Tanami cuts jobs, shuts mine STRUGGLING goldminer Tanami Gold is putting its West Australian Coyote mine on hold, with the loss of up to 150 jobs, following the sharp drop in the price of gold. The company's shares closed steady at 6.6c yesterday, after their 45 per cent hammering on Tuesday. That represents a fall of 89 per cent since the stock traded just below 60c in January. When it reported its gold production costs nearly three months ago, Tanami was producing gold at $1519 an ounce out of Coyote. The precious metal fell nearly $US300 in a fortnight to $US1325 an ounce last week and has since recovered to about $US1420, which is still historically high. That has left high-cost producers operating at a loss, and Tanami is expected to be one of many higher-cost producers shutting mines and cancelling projects. As well as putting its only operating mine on hold, the miner deferred decisions on developing several other gold deposits near Coyote -- including Kavanagh, Groundrush and Centra -- until the price improves. Tanami chairman Arthur Dew said the decision was disappointing for workers but was in the best interest of shareholders. "We fully appreciate the impact this will have on a large number of people but the board's primary responsibility is to respond to prevailing conditions in a responsible manner that will protect investors' funds," he said. The mine will be wound down over the next few months rather than shut immediately. Australia's largest goldminer, Newcrest, cut 150 jobs last month and is reviewing its higher-cost mines, such as Hidden Valley in Papua New Guinea that is trading at a loss. Copper-gold miner OZ Minerals said this week it had only broke even during the March quarter in a tough market.