PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Gold miner Newcrest Mining on Friday said that it would consult with the Australian government to better understand the details of a travel suspension to Papua New Guinea (PNG), amid fears of Covid-19 outbreak.
Passenger flights from PNG to Cairns have been suspended this week, passenger caps from Port Morseby to Brisbane would also be reduced by a quarter, while travel from Australia to PNG would be suspended, except for essential and critical workers.
Fly-in, fly-out workers who travel between the two countries would be grounded.
Newcrest on Friday told shareholders that its Lihir operation, in PNG, is currently undergoing a planned maintenance shutdown, and is in the process of progressively starting up. There was currently no anticipated interruption to gold production from the operation, as a result of the travel suspension.
The company also noted that the small number of Covid-19 cases among the Lihir workers was being managed by the company, with patients remaining in quarantine.