WHILE mining company office personnel head home to work, mine sites remains in production, with policies in place to limit the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on operations.
Employees who are returning from overseas are required to self-quarantine for 14 days, regardless of symptoms, and strict hygiene procedures are in place on all mining projects around Australia.
Major players like Rio Tinto continue to closely monitor the impacts of the Covid-19 and its first priority remained the safety of its people.
“Our approach has been specific to geographies and in accordance with advice from local government and authorities. For instance, we have asked all teams to reassess the need for travel, with non-essential-travel postponed in certain regions,” a spokesperson said.
While inter-state borders are virtually shut and domestic flights limited, essential mine workers will continue to be flown to sites for their FIFO rosters.
Shipping continues, with all sea-crew quarantined for 14 days from port to port.
Ports Australia CEO Mike Gallacher said ship captains and companies are on notice to be up front about the health of their crew on arrival.
“There’s no room for negotiation on it, they also know the significant penalties that exist for shipping lines that don’t do the right thing running into many hundreds of thousands of dollars,” he said.
