The miner's Indonesia operations represent about six percent of global sales worldwide in 2004.

Newmont also operates Asia's second-largest copper mine, Batu Hijau, on Indonesia's Sumbawa island, which has a mine life of more than 20 years.

PT Newmont Minahasa Raya, a unit of Newmont, is under investigation over accusations its gold mine dumped toxic waste into Buyat Bay in North Sulawesi, 2,200 km (1,400 miles) from Jakarta, contaminating the food chain and making villagers ill.

A government-commissioned probe concluded last November that sediment in Buyat Bay had significant levels of arsenic and mercury.

However, two earlier studies -- one by the Indonesian government and another by the World Health Organisation -- concluded Buyat Bay was not polluted.

Newmont has strenuously denied its mine contributed pollution in the Buyat bay.

The case has alarmed foreign investors over the growing difficulty of doing business in Indonesia's outlying regions and mining investment has slumped since the mid 1980s due to regulatory uncertainty.

Indonesian prosecutors are seeking criminal charges against six company officials including an Australian, two Americans, and three Indonesians.

Five of the six officials were detained for more than a month late last year. If proven guilty over environmental regulations, suspects may face jail terms of up to 15 years.

Gallagher said the company's primary objective was to avoid criminal charges against its employees.

"We want them to be disassociated from the case," he said.

Indonesia's Environment Ministry has filed a $133.7 million civil suit against the company.

"Foreign investors will see this case as a benchmark whether legal certainty in Indonesia does work or not," said Umar Juoro, an economist with private think tank CIDES.

In 2003, new investment in Indonesia's mining sector was just $12 million, compared to $40 million in Argentina, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).

The latest survey by the Fraser Institute showed that Indonesia's investment conditions ranked among the worst in the region, with only the Philippines below it.

"Investors will think twice," said Benny Wahyu, chairman of the Indonesia Mining Association.

Newmont's Sulawesi gold mine was closed last August due to depleted reserves and the company had been carrying out reclamation work. The accusations relate to when the mine was operational.