Ok Tedi says that these are the first positive cases recorded in Tabubil, and occurred despite the mine implementing a shutdown of all charter flights into and from Tabubil on July 28.
Of the seven cases, only one person has exhibited flu-like symptoms. The other six people are currently asymptomatic. All seven cases are in isolation at the Tabubil Hospital with no further cases confirmed on August 6.
"This action was taken in response to the escalation of positive cases in Port Moresby, and with intent of protecting our workforce, our community and our operation," Ok Tedi managing director Musje Werror said.
The mine has been immediately suspended for at least 14 days to limit further transmission, and allow contact tracing, isolation and testing procedures to be implemented.
Werror said the mine had been performing strongly and was in a healthy cash and liquidty position.
He estimated the cost of the shutdown to be PGK100 million (A$39.5 million) and said it would impact revenue by US$40 million.
The estimated impact on production will be 4000 tonnes of copper and 12,000 ounces of gold.
The mine produced 99,000t of copper and 306,000oz of gold in 2019.
