Commodity Online
NEW YORK: Newmont Mining Corporation, global gold giant with operations in five continents, is flush with cash and is on the prowl to acquire gold mining firms.

Newmont, which employs around 34,000 employees and contractors worldwide, operates core assets in North America, South America, Australia, Indonesia, and Ghana, with new mine projects currently being developed.

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The company also produces copper and silver. Founded in 1921 in New York City, Newmont has been trading on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) since 1925. In addition to the NYSE, Newmont trades on the Australian and Toronto stock exchanges. Newmont is headquartered in Denver, Colorado.

Newmont’s $4.2 billion Boddington gold project in Western Australia is also on track to start production in mid 2009.

The big news for the firm is that despite tight credit markets, Newmont last year raised $1.7 billion to fund acquisitions.

This helped the company take advantage of further opportunities. Boddington development was 89% completed and would be Australia’s largest gold mine, surpassing the 700,000 ounce-a-year Super Pit in WA, a Newmont and Barrick Gold joint venture.

Newmont will take full ownership of the Boddington project in about a month, with the completion of the purchase of AngloGold Ashanti’s 33% stake for$1.68 billion.

In the first five years, the company expect to be producing about one million ounces of gold a year.

The project has suffered a series of cost blowouts since construction was approved in February 2006.

Newmont said in January that capital costs for Boddington were expected to be between $3.7 billion and $4.2 billion on a 100% basis.

Newmont had cut its worldwide exploration budget for 2009 to $175 million, from $225 million last year, as part of prudent capital management in tough economic times.

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