Illegal miners detained in Papua

Police on Friday detained 43 indigenous Papuans for blocking a main road to the world's largest gold and copper mine with burning tires, an official said as quoted by agency.

The illegal miners, including two women, were picked up at dawn Friday outside the Grasberg mine operated by the New Orleans-based Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc., said local police chief Lt. Col. Jimmy Tuilan.

The protest did not effect activities at the mine, he said.

A similar action in February by hundreds of Papuans forced a suspension of production at the facility. They were protesting attempts by police and company security guards to stop them from mining gold from waste rock.

Many Papuans living close to the mine earn their living retrieving and selling tiny amounts of gold and copper from leftovers, or tailings, a practice that is banned by Freeport because it is considered dangerous.(*)