Newmont Officially Suspends All Operations in Indonesia

Newmont Mining Corp. has announced it is officially suspending operations at its Indonesian gold and copper mine because it had failed to reach a compromise with the government over export restrictions. The closure of the Batu Hijau mine will put approximately 3,200 employees on leave with reduced pay starting on June 6.  

“Despite our best efforts, we have not been able to export copper concentrate since January, and we still do not have an export permit,” Martiono Hadianto, the president director of Newmont’s Indonesian unit, said in the statement. “We have taken numerous steps to help resolve the export issue and support the government’s desire to increase in-country smelting.”

On Tuesday, the company said it was stopping its copper concentrate output from its Batu Hijau mine and notified employees the results of government talks would determine the future of the mine.

Newmont said the company had officially notified the Indonesian government that it is invoking the force majeure clause of its Contract of Work (CoW) due to the ongoing export restrictions that prevent production at Batu Hijau from continuing, The clause allows Newmont to miss deliveries because of circumstances beyond its controls.

“We remain hopeful that continued dialogue with the government will lead to resolution in the near term. In the immediate interests of protecting jobs and our stakeholders’ rights and needs, we have respectfully asked the government to allow PTNNT to continue normal operations by exporting copper concentrate, based on the existing terms of the CoW, until this issue is resolved.”

Indonesia banned raw ore shipments on January 12 and put a tax on concentrates in an effort to spur companies to build smelters domestically.

View the entire statement from Newmont Mining Corporation here: http://newmont.q4web.com/files/2014/Press Releases/14-06-05 PTNNT News Release Force Majeure 5 June 2014_v001_f2j926.pdf