Freeport-McMoRan’s Indonesian unit said it will operate the giant Grasberg mine with a "skeletal team" after a rise in coronavirus infections in the area, including at the mine workers’ living quarters, and three deaths.
The move is aimed at ensuring workers at the world’s biggest gold mine and second-biggest copper mine can socially distance effectively and avoid any further spread of the virus, which has infected 17 514 and killed 1 148 in Indonesia, a Freeport Indonesia spokesman said.
"We are trying to reduce the numbers of workers, reduce the population. We just have a skeletal team to run the mine," spokesman Riza Pratama told Reuters.