Barrick Mining is furloughing some employees and subcontractors at the Kibali gold mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo after officials reported two Ebola deaths in a nearby community, according to an internal company memo seen by Reuters on November 12. The memo, signed by Acting General Manager Jean Marc Badibanga, said the deaths had been confirmed by Congo National Institute of Biomedical Research and that Barrick was working to confirm whether there are any links to its workforce.
The furloughs cover employees and subcontractors whose presence is not essential, who would be informed directly. The memo gave no figure for how many people are affected. Staff feeling unwell were told not to report to work and to contact company medical staff immediately.
Kibali, in Haut Uele province, is owned 45 percent by Barrick, 45 percent by AngloGold Ashanti and 10 percent by the Congolese state miner SOKIMO, and is one of Africa largest gold mines. Barrick said in May that it had increased Ebola precautions at the mine.
Congo Ebola outbreak, described as the second largest on record, has infected more than 11,000 people and killed more than 5,000, according to government data cited by Reuters. This site covered the outbreak passing 11,000 cases on November 10. The new development is the direct staffing action at Kibali itself. No production impact has been stated by the company, and no public Barrick statement had been published at the time of writing.