Graeme Hunt, chief executive of Lihir Gold, says it is still possible to better the cash bid worth $9.7 billion by Newcrest Mining.

Mr. Hunt said the interest was strong in May and June from whence Lihir looked actively for competing offers.

"It is a possibility, there is no question about that, but I am not going to speculate on the probability of it happening," the chief executive said yesterday.

"People put serious effort and serious money into the evaluation. What conclusion they reached they obviously didn't necessarily share with us."

It is speculated that North American major players Newmont Mining and Barrick Gold were the most serious potential buyers in the room, sending groups of up to 20 members on visits to the sites and having discussions with bankers and lawyers.

But in spite of the interest, the opportunity for a better bid has likely passed since June 7, when the date room was closed, due to external situations favoring Newcrest.

For one thing, the Australian dollar's value has improved, and this means besting the offer of Newcrest would be more expensive in US dollars.

The bid of Newcrest worth 0.119 Newcrest shares and 22.5 cents for each share in Lihir places a value at Lihir for $4.11 per share, based on the closing price yesterday.

In its report for the second quarter yesterday, Lihir stated production increased to 243,925 ounces, a 6 per cent improvement from the first quarter and in par with projections.

Mr. Hunt said Lihir Gold was performing on track for production forecasts of about 1 million to 1.1 million ounces.