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Freeport's Indonesia copper mine must improve safety or face more protests-有色金属展-铜材展-铝材展-钛材展-2015年广州国际有色金属工业展览会-效果最好的有色金属展会-2015Guangzhou int’l non-ferrous metals exhibition
10/11/2014 有色金属展-铜材展-铝材展-钛材展-non-ferrous metals expo |
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(Reuters) - Workers at Freeport-McMoRan Inc''s giant Indonesian copper
mine are seeking face-to-face talks with local management following a fatal
accident, and may plan a further mine blockade or strike action, a union
official said.
Hundreds of angry protestors blocked access for two days last week to
the open-pit area of the Grasberg copper complex, where production has been
halted following the death of four workers on Sept. 27. The open pit accounts
for more than half of the mine''s output.
Fresh protests, blockades or strike action could be triggered if
workers'' safety concerns and other demands were ignored, said Albar Sabang, a
senior official at a Freeport union, potentially hindering copper
exports.
"Production is important but safety is number one," Sabang told
Reuters, adding that protesting workers had demanded a meeting on Oct. 11-12
with Freeport Indonesia CEO Rozik Soetjipto. "If the demands are not met they
will plan to do another protest," he said.
The Indonesian government is investigating the accident, which
involved a collision between a light vehicle carrying nine people and a haul
truck, and has laid out a number of required work changes for open-pit mining to
resume.
Freeport has not responded to requests for comment, but the
Arizona-based firm said in statements last week that it would work closely with
the government accident investigation team and that safety at Grasberg is a
priority.
A
tunnel collapse last year killed 28 workers at the mine in one of the country''s
worst mining disasters. Union officials say five people have now died at the
mine this year following an earlier fatality.
The Grasberg complex sits inside the Pacific "Ring of Fire" and faces
regular earthquakes, as well as torrential rainfall that can trigger landslides
down steep slopes. The mine''s position on top of a mountain means workers also
have to cope with altitude sickness and poor visibility due to thick
mist.
IMPROVEMENTS DEMANDED
A
video on YouTube that purports to show the latest incident, shows a heavy duty
hauling truck drive over a four-wheel drive vehicle at a bend in the road at the
mine site.
As a worker standing between the two vehicles runs to avoid the
haulage truck, the four-wheel drive vehicle is crushed.
The video could not be independently verified by
Reuters.
Workers at last week''s protest complained that the company''s
management has put production ahead of worker safety.
"I''ve only had one training session, which was at the beginning
before I started working here," a worker who drives trucks similar to the one
involved in the accident told Reuters. The worker declined to be
named.
At a news conference late on Tuesday, mines ministry officials said
changes needed at the mine before open-pit activities could resume included
retraining haulage truck drivers, more safety meetings, greater use of mobile
communications, guidelines to increase traffic safety and maintaining mining
facilities when production has stopped.
Freeport officials are expected to outline planned safety changes at
a meeting with the mine ministry on Thursday.
"All our demands have a deadline so that the company will take them
seriously," said Bambang Susigit, a senior mines ministry
official.
Freeport, one of the biggest tax payers in Southeast Asia''s largest
economy, only recently resolved a tax spat with the government that halted
exports for months and frayed relations.
Rio Tinto has a joint venture with Freeport for a 40 per cent share
of Grasberg''s production above specific levels until 2021, and 40 per cent of
all production after 2021.
有色金属展-铜材展-铝材展-钛材展-2015年广州国际有色金属工业展览会-效果最好的有色金属展会-2015Guangzhou
int’l non-ferrous metals exhibition
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