SINGAPORE/HOUSTON : Grasberg gold and copper mine started testing positive for coronavirus early in the pandemic, the mountain-top mining complex was quickly locked down with a skeletal staff left in place to maintain production.But as months of travel curbs dragged on, angry workers blockaded the mine for four days in August until the operator - a unit of U.S.
miner Freeport McMoRan Inc - relented and let them resume weekly rotations out of the site via a four-hour trek by cable car and bus to towns below.Now the workers are happier, but health experts fear the greater risk of a new outbreak.The tensions expose the balancing act to maintain output at full blast, while containing COVID-19 in mines like Grasberg, the world’s largest gold.