Newcrest to resume operation

Newcrest to resume operation

MELBOURNE (Dow Jones): Civil unrest on the Indonesian island of Halmahera appears to be dissipating, leaving Australia's Newcrest Mining Ltd. hopeful that it can shortly reopen its Gosowong mine.

"We hope to be back in the not too distant future," said Peter Bird, a spokesman for the gold mining company.

He declined to clarify whether that means in a few days or a few weeks.

But civil unrest on the island, which last week prompted the company to evacuate 300 people to Manado and temporarily suspend production, "appears to have dissipated," he told Dow Jones Newswires.

There are still around 40 staff left at the mine, he said.

Gosowong poured its first gold in July, and is designed to produce 154,000 ounces of gold a year over a five-year period. However, production has been running at a higher annualized rate as the mine works through high grade ore. In the quarter ended Dec. 31, Gosowong produced 81,291 ounces of gold, representing 30.8 percent of the company's total output for the period.