Sumitomo Metal enters RI

Sumitomo Metal enters RI

TOKYO (AFP): Japan's Sumitomo Metal Mining Co. Ltd. is to buy a direct stake in the Batu Hijau copper and gold deposit in Indonesia from Sumitomo Corp., the Nihon Keizai Shimbun said yesterday.

But a company official told AFP no decision had yet been reached.

"We will probably provide technical assistance to the project, but it is not decided whether we will buy a stake," a Sumitomo Metal Mining official said.

The major business daily said Sumitomo Metal Mining would take a stake of "several percent" in the copper and gold mining project led jointly by Sumitomo Corp. and Newmont Gold Co. of the United States.

Batu Hijau deposit is located on Indonesia's Sumbawa Island. Sumitomo Corp. has a 35 percent stake in the deposit, Newmont Gold 45 percent and an Indonesian company PT Pukuafu Indah the remaining 20 percent.

Total development cost of the project is put at US$1.5 billion, with production planned from late 1999, according to the newspaper.