Canadian, U.S. Firms in Gold Venture

A small Canadian mining company has enlisted U.S.-based Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. to help it develop one of the world’s richest gold deposits. The alliance announced by Calgary-based Bre-X Minerals Ltd. is a setback for Barrick Gold Corp. and Placer Dome Inc., two other Canadian mining companies that were vying for a stake in the giant Busang project in Indonesia. Bre-X will own 45% of the project, while Freeport will own 15% and be its sole operator. The Indonesian government will have a 10% share, and two Indonesian companies will own 15% each. Freeport, based in New Orleans, will provide about $400 million, or 25% of the estimated cost of building the mining complex in Kalimantan province in the Indonesian part of Borneo.