TURQUOISE RIDGE

Placer Dome and Newmont Mining have completed their joint venture in which Newmont acquired a 25% interest in the Turquoise Ridge and Getchell deposits in Nevada. Under ore sale agreements, Newmont will purchase up to 730,500 tons per year of ore and process it at cost at its nearby Twin Creeks mill. Placer and Newmont will each contribute their pro-rata share of mine development funding requirements, including capital costs and environmental closure expenses related to future JV operations. Placer Dome owns 75% of the joint venture and is the operator. The joint venture is limited to an area of influence surrounding the Turquoise Ridge shaft -- Placer retains 100% ownership of properties outside the area of influence. Placer Dome will realize significant savings due to lower operating costs and improved recoveries, the elimination of the 2% net smelter return royalty, as well as eliminate capital required to refurbish the existing mill on the Turquoise Ridge property.

Mineweb notes that the gold industry is expected to embark on more rationalisation projects as merger and acquisition opportunities dry up in the face of skyrocketing equity valuations, especially in the wake of the deal between Placer Dome and Newmont that rationalises some of their Nevada assets and possibly heralds a much larger shakeup in the gold rich state. Last week, AngloGold and Gold Fields agreed on the sale of a resource block that the former can develop more quickly. It is also believed that Newmont and Barrick have engaged in cursory discussions about the possibility of rationalising the assets around the Goldstrike Mine.

Newmont Mining has signed a letter of intent with Placer Dome to enter into a joint venture for the Turquoise Ridge property in Nevada. The agreement provides Newmont with a 25% interest in the Turquoise Ridge and Getchell mines, in return for providing up to 1,800 tonnes per day of milling capacity at its Twin Creeks mill in Nevada, and the extinguishment of the 2% NSR royalty currently payable by Placer Dome. Placer Dome will operate the joint venture. The Turquoise Ridge mine is currently ramping up to an expected full production rate of 300,000 ounces per year by the end of 2004.