MELBOURNE: Big mining companies that rely on indigenous workforces or operate near remote communities have acted fast to curb the spread of the coronavirus and avoid a public health crisis that could damage their reputations.
Mining companies typically fly staff from big cities to work in remote areas in a practice known as FIFO, or fly in fly out.South32 said it had strictly separated FIFO staff at its manganese mine GEMCO in north Australia from residential workers who are interwoven with the local Anindilyakwa people on Groote Eylandt - and expects to keep the measures in place for months.
Rival Rio Tinto has adopted a similar policy and is also administering antibody blood tests and temperature checks before staff fly to remote sites to reduce the risk of anyone infecting the mainly indigenous communities near mines. It also instituted onsite testing and screening for COVID-19, as well as teleworking for all positions at its three Nunavut sites that could be done remotely, the company's communications director Dale Coffin said.
"An outbreak would attract further scrutiny over miners' COVID response from local authorities and civil society," said Ziggy You, ESG investment analyst at Aberdeen Standard Investments, which holds shares in mining companies.
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