Barrick furloughs some employees at Congo mine as Ebola precaution, memo says
B•Barrick is furloughing employees and subcontractors whose presence is not essential at its Kibali gold mine in Congo after two Ebola deaths were reported in a nearby community. The company gave no figure for the furloughs and is checking for possible links to its workforce.
1. Precautionary furloughs
An internal memo dated Thursday said Barrick was furloughing employees and subcontractors whose presence at Kibali is not essential after two Ebola deaths were confirmed in a nearby community. The memo said the company was working to confirm whether there were links to its workforce; it did not specify how many people would be furloughed.
2. Mine health measures
The memo instructed employees who feel unwell not to report to work and to contact company medical staff immediately. Barrick said last May it had increased Ebola precautions at Kibali, in Haut-Uele province. Kibali is jointly owned by Barrick and AngloGold Ashanti, with each holding 45%, and Congo state miner SOKIMO, which holds 10%.
