Newmont Mining Corp. (NEM) said Friday that the deadline for the sale of a 14% stake in its Indonesian unit has been delayed to Nov. 23 at the request of the central government after state nickel miner PT Aneka Tambang (ANTM.JK) earlier in the week backed out of a consortium buying the stake.

The postponement is the latest development in an ongoing saga over a contractual requirement that the foreign shareholders in PT Newmont Nusa Tenggara or PTNNT, as the unit is known, divest a majority stake in stages to local buyers.

An agreement on the purchase of the 14% stake had previously been scheduled by today.

Newmont and its minority partner Sumitomo Corp. (8053.TO) are required by contract to divest a total of 51% of PTNNT to local buyers by 2010.

Antam had been mandated to represent the central government in a consortium that is buying the current 14% stake and a separate 10% stake in PTNNT.

However, it pulled out of the deal earlier this week after failing to reach agreement on the eventual breakdown of ownership of the PTNNT shares with the other consortium members, PT Daerah Maju Bersaing and PT Multicapital.

PT Daerah Maju Bersaing is a company formed by the governments of West Nusa Tenggara province and West Sumbawa and Sumbawa regencies, the three areas in which PTNNT's Batu Hijau copper and gold mine is located. PT Multicapital is a financial company part-owned by coal miner PT Bumi Resources (BUMI.JK), part of the powerful Bakrie business group.

Separately, Sutisna Prawira, an official at the legal bureau of the Department of Energy and Mineral Resources, told Dow Jones Newswires Friday that Antam may still end up playing a part in the stake purchase. He said the government, the other consortium members and Antam are each holding internal meetings to determine the best way to proceed.

Newmont and Sumitomo are required by an arbitration ruling to sell a total of 24% of PTNNT this year to local buyers. The 24% is comprised of stakes that were scheduled to be sold between 2006 and this year, but the divestments were delayed due to difficulties in the negotiating process.

A local mining company previously bought 20% of PTNNT, which counts towards the 51% divestiture requirement, meaning Newmont and Sumitomo only have to sell a further 7% of the company next year to complete the requirement.

Newmont currently owns 45% of PTNNT and Sumitomo owns 35%.

-By Deden Sudrajat and Reuben Carder, Dow Jones Newswires; 62 21 3983 1277; Reuben.Carder@dowjones.com