Independent team to investigate Freeport's Grasberg tunnel mishap

Mining News  |  2013-05-23 10:02:22   |   By

The Freeport management and the Indonesian government has jointly decided to appoint an independent team to investigate the tunnel collapse at the Grasberg mine in the eastern Papua province

JAKARTA (Scrap Monster) : The Freeport management and the Indonesian government has jointly decided to appoint an independent team to investigate the tunnel collapse at the Grasberg mine in the eastern Papua province, Indonesia which killed 28 workers.

Thirty eight workers were attending the training program on May 14th when the tunnel caved in. Only 10 could be rescued. The Freeport officials stated that the collapse has not hampered the open mining pit, but the company had temporarily halted all operations at the mine in tribute to victims of the mishap. The company’s per day loss is estimated to be around 220,000 tons of ore.

The cause of the incident is still unknown. The company has decided to conduct a detailed study of the underground activities and to review the prevailing safety condition in all their mines. The operations would be resumed only after ensuring safety of mines.

Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc., (FMCG)  is one of the world's largest producers of copper and gold. Its headquarters are located in the Freeport-McMoRan Center in downtown Phoenix, Arizona. Freeport is the largest publicly traded copper and molybdenum producer in the world. It mines and mills ores containing copper, gold, molybdenum and silver.

The Grasberg Mine is the largest gold mine and the third largest copper mine in the world. It is located in the province of Papua in Indonesia near Puncak Jaya, the highest mountain in Papua. It employs nearly 24,000 contract and non-contract staff.