cash operating costs at the mine were running at around US$160-$170 an ounce versus a global gold price of around $292 an ounce.

Aurora earned A$23.29 million net profit in 1997, up from A$18.39 million the previous year.

Burston said the company was awaiting approval from the government for its Toka Tindung gold prospect in Sulawesi province before deciding whether to proceed with mining.