DENVER--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Newmont Mining Corporation (NYSE: NEM) (Newmont or the Company) today announced an agreement to further explore the prospective Esperance gold discovery in French Guiana, owned by Compagnie Miniere Esperance (CME). The agreement entitles Newmont to earn up to a 70 percent interest in the property through multi-year investments.

The early stage discovery, with multi-million ounce potential, was identified by CME on its existing land holdings following completion of active mining at the Esperance operation in 2010. The area contains multiple proximal undrilled targets.

“We continue to strengthen our long-term growth pipeline in promising exploration districts. Our agreement with CME allows us to build our business in the highly prospective Guiana Shield, where we completed the Merian mine safely, on schedule and 20 percent below budget just over a year ago,” said Gary Goldberg, President and Chief Executive Officer.

In 2017, Newmont increased its exploration and advanced projects investments by approximately 25 percent, with about two-thirds of that amount going to fund more brownfields and greenfields exploration.

About Newmont

Newmont is a leading gold and copper producer. The Company’s operations are primarily in the United States, Australia, Ghana, Peru and Suriname. Newmont is the only gold producer listed in the S&P 500 Index and was named the mining industry leader by the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index in 2015, 2016 and 2017. The Company is an industry leader in value creation, supported by its leading technical, environmental, social and safety performance. Newmont was founded in 1921 and has been publicly traded since 1925.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements:

This release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable securities laws that are intended to be covered by the safe harbors created by Section 27A of the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended, Section 21E of the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and other securities legislation, including statements that use forward-looking terminology such as "may," "will," "expect," "anticipate," “possible,” "potential" or other variations thereof or comparable terminology. Such forward-looking statements may include, without limitation, statements regarding the exploration and/or development potential of the Esperance project, or the Guiana Shield more generally, and are based on current expectations that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements are subject to other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from expected results. Investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from any forward-looking statement include, but are not limited to, an inability to complete Newmont’s anticipated earn-in on the Esperance project, failure to convert estimated mineral resources to reserves, capital and operating costs varying significantly from expectations, the preliminary nature of metallurgical test results and estimates, delays in obtaining or failures to obtain required governmental, environmental or other project approvals, political risks, changes in exchange rates, fluctuations in commodity prices, delays in the development, and the other risks involved in the mining and mineral exploration and development industry. For a discussion of such risks relating to Newmont’s business and other factors, see the Company’s Form 10-K, filed on or about February 21, 2017, with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), as well as the Company’s other SEC filings. Newmont does not undertake any obligation to publicly release revisions to any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this news release, or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events, except as may be required under applicable securities laws. Investors should not assume that any lack of update to a previously issued forward-looking statement constitutes a reaffirmation of that statement. Continued reliance on forward-looking statements is at investors' own risk.

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Source: Newmont Mining