Newmont workers freed from quarantine at remote NT gold mine

More than 700 Newmont workers locked down in the Tanami Desert have been allowed to return home after 14 days in quarantine.

The Tanami closure represents the first time since the pandemic began in 2020 that a major Australian mine has been shuttered due to a Covid outbreak.

More than 700 Newmont workers locked down in their dongers in the Tanami Desert have finally been allowed to return home to their families after completing 14 days’ quarantine at the remote Northern Territory gold mine on Saturday.

A spokesman for Newmont confirmed on Sunday the vast majority of its stranded workforce had been able to travel home over the weekend after being released from quarantine on July 10.

The workers have been locked down in their rooms since July 26, when a worker tested positive to Covid-19 after being on the site for days without being aware he had been put at risk of catching the virulent Delta strain of the virus.

The incident was caused because the worker, while in transit to the Tanami mine from Covid-free Bendigo in Victoria, was forced by Queensland Police to temporarily isolate in a hotel with international arrivals where he is believed to have caught the disease.

His positive test halted production at the mine and sent more than 700 employees into lockdown, but another 800 workers potentially exposed to contact with him before the diagnosis had already returned to their homes across the country, setting in motion a coronavirus outbreak that grew to at least 19 cases as it spread across the NT and three other states.

The Tanami closure represents the first time since the pandemic began in 2020 that a major Australian mine has been shuttered due to an outbreak and the enforced shutdown caused shockwaves through the mining industry.

Newmont Australia vice president Alex Bates said the company was still reviewing its processes to see whether they needed to be tightened to prevent a similar incident in the future.

“I would like to thank our employees and business partners for their patience and commitment during quarantine, which has been a difficult experience. We are completing a review of our processes and will share learnings with the broader industry to minimise future risks,” he said.

“We have also had very helpful support from other states in responding to this incident and keeping our returning workers, their families and communities safe.”

Newmont said it had a recovery plan in place and was now working to return the mine to production.