COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO. – Newmont Mining Corp’s sale of its stake in the Batu Hijau mine in Indonesia may not close until the fourth quarter of the year, Chief Executive Gary Goldberg said on Monday, adding that the approvals process was complex.
Newmont agreed on June 30 to sell its 48.5 percent economic interest in its Indonesia operations to a local investor group for up to $1.3 billion. The Denver-based miner said at the time it expected the deal to close in the third quarter.
The possible delay comes after some analysts raised concerns after the deal was announced that closing conditions, including requirements for a valid export license for the mine, posed risks to the transaction.
“It could be into the early part of the fourth quarter. It is just complex going through all the different elements of approvals,” Goldberg said in an interview on the sidelines of the Denver Gold Forum in Colorado Springs.
“There can always be things that come up because we don’t control it all. But right now I see a higher likelihood of success… as we work through those things,” he said.
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