© 2016 smh
Brilio.net/en - A worker is trapped deep underground at one of the gold and silver mines owned by Australias Newcrest Mining. The worker stucked 300 meters below the ground level after a geotechnical event happened at the Gosowong mine in Indonesia.
The incident occurred in the Kencana part of Gosowong in North Halmahera district; the same area where two men were trapped underground for eight days in December 2010.
Image: smh
According to Newcrest, the geotechnical event happened around 8:30 pm on Monday, West Indonesia time.
The rest of the workers were evacuated, yet it is still unclear whether the incident was caused by seismic activity or a fault in the mine operation.
All mining and processing at Gosowong has been suspended.
Newcrest has not yet released the name nor nationality of the worker as it is still communicating with the worker's family and focusing on the rescuing process.
"At this time our priority is to contact and rescue the trapped employee," said the companys representative in a statement.
Newcrest said there had been damage to the mine, which was Newcrest's third most profitable mine during the 2015 financial year with US$192 million of free cash flow.
The Gosowong mine was predicted to produce between 300,000 and 350,000 ounces of gold in the 2016 financial year, and it is unclear whether those numbers will be affected by the accident.
The mine had produced about 141,000 ounces of gold in the six months to December 31, but that period was interrupted by works on the mill.
In 2010, an incident saw two workers trapped in the the Kencana part of Gosowong after mudstone slipped and blocked their path to the exit.
The workers had been working on an excavator and loader when the mudslide occurred.
Fortunately, they didnt get any significant injuries, and the company was able to send them food and water through holes drilled into the area.
They were rescued and in good shape eight days after the incident, on December 27, 2010.
Until this article released, the rescuing process is in progress.
(brl/tis)
