Agencies, Jakarta – Miner PT Freeport Indonesia said on Sunday that all seven workers who went missing after a mud-flow disaster at Indonesia's Grasberg copper and gold mine have been confirmed dead, following the discovery of five more bodies.
Around 800,000 metric tons of wet material flooded the mine on September 8, when material from an extraction point flowed at one of five sections of the Grasberg Block Cave underground gold and copper mine in Tembagapura.
Seven workers were trapped after the flow closed access and limited evacuation routes, the company said.
Operations at the Grasberg mine have been halted for nearly a month, and Freeport-McMoRan has warned of lower consolidated copper and gold sales in the third quarter
Freeport Indonesia said it is coordinating closely with the government authorities to assess the event and future operational plans.
Grasberg Block Cave is one of three mines at the site operated by Freeport Indonesia, making up one of the largest gold and copper complexes in the world and a frequent flashpoint in Papua's long-running insurgency.