Upset by lockdown, workers bar access to Freeport Indonesia's Grasberg mine
JAKARTA – More than a thousand mine workers in Indonesia blocked access to the Grasberg gold and copper mine operated by the local unit of Freeport-McMoRan on Monday to protest a coronavirus lockdown policy that halted bus services to meet with families.
Grasberg, the world's largest gold mine and second largest copper mine, is currently transitioning from its open pit operation to all-underground mining. The mine is expected to produce 110 000 t of copper ore per day in 2020.
Riza Pratama, a spokesman for PT Freeport Indonesia, said the company was assessing conditions at the site, including the impact on mining operations.
Freeport employees began their protest in the early hours of Monday morning, and the protest was still continuing well into the afternoon, said Yonpis Tabuni, a worker representative.
"The main request from the employees is to resume the operation of staff buses so they can meet their families immediately," Pratama said, adding that Freeport restricted travel to and from the mine due to coronavirus outbreak.
Tabuni said talks had taken place, while Pratama added that the company was considering the mine workers requests.
Freeport said in May is had reduced the number of workers in operation to a "skeletal team" after a rise in coronavirus infections in the area.
"We are preparing a new working schedule that refers to the new normal," Pratama said.
Comments
Research Reports
Projects
Latest Multimedia
Latest News
Showroom
ISO-certified Condra manufactures overhead cranes, portal cranes, cantilever cranes and crane components: hoists, drives, end-carriages, brakes and...
VISIT SHOWROOM
Education: Consulting with member companies to obtain the optimal benefits from their B-BBEE spending, skills resources as well as B-BBEE points
VISIT SHOWROOM
Press Office
Announcements
What's On
Subscribe to improve your user experience...
Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):
Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):
All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors
including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.
Already a subscriber?
Forgotten your password?
Receive weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine (print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
➕
Recieve daily email newsletters
➕
Access to full search results
➕
Access archive of magazine back copies
➕
Access to Projects in Progress
➕
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA
R4500 (equivalent of R375 a month)
SUBSCRIBEAll benefits from Option 1
➕
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports on various industrial and mining sectors, in PDF format, including on:
Electricity
➕
Water
➕
Energy Transition
➕
Hydrogen
➕
Roads, Rail and Ports
➕
Coal
➕
Gold
➕
Platinum
➕
Battery Metals
➕
etc.
Receive all benefits from Option 1 or Option 2 delivered to numerous people at your company
➕
Multiple User names and Passwords for simultaneous log-ins
➕
Intranet integration access to all in your organisation
