Hedge funds slash bullish wagers on gold before war jitters
Speculators have reduced net-long positions by 3.6%.
Newmont cut its 2012 production target forecast for its Batu Hijau Indonesian mine from 114,000 ounces of gold and 192 million pounds of copper to 71,000 ounces of gold and 170.6 million pounds of copper.
The company cited lower grades of ore as the reason for the cut. Ian McGaffin, the mine’s general manager, said, “We’re losing cash — a million a day.”
McGaffin said that there will be two rounds of job cuts at the 8,000 man mine, which is Newmont’s most productive copper mine. The mine produced 282 million pounds of copper and 318,000 ounces of gold in 2011.
Tension is expected when Newmont starts wage negotiations in November. Workers expect high pay raises following Freeport McMoRan’s decision to provide a 37 % raise over two years to end a three-month strike that paralyzed output and lifted copper prices.
McGaffin said that the company does not have plans to build a smelter in Indonesia despite Indonesian authorities’ recent requirement that all ore be smelt locally by 2014.
Tags: Diversified Metals & Mining
Source (English): Reuters
