Freeport declares mourning day, told to suspend mining operations
Wednesday, May 22 2013 - 02:23 AM WIB
?We continue to grieve with the families even as we close this grim chapter of the Big Gossan incident,? said PTFI President Director Rozik B. Soetjipto in a statement on Wednesday.
There were 38 workers in a classroom inside the Big Gossan underground training facility in Papua when the roof collapsed on May 14, of which 10 of the workers managed to escape the rubble, while 28 were killed.
Meanwhile, the media in Jakarta reported that the government has instructed PT Freeport Indonesia, a subsidiary of US mining giant Freeport McMoRan Copper and Gold to cease all operations until an investigation into the fatal incident is concluded.
PTFI has ceased all production and has only carried out maintenance work since rescue efforts started. But the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry said that the shutdown should be continued until the investigation into the incident completed.
As a consequence, the government is likely to lose US$1.82 million in state revenue every day during the suspension of operations at the mining site, Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry director general for coal and minerals Thamrin Sihite said as quoted by the Jakarta Post.
Thamrin also said PTFI was unlikely to meet its production target of 1.3 million troy ounces of gold by end-year, which was set higher by 44.4 percent from the 900,000 troy ounces the mining firm booked in 2012.
Meanwhile, PTFI technical affairs director Rudy Seba said in a text message that the mining giant would focus on the investigation works so that it could be completed as soon as possible.
?We are unable to talk about production until the investigation is concluded and the workers can work safely,? he added.
Editing by Reiner Simanjuntak