Newmont pollution trial in Indonesia delayed again

MANADO, Indonesia, Oct 6 (Reuters) An Indonesian court has pushed back by two weeks a key stage in a pollution trial involving U.S.

firm Newmont Mining Corp after prosecutors requested more preparation time.

A Newmont unit that once operated in Indonesia's North Sulawesi province and its president director, Richard Ness, face charges over allegations the miner dumped toxic substances into a bay near its now defunct gold mine, making villagers sick.

The prosecution was scheduled to tell the court in provincial capital Manado today what sentences they want for Ness and the unit, but that has been delayed until October. 20 at the prosecution's request, a court official told Reuters.

The sentence demand session had already been postponed once, from September. 22, also at the prosecution's request for more time to prepare.

Under Indonesian law, a prosecution sentencing demand serves as a strong recommendation for the court. But judges have the right to ignore the advice when considering their verdict.

If found guilty, Ness could be jailed for up to 10 years and the firm could be fined.

A team led by Indonesia's Environment Ministry in 2004 found arsenic and mercury content in tailings dumped by Newmont in Buyat Bay had contaminated sediment and entered the food chain.

However, other tests failed to find abnormal levels of pollutants, and the company says its practices were safe.

Newmont opened the North Sulawesi gold mine in 1996 and closed the site after the last ore was processed in August 2004.

The company also operates Asia's second-largest copper mine, Batu Hijau, on eastern Sumbawa island, which produced 718 million pounds of copper and 719,000 ounces of gold last year.

REUTERS SP RK1035