SYDNEY, July 20 (Reuters) - Gold and silver mining remains suspended at Papua New Guinea's Hidden Valley mine following the death of a worker on July 18, joint venture partner Newcrest Mining NCM.AX of Australia said on Monday.
"Safety is our number one priority and production at Hidden Valley is suspended until further notice," spokeswoman Rachel Eaves said in an email to Reuters.
It is the second incident in little over a month where a Newcrest mine in Papua New Guinea has been forced to suspend production.
The company's larger Lihir gold mine on Lihir Island in the Bismark Sea was shut for 36 hours in June due to a dispute over a compensation package. ID:nL3N0YV041
The Hidden Valley mine is owned 50-50 by Newcrest and Harmony Gold Mining Ltd HARJ.J of South Africa.
The employee was fatally injured in an incident on a road at the mine site and an investigation was underway, according to an earlier Newcrest statement. ID:nWNBS011HW
It was not immediately clear what had led to the fatality, according to Eaves.
The Hidden Valley mine has a production target of a quarter of a million ounces of gold and 2.5 million to 3.0 million ounces of silver annually.
Because the incident occurred after the end of the fiscal 2015 year on June 30, analysts were not expecting any impact annual production figures scheduled to be released on July 23.