Newcrest Papua New Guinea gold mine remains suspended after worker’s death

James Regan | Reuters

Gold and silver mining remains suspended at Papua New Guinea’s Hidden Valley mine following the death of a worker on July 18, joint venture partner Newcrest Mining of Australia said on Monday.

“Safety is our number one priority and production at Hidden Valley is suspended until further notice,” spokeswoman Rachel Eaves said in an email to Reuters.

It is the second incident in little over a month where a Newcrest mine in Papua New Guinea has been forced to suspend production.

The company’s larger Lihir gold mine on Lihir Island in the Bismark Sea was shut for 36 hours in June due to a dispute over a compensation package.

The Hidden Valley mine is owned 50-50 by Newcrest and Harmony Gold Mining Ltd of South Africa.

The employee was fatally injured in an incident on a road at the mine site and an investigation was underway, according to an earlier Newcrest statement.

It was not immediately clear what had led to the fatality, according to Eaves.

The Hidden Valley mine has a production target of a quarter of a million ounces of gold and 2.5 million to 3.0 million ounces of silver annually.

Because the incident occurred after the end of the fiscal 2015 year on June 30, analysts were not expecting any impact annual production figures scheduled to be released on July 23.

Employee killed at Newcrest

AAP via SBS

Newscrest Mining has suspended work at its Hidden Valley mine in Papua New Guinea following a worker’s death.

The gold miner said the employee was fatally injured on Saturday afternoon and the company has temporarily suspended work at the mine while an investigation is carried out.

“We express our condolences and support to the employee’s family, friends and colleagues at the Hidden Valley operation, during this difficult time,” the company said in a statement on Monday.
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