Newmont Still Studying Peru Minas Conga Project
September 16 2009 - 1:09PM
Dow Jones News
Newmont Mining Corp. (NEM) is still evaluating whether to move
forward with the Minas Conga copper-gold project in northern Peru,
a company senior vice president said Wednesday.
"We're still in the evaluation process," Carlos Santa Cruz told
journalists on the sidelines of a mining conference in the southern
Andean city of Arequipa. "We haven't finished our studies."
Newmont has a 40% share in that project, and Peru's largest
publicly-traded precious metals miner Compania de Minas
Buenvaventura SAA (BVN) has a 60% share.
Last year, Buenaventura's chief executive, Roque Benavides said
high cash costs were impeding the project's development.
Santa Cruz also said the company is maintaining its gold
production estimate for South America's largest gold mine,
Yanacocha, at 1.9 million ounces for 2009.
Yanacocha is run by Newmont Mining Corp. with a 51.35% stake,
while Compania de Minas Buenaventura SAA (BVN) holds a 43.65%
share. The International Finance Corp. holds a 5.0% stake. -By
Leslie Josephs; Dow Jones Newswires; 511-98853-8610;
peru@dowjones.com