The tight working conditions of mining facilities means workers are at the greatest immediate risk, and mining operations around the world have been placed into shutdown. The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), imposed a two-day lockdown in late March in the Haut-Katanga province, following the news that two people tested positive for Covid-19 in the provincial capital of Lumbabashi, while China Molybdenum’s Tenke Fungurume Mining placed its mine in the Lualaba province under quarantine.

Similarly, the Atla Zinc has shut down its Gorno mine in Italy, shutting off access to up to 3.3. million tonnes of reserves as the pandemic hits Italy particularly hard.

Read more about the impacts of Covid-19 on mining here.