Newmont Mining Corporation

Elko, Nevada

To further underscore Newmont's commitment to environmental stewardship, the company's Geothermal Team, including Cathy Ramsey, director of Renewable Energy; Steve Spitze, North America manager, Climate Change; Brian Iverson, land manager, U.S.; and John Seeliger, energy manager, Nevada Operations, is exploring ways for Newmont to produce our own geothermal energy. Together, team members are establishing a foundation to enable Newmont to lead the way in energy efficiency and carbon reduction while realizing measurable cost savings.

By definition, the word geothermal means "heat generated from within the earth." While some forms of geothermal energy use the earth's temperatures near the surface, others require miles of drilling. Drilling an underground well and testing the temperature underground is the most reliable method for finding a geothermal reservoir, or large volume of underground hot water and steam, in porous and fractured hot rock. These reservoirs are often found near our mine operations. Newmont is launching a global initiative to explore the use of geothermal heat as a renewable resource for power and electricity.

"Through our research we've discovered that several of Newmont's Nevada mining operations have excellent geothermal resources," said Ramsey. "Knowing this, members of our Geothermal Team have solicited proposals from several geothermal developers with the intention of becoming joint-venture partners to assist in the development and conversion of these geothermal resources into power-generating facilities."

Geothermal heat is a more consistent energy source than other renewable resources, such as wind or solar, which can occur inconsistently and are highly dependent upon weather patterns and conditions.

Defining the Plan
In the near term, the Geothermal Team will continue to evaluate the short list of potential, joint-venture partners and develop Stage 1 and Stage 2 reports to present feasibility studies to the Investment Review Board (IRB), targeted for the fall of 2010.

Newmont's North American operations previously negotiated several lease arrangements with a variety of geothermal developers and made the decision to perform a detailed viability study to evaluate the potential of Newmont-owned geothermal facilities. As a result, many of these leases are now in the permitting process with production wells scheduled for implementation in the next three to six months in Nevada.

Using Geothermal to Mitigate Risks
Due to future climate change legislation, Newmont may potentially face carbon fees in the US and Australia. However, geothermal projects, as well as solar and wind projects, provide an opportunity to offset some of these fees through the Kyoto Protocol Clean Development Mechanism (CDM). Under the CDM, climate-friendly, sustainable development projects in developing countries are eligible for Certified Emission Reductions (CERs). CERs may be used by governments and companies to meet their compliance obligations under cap-and-trade schemes pending in the U.S. and Australia.

With potential worldwide legislation, companies that fail to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions may be required to pay carbon taxes and fines. The use of geothermal energy provides an opportunity for Newmont to not only reduce emissions and increase our energy efficiency, but also to earn CERs to use later in cap-and-trade schemes. CERs developed in the near term are estimated to cost less than half of the same CERs purchased after a cap-and-trade scheme begins.

Newmont remains dedicated to both energy efficiency and environmental stewardship. The launch of our global geothermal initiative will help us continue to implement best practices and technologies that are environmentally safe and efficient.

September 15, 2010