RI gold prospect too small: Newmont

RI gold prospect too small: Newmont

SYDNEY: The Martabe gold prospect in Indonesia could be too
small for Denver-based Newmont Mining Corp. to develop, the
company's Australian managing director Paul Dowd said.

Drilling results on the advanced exploration project in
northern Sumatra indicate potential for three million ounces of
gold disseminated over several deposits, he told Dow Jones
Newswires.

"It may well be an interesting prospect, but I'm not sure it
fits our mold entirely, it could be too small," Dowd said.

Newmont continues to drill Martabe and is yet to issue a
timeframe for making a decision to proceed or abandon the
project.

The world's biggest gold producer operates the Batu Hijau gold
mine on the Indonesian island of Sumbawa.

The company is also the subject of a criminal case over
alleged dumping of mercury and arsenic from its Minahasa Raya
mine on the northern tip of Sulawesi.

Minahasa was mined out and closed in August 2004. Newmont's
Indonesia country manager, U.S. citizen Richard Ness, faces up to
10 years jail if found guilty. -- Dow Jones