Papua New Guinea miner Ok Tedi has suspended copper production at its domestic mine following a spike in COVID-19 infections in the country. The company estimates losses worth PGK210mn ($59mn) resulting from the two-week shutdown.
According to media reports, Kedi Ilimbit, Ok Tedi’s acting managing director, said that operations will be shut for 14 days to curb the outbreak of the pandemic from spreading to employees within the mine.
The company had a similar shutdown in August 2020 due to the pandemic and expected to lose 4,000mt of mined copper at that time. The Ok Tedi mine produces around 99,000mt of copper concentrate per year.
($1 = PGK3.53)