“Production has been halted since September 8 and remains suspended to this day. We are focused on rescuing the five trapped miners,” PTFI President Director Tony Wenas said in Jakarta on Thursday.
He said the company’s production targets remain on track despite the halt, as it can still process concentrate stockpiled before the accident.
“Our production is still on target. Even though we suspended production since September 8, we still have concentrate to be processed, made into cathodes, and turned into gold bars,” Wenas noted.
Rescue teams are still attempting to reach the trapped miners’ location. On September 20, they found two of the seven miners initially trapped, but both were dead.
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Wenas said the remaining five workers have been located, though the difficult terrain complicates the operation. He expressed hope the search could conclude within four to five days.
“It is quite difficult to get in, so hopefully, maybe in four to five days, we will be able to reach their suspected location,” he said.
The five missing miners were identified as Victor Manuel Bastida Ballesteros, Holong Gembira Silaban, Dadang Hermanto, Zaverius Magai, and Balisang Telile.
The mudslide struck on September 8 in the underground mining area of the Grasberg Block Cave (GBC) Extraction Panel 28-30, Tembagapura, Mimika District. Almost all workers were evacuated, except for the seven trapped inside.
Earlier, PTFI Vice President for Corporate Communications Katri Krisnati said the company had deployed heavy equipment, including remote-controlled loaders, to support the rescue while minimizing risks to personnel.
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Translator: Resinta Sulistiyandari
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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