DOW JONES NEWSWIRES Newmont Mining Corp. (NEM) swung to a fourth-quarter loss as a large write-down tied to the gold and copper producer's Canadian mine offset slightly higher revenue. Newmont, the world's second-biggest gold producer after Barrick Gold Corp. (ABX), had seen its revenue rise in recent quarters thanks to a surge in prices for the precious metal. But the performance of its bottom line has been mixed due to lower production, higher costs and one-time items. The latest quarterly result included a $1.6 billion write-down of the company's Hope Bay project in Canada. Executive Vice President Randy Engel told Dow Jones Newswires the company decided to place the mine in care and maintenance for the time being to focus efforts on more advanced projects in Ghana, Australia and Peru. "Given the overall magnitude of our projects this year, we have to do some capital rationing," he said. In November, Newmont suspended its Conga project in Peru, citing ongoing protests in the region by antimining activists. It warned last month that this year's copper production would fall short of its estimated 2011 levels due to a planned stripping campaign an Indonesian mine. The company has said gold production should be mostly in line with estimated 2011 production levels. Newmont reported a loss of $1.03 billion, or $2.08 a basic share, compared with a year-earlier profit of $812 million, or $1.65 a basic share. Excluding items such as the Hope Bay write-down and other adjustments, earnings rose to $1.17 from $1.16 as revenue grew 8.5% to $2.77 billion. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had most recently forecast earnings of $1.27 on revenue of $2.74 billion. Attributable gold production was off 7.1% while attributable copper output dropped 36%. The average realized price for gold rose 22% to $1,670 an ounce. The average realized price for copper declined 25% to $3.41 a pound. Shares were off 18 cents at $63.62 after hours. The stock has climbed 6.3% so far this year through the close of trading Thursday. -By Melodie Warner and Drew Fitzgerald, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2283; melodie.warner@dowjones.com
