Operations at Newcrest’s Hidden Valley Joint Venture have been temporarily suspended, after an employee was killed in an incident on a road at the site on Saturday afternoon, July 18.
In a statement, Newcrest says it is deeply saddened by this incident and staff are working with the management of Hidden Valley to understand the circumstances.
The gold mining company said an investigation is underway.
The company expressed condolences and support for the employee’s family, friends and colleagues at the Hidden Valley operation, during this difficult time.
This will be the second incident in little over a month where a Newcrest mine in the country has been forced to suspend production.
The company's larger gold mine on Lihir Island in the Bismark Sea was shut for 36 hours in June due to a dispute over a compensation package.
The Hidden Valley mine is owned 50-50 by Newcrest and Harmony Gold Mining Ltd of South Africa.
The Hidden Valley mine has a production target of a quarter of a million ounces of gold and 2.5 million to 3.0 million ounces of silver annually.
Because the death occurred after the end of the fiscal 2015 year on June 30, analysts were not expecting any impact on annual production figures scheduled to be released on July 23.