Hundreds of FIFO workers in isolation after NT gold mine lockdown

June 28, 2021 Mining Editor

A worker in the Northern Territory gold mine has tested positive for coronavirus. Around 750 workers are currently at the mine, with about 70 considered close contacts. Chief Minister Michael Gunner said: “Everyone at the mine site has gone into isolation and the mine started shut-down processes and contact tracing commenced.”

The positive case was discovered at the Newmont-owned Granites gold mine in the Tanami Desert, around 540 kilometres north-west of Alice Springs.

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Nine hundred FIFO workers who have left the mine between the infectious period 18 and 25 June have been told to isolate. Mr Gunner confirmed of the 900 workers- 244 are in the Territory (33 Alice Springs and 211 Darwin). The remaining workers have flown to Perth and Brisbane.

This follows confirmation of new covid-19 positive cases all linked to the Tanami case.

One case has been identified in New South Wales. A man in his 30s has travelled to New South Wales in the Glenn Innes Severn local government area.

Two positive cases are among the cohort currently isolating at the mine in the Tanami. Those two people are now being evacuated to the Centre for National Resilience.

A 64 year old Palmerston man, who works at the mine, has tested positive for COVID-19. The man travelled by plane from the mine to Darwin on Friday the 25th of June and he is now under the care of the Centre for National Resilience.

A fifth Covid-19 case related to the Tanami Desert mine outbreak has been confirmed. Chief Minister Michael Gunner stated on his Facebook page:”the case was identified in Queensland.”

On 27th June 2021, the Security and Emergency Management Committee made the decision under the Northern Territory pandemic plan to lock down part of the NT community. The Darwin, Palmerston and Darwin rural areas will enter a full lockdown for 48 hours.

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Image by Newmont Corporation

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