CORRECTED - Newmont has half of 11.8 mln oz gold at Conga mine
Fri Sep 18, 2009 12:49pm EDT
(Corrects story and headline to clarify that Newmont shares Minas Conga reserves with Buenaventura and that Newmont's share of reserves has not changed.)
AREQUIPA, Peru, Sept 17 (Reuters) - Newmont Mining Corp (NEM.N) said on Thursday the reserve estimate of its Minas Conga copper-gold project in Peru is 11.8 million ounces of gold and 3.2 billion pounds of copper, and that it shares the reserves with its partner Buenaventura (BVN.N)(BUEv.LM).
In the past, Newmont has said its portion of reserves from Conga were 6.1 million ounces of gold and roughly 1.7 billion pounds copper.
Newmont, which has a slightly larger share of the project than Buenaventura, has still not made a decision whether to develop Minas Conga, which was postponed because of the global economic and credit crunch last year.
Newmont company had originally said it would announce a development decision in the first quarter of 2009, but delayed it because of changes in the market and projected costs.
"Minas Conga is a deposit with reserves of nearly 12 million ounces of gold and 3.2 billion pounds of copper," Carlos Santa Cruz, Newmont's vice president of operations in South America, said at the 29th biannual Perumin mining convention in Arequipa.
He added the project has an annual production potential of between 480,000 and 780,000 ounces of gold and an expected mine life of between 15 and 20 years.
He put potential copper production between 175 million and 225 million lbs -- around 90,000 tonnes of fine copper per year.
Elsewhere in Peru, Newmont controls the Yanacocha gold pit, one of Latin Americans largest.
Peru often ranks as the worlds's No. 2 copper producer and sixth in gold. (Reporting by Teresa Cespedes; Writing by Dana Ford)
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