JAKARTA: US miner Freeport-McMoRan said yesterday the Indonesian government has allowed it to resume operations in Papua province after a fatal tunnel collapse.
The Freeport’s Indonesian subsidiary restarted some operations two weeks after the deadly accident, which killed 28 people in mid May, but the government ordered a halt in all production just days later when another worker was killed in a fresh incident.
“PT Freeport Indonesia has been informed by the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources that it may commence milling and open pit operations,” the company said in a statement.
Freeport Indonesia president Rozik Soetjipto said that the company would “renew (its) commitment to take all actions required for our worker safety”.
The production shutdown hit operations at the Grasberg Mine, one of the largest gold and copper mines in the world, with Freeport declaring force majeure on shipments on June 12.
The company has also suspended its four senior employees who have been accused by its workers unions of being at fault over the accident after workers threatened to strike.
In 2011, a three-month workers’ strike crippled production at Grasberg, with the company declaring force majeure after a month to avoid liabilities as it failed to make good on all its orders.
AFP
