Upset by lockdown, workers bar access to Freeport Indonesia’s Grasberg mine

More than a thousand mine workers in Indonesia blocked access to the Grasberg gold and copper mine operated by the local unit of Freeport-McMoRan Inc on Monday to protest a coronavirus lockdown policy that halted bus services to meet with families.

Grasberg, the world’s largest gold mine and second largest copper mine, is currently transitioning from its open pit operation to all-underground mining. The mine is expected to produce 110 000 tonnes of copper ore per day in 2020.