Soeharto to inaugurate Sulawesi gold mine
Soeharto to inaugurate Sulawesi gold mine
JAKARTA (JP): President Soeharto is scheduled to inaugurate a
gold mine operated by PT Newmont Minahasa Raya in North Sulawesi
soon. The mine is expected to produce 93,000 ounces of gold this
year, North Sulawesi Governor E.E. Mangindaan said, without
giving a specific date for the inauguration.
Speaking to reporters yesterday after meeting with President
Soeharto about development in his province, the governor said
that the company's investment for gold exploration totaled Rp 407
billion (US$175.4 million).
"The company's gold processing plant has completed its
operational test and is ready to start commercial operation," he
said.
According to Mangindaan, every ton of ore from the Minahasa
mines can produce an average of 7.11 grams of gold.
The company's president, Tom Mair, told Reuter recently that
the mine started operating in March with a processing capacity of
2,000 tons of ore per day.
The mine, which is located in Ratatotok -- about 100
kilometers south of the North Sulawesi provincial capital of
Manado -- is expected to produce 140,000 ounces a year and have a
13-year lifespan.
The current reserves are estimated at 8.8 million tons of ore
and have an anticipated recovery rate of 90 percent.
Governor Mangindaan said that the proven gold reserves in the
province could increase as the company continues its exploration
activities.
According to Newmont Minahasa's vice president Eric Hamer, the
mine was using under-sea disposal for its tailings which are
discharged from a 1,080-meter pipeline on a slope at a depth of
82 meters, the first time this technique has been used in
Indonesia.
PT Newmont Minahasa Raya is 80 percent owned by Newmont Gold
Company of the United States through Newmont Indonesia Ltd. and
20 percent by an Indonesian mining company, PT Tanjung Serapung.
The governor said that President Soeharto will also inaugurate
a number of projects, including a power plant and hotels. "The
total investment of the projects, including the gold mine, is Rp
845 billion," he said. (13)