Freeport suspends Grasberg mining operations as seven workers trapped

Freeport-McMoRan said Tuesday it temporarily stopped mining at its Grasberg copper and gold complex in Indonesia after a large flow of wet material from a production drawpoint at one of five sections of the Grasberg Block Cave underground mine blocked access to certain areas, trapping seven workers.

The location of the workers is known, and they are believed to be safe, the company said, adding that crews are working to clear the area for an evacuation.

Grasberg Block Cave is one of three mines at the site that is one of the world's largest copper and gold complexes; at the Grasberg Block Cave operation, ore is mined using remotely operated equipment, but the material flow from the event blocked access routes where the affected workers were engaged in mine development activities.

Three-month benchmark copper (HG1:COM) on the London Metal Exchange is little changed at $9,897.50/metric ton.

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