Newcrest Says Indonesian Gold Mine Halted, Employee Trapped
- Producer evacuated Kencana mine after `geotechnical event`
- Company says has `credible indications' worker is alive
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Newcrest Mining Ltd., Australia’s biggest gold producer, suspended operations at an underground mine in Indonesia as it attempts to rescue a worker stuck about 300 meters below the surface following a rockfall caused by a so-called geotechnical event.
The employee remains trapped, though the producer has had “credible indications” that the Indonesian man is alive, Newcrest said Tuesday in an e-mailed statement. A number of mining levels were damaged at the Gosowong complex on Halmahera Island on Monday night, it said earlier in a separate statement. A geotechnical event commonly refers to ground movement prompted by seismic or mining activity.