Freeport Operates High-End Machines to Minimize Risks
16 February 2015 01:44 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - PT Freeport Indonesia is operating 17 automatic high-end machines at underground mine to harvest mineral ores. Each machine can harvest 1,000 tons of mineral ores a day from deep ore zones (DOZ) in Timika, Papua.
“By operating the high-end machines, risks at workplaces can be mitigated,” said Freeport Indonesia general manager Nurhadi Sabiri, adding that the machines have been operational over the last 10 years.
Despite reducing the number of employees working at DOZs, Nurhadi claimed that the machine operations did not cause layoffs. According to Nurhadi, there will be operators assigned at the control room to operate the machines.
Nurhadi explained that the cost to operate the machines is the same with that the cost to deploy workers at DOZs. However, Nurhadi said, the machine would increase productivity and promote safety. He projected that Freeport’s mining productivity would increase by 10 to 20 percent.
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