An ongoing strike staged by workers demanding better working conditions, including bonus payments, put open-pit operations on hold at Freeport-McMoRan Inc.'s Grasberg copper-gold mine in Indonesia, Reuters reported Oct. 3, citing a company spokesman and a union official.

PT Freeport Indonesia spokesman Riza Pratama said about 1,000 workers started the strike Sept. 28, noting that the strike has not affected underground mining operations or the production of copper and gold concentrate at the site, though milling operations continue at a reduced rate.

Abraham Tandi, deputy secretary of the Freeport workers union, told the newswire that mining operations at Grasberg had been halted for the past three days. The union official also said the mine's management had been "slow" in responding to complaints for the past eight months but are now in talks with the union.

According to Pratama, the company is working to address the issues and restore open-pit mining operations at Grasberg as soon as possible.