Compania Minera Antamina, in Peru, in which BHP has a 33.75 per cent interest, has decided to temporarily suspend operations at the Antamina copper and zinc mine as part of its response to COVID-19.
Antamina has been operating with a reduced workforce under an exemption from the Peruvian Government to its Covid-19 Emergency Decree and Antamina’s current shift has been on site since the national state of emergency began four weeks ago.
The Government has now allowed Antamina to demobilize the majority of the 2,400 people on site over the coming days and Antamina has suspended operations to do so. The site will go into care and maintenance, with a skeleton staff performing essential tasks, including disinfecting the site, to enable the operation to restart when it is deemed appropriate. The current expectation is this could take up to two weeks, however this may change. Strict controls will be applied during the demobilization to safeguard the health of workers and local communities.
The state of emergency in Peru has been extended to 26 April.
