PERTH (miningweekly.com) – State-owned Ok Tedi Mining on Tuesday said that the results of its three remaining potential Covid-19 cases have come back negative.
Between March 15 and 20 the company identified seven potential Covid-19 cases at the Ok Tedi copper/gold/silver mine, in Papua New Guinea, with samples sent for testing.
The results for the first four cases returned negative last week.
“All seven cases we tested as a precautionary measure have now been cleared. No more samples have been sent from Ok Tedi for testing. Our highest priority remains to do everything we practically can to keep the virus out of our work areas and communities,” said MD and CEO Peter Graham.
The company has halted all domestic charger flights until April 6, while a government ban on domestic flights will prevent the national fly-in, fly-out crews due for break from travelling out, and for relief crews to return to site.
Graham said that the company was implementing plans to minimise any impacts on operations over the next 14 days while managing the potential for fatigue and distractions among the crew.