Freeport confirms new casualties

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

American mining giant Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. has confirmed that two workers were killed on Saturday by deadly fumes at the Grasberg mine in Papua, which is owned by its subsidiary PT Freeport Indonesia (FI).

The New Orleans-based firm said in a statement released on Wednesday (Thursday in Indonesia) that the two workers were asphyxiated in an underground tunnel conveying ore from the Grasberg mine to mill facilities.

The incident occurred when ore from the Grasberg surface mine containing previously unencountered concentrations of elemental sulphur released fumes in the tunnel.

A number of other workers reported symptoms, but, the firm said, none of them were seriously injured and all had been released from hospital.

Operations were temporarily halted following the incident. But, it said, these had been resumed after completion of an investigation by FI and inspectors from the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources.

It said the firm had taken "appropriate preventive actions designed to ensure similar events do not occur in the future."

This is the second fatal accident to occur in the mine in less than two months.

On Oct. 9, a landslide killed eight people at the mine, which raised concerns among environmentalists who often blame the firm for failing to protect the environment. The incident forced FI to temporarily suspend its operations.

The firm said FI had completed recovery efforts related to the Oct. 9 incident.

"All material involved in the affected mining areas has been removed. FI has submitted documentation to the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources and plans to resume normal operations on receipt of governmental approval, which is expected imminently," it said.

It said FI is on track to achieve its previously reported estimated 2003 adjusted annual sales of 1.33 billion pounds of copper and 2.45 million ounces of gold.