Six missing in slippage in Freeport mine<\/p>\n
Rendi A. Witular, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
U.S.-based mining company Freeport-McMoran Copper & Gold Inc.
\nannounced on Thursday two of its employees were killed and six
\nothers were missing following a slippage at its Grasberg mine in
\nthe province of Papua.<\/p>\n
The slippage also injured five workers.<\/p>\n
In a press release, Freeport said the slippage occurred on
\nThursday morning in a section of the Grasberg mine operated by
\nits affiliate, PT Freeport Indonesia (FI). The mine is located in
\nTembagapura, Mimika regency.<\/p>\n
The company is probing the cause of the slippage.<\/p>\n
Freeport said efforts were ongoing to locate the missing
\nworkers and to ensure the safety of other FI workers and its
\noperations.<\/p>\n
"Our first priority in responding to this unfortunate event is
\nto take action to provide for the safety of our people, to care
\nfor those injured and to locate those who are missing," Freeport
\nchairman and chief executive James R. Moffet and president
\nRichard C. Adkerson said in a statement.<\/p>\n
"We extend our heart-felt sympathy to the families of those
\nwho perished. While the physical damages to our operations are
\nnot large, we reiterate our commitment to provide for the safety
\nof our operations for all our employees."<\/p>\n
The Grasberg mine is one of the world's largest gold mines. It
\nalso produces copper.<\/p>\n
Freeport said its plans for the fourth quarter of 2003 could
\nbe affected by the incident, which might force it to defer some
\nproduction to 2004.<\/p>\n
However, the incident is not expected to affect FI's long-term
\nplans for the mine, the company said.<\/p>\n
FI is 81.28 percent owned by Freeport McMoRan, while the
\nIndonesia government and PT Indocopper Investama Corporation each
\nhold a 9.36 percent stake in the company.<\/p>\n
The slippage at the Grasberg mine is the second deadly
\nincident to occur there in the past several years.<\/p>\n
In May 2000, four workers of PT Petrosea and PT Graha Buana
\nJaya, subcontractors to FI, were killed when a large pile of
\nwaste collapsed.<\/p>\n
Following the incident, Freeport came under fire from several
\nenvironmentalists and government officials, who urged the company
\nto cut their production output and put in place a sufficient
\nearly warning system.<\/p>\n
The chairman of the Indonesian Forum for the Environment,
\nLonggena Ginting, said he regretted the incident and urged the
\ngovernment to conduct an environmental audit of the company.<\/p>\n
"Enough is enough. They must cut their production output or
\nshut the site down immediately. How many more casualties do they
\n(Freeport) want?" said Longgena.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/six-missing-in-slippage-in-freeport-mine-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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