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Gold Mine Accident Kills 2, Injures 5
October 09, 2003 12:54:00 PM ET
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Two workers were killed, five were injured and six were missing in Indonesia after a section of the world's largest gold mine collapsed Thursday, Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. (FCX ) said.
Freeport spokesman Bill Collier said the workers were killed when a section of the open-pit Grasberg mine in Papua, Indonesia -- essentially a massive, terraced bowl carved into the ground -- collapsed onto workers in the pit. The Grasberg deposit, discovered by Freeport in 1988, has the world's largest gold reserves and the third-largest copper reserves.
The landslide will likely result in the deferral of some output from the fourth quarter into 2004, but New Orleans-based Freeport said it does not expect any impact on the mine's long-term plans.
The company also said third-quarter copper and gold sales will exceed previous estimates. Copper sales for the third quarter reached about 345 million pounds, about 25 million pounds higher than previously estimated. Gold sales reached 764,000 ounces, about 120,000 ounces higher than expected.
Year-to-date, the company said it has completed 80 percent of its copper sales goals and 85 percent of targeted gold sales.
Freeport, which has 18,000 employees, said its safety record is better than average among U.S. and international mining companies. Last year Freeport's lost-time-injury rate per 200,000 hours worked was 0.25, well below the U.S. industry average rate of 2.10 in 2001. |
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