Freeport does a balancing act as world's biggest gold mine grapples with COVID-19

FILE PHOTO: Freeport workers gather around a security gate at the Grasberg mine area at Tembagapura, in Indonesia's Papua province, August 14, 2013. REUTERS/Muhammad Yamin

SINGAPORE/HOUSTON (Reuters) - When miners at Indonesia's giant Grasberg gold and copper mine started testing positive for coronavirus early in the pandemic, the mountain-top mining complex was quickly locked down with a skeletal staff left in place to maintain production.But as months of travel curbs dragged on, angry workers blockaded the mine for four days in August until the operator - a unit of U.S. miner Freeport McMoRan Inc - relented and let them resume weekly rotations out of the site via a four-hour trek by cable car and bus to towns below.

Now the workers are happier, but health experts fear the greater risk of a new outbreak.