- Write by:
-
Thursday, March 18, 2021 - 11:04:14 PM
-
795 Visit
-
Print
Mining News Pro - Papua New Guinea’s Ok Tedi Mining Ltd will suspend copper mining for two weeks from Friday because of a steep rise in coronavirus infections in the South Pacific nation, including the mine site.
Ok Tedi Acting Managing Director Kedi Ilimbit said operations would be suspended for 14 days to stop further transmission of covid-19 within its mining operations.
State-owned Ok Tedi said the shutdown would cost about 210 million kinas ($59 million) of revenue, directly hitting foreign currency inflows to the country as it battles an economic slump.
The Australian government this week suspended travel exemptions which had allowed fly-in-fly-out (FIFO) mining and energy workers to travel between the two countries. Five people who traveled from Ok Tedi to Queensland earlier this month were diagnosed with covid-19.
The PNG government reported five deaths and 128 new cases on Tuesday, taking total cases to 2,479 and the death toll to 31. Health experts believe the official data likely significantly underreports case numbers.
The Western Province, where Ok Tedi is located, has the second highest number of confirmed cases at 324, after Port Moresby, the capital.
Operations at the biggest resources project in the country, Exxon Mobil Corp’s PNG LNG, are continuing as normal, an Exxon Mobil spokesman said.
“We have established processes in place to manage impacts from infections disease outbreaks,” the spokesman said by email.
Newcrest Mining said output at its Lihir Gold mine has been unaffected so far.
Newcrest and oil and gas producer Oil Search said they were seeking clarification on Australia’s travel ban for FIFO staff.
St Barbara said it was limiting movement of people to and from its Simberi gold mine, on an island 900 kilometers (560 miles) away from Port Moresby, after detecting a small number of covid-19 cases in its quarantine program.
Short Link:
https://www.miningnews.ir/En/News/611857
Australian miner Lynas posted a slump in third-quarter sales revenue on Wednesday, missing analyst expectations on the ...
Anglo American Plc said it is has received an unsolicited non-binding combination proposal from BHP Group.
China’s Zhaojin Mining Industry said on Wednesday that its A$733 million ($477.8 million) offer to buy Australia’s ...
Toronto-listed miner OceanaGold Corp said on Wednesday it will raise 6.08 billion pesos ($106 million) through an ...
A key measure of Chinese copper demand just sank to zero, another indication that global prices are not balanced with ...
Canadian miner First Quantum Minerals (TSX: FM) believes it will be able to take the already mined 121,000 tonnes of ...
Canadian miner First Quantum Minerals said on Tuesday that it has cut its debt by $1.14 billion in the first quarter.
Gold’s record-setting rally this year has puzzled market watchers as bullion has roared higher despite headwinds that ...
Australia’s Fortescue on Wednesday logged a larger-than-expected decline in third-quarter iron ore shipments, following ...
No comments have been posted yet ...