Open letter to Newmont: Why the silence about gold's enemies?

8:30p ET Wednesday, April 4, 2007

Dear Friend of GATA and Gold:

GATA's old friend B.L. today wrote a letter to Newmont Mining CEO Wayne Murdy that in part raises what long has seemed to GATA a fair concern: Newmont's silence in the face of repeated proofs of malicious open and surreptitious intervention against gold by central banks. B.L.'s letter is appended in case other Newmont shareholders may be inspired to share their own similar concerns with the company.

CHRIS POWELL, Secretary/Treasurer
Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee Inc.

* * *

Wayne Murdy, Chairman and CEO
Newmont Mining Corp.
1700 Lincoln St.
Denver, Colorado 80203
USA

Dear Mr. Murdy:

I've owned Newmont shares for 10 years. I once considered Newmont the world's premier gold-mining company but poor performance over this past year gives me pause.

The Indonesian court case no doubt has hurt the company's reputation, and let's hope the imminent outcome is favorable. Still, I want to give you a shareholder view of other troubling issues:

1) Newmont's lack of forward sales has nonetheless failed to boost its marketplace appeal relative to heavily-hedged Barrick Gold.

2) In fact, as its own annual report shows, Newmont has been unable to exceed even the modest gains of its overall peer group or the S&P500.

3) Despite obvious central bank "management" of its main product, Newmont continues to stand mute rather than advocate a free market in gold.

I'm trying to avoid overreacting to single-year performance, but lately I've mused over selling Newmont if its rumored takeover by Barrick comes to pass.

Regards,

B.L.

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