Unlock 'crown jewels', miner tells Government

Pierre Lassonde says Newmont has been looking for growth opportunities in New Zealand. Picture / Kenny Rodger

New Zealand has been left "a box of jewels" and the Government should stop being ambivalent about mining, says the president of the world's biggest gold miner.

"The industry is looking for leadership from the Government, because without government leadership it's not going to happen," said Pierre Lassonde, of Newmont Mining.

He told delegates at the New Zealand Minerals conference in Auckland yesterday that Newmont's operations in Waihi, where it operates the Martha mine, enjoyed community support, with the company seen as responsible, trustworthy and open.

But importantly, Waihi residents also trusted the Government agencies that kept an eye on operations, which Lassonde said was a powerful combination that should be trusted in Wellington.

"At the Government level, there is a bit more ambivalence, which to me should not be there. The Government has given itself the finest tools in terms of environmental protection and monitoring, yet there is still a hesitancy to promote mineral development."

In every country that Newmont operated in, it was clear government had to show leadership and tell the industry it was welcome - but must operate within clearly defined rules.

"New Zealand is like a jewel box - do the jewels stay in the box or go back to vault? Or are they going to be used?"

Exploration for more of these jewels had been going well here and Lassonde was delighted with recent results.

"It's clear that with the money we've put in, there is a future for Waihi. We want this mine to go on for 20 years - the gold is there, we believe there's a great natural resource there."

When it came to Kiwi acquisitions, Lassonde said Newmont had "started to look around a little bit" in the last year.

"We would like to grow, we think New Zealand is a good place. We know the rules and have a great relationship with the communities.

"I think we have an advantage to someone coming in from the outside, we'd like to use that."

Newmont preferred working in stable, developed countries, where Government agencies were not corrupt, did their job properly and so enjoyed the confidence of the local population.

"It's easier than in developing countries, because of that relationship. It's a powerful relationship."

Lassonde said mining involved only a temporary use of land - once the resource had been extracted, the land could be returned to its original state.

Golden giant

* Newmont Mining is the world's largest gold miner.

* Based in Denver, Colorado, it has traded on the NYSE since 1925.

* Employs 14,000 people, most of whom work in its mines.

* Has operations in the US, Australia, Peru, Indonesia, Canada, Uzbekistan, Bolivia, Mexico and New Zealand.

* Revenue of US$4.5 billion in 2004. Market capitalisation of US$19.7 billion.

* Bought Normandy Mining, owner of Waihi Gold, in 2002.

* Mines gold from the Martha open pit mine in Waihi and is developing the underground Favona mine nearby.

* The first gold from Favona is expected towards the end of next year.