When Newmont Mining Corp. began exploring for gold in Indonesia in the 1980s, the country's wealth of untapped resources was seen as the Colorado-based miner's ticket to the big leagues.
The Batu Hijau copper and gold mine in eastern Indonesia was one of the largest undeveloped deposits in the world, and Newmont's billion-dollar investment put it on the path to becoming the world's No. 2 gold miner by output.
More than three decades later, Newmont's exit from Indonesia illustrates that the country has become a more difficult place for foreign miners to operate.