Coal extraction at Dinajpur’s Barapukuria coal mine has been halted just after three days of operation, as over 50 employees tested positive for Covid-19.
The mining stopped on Saturday morning after setting up phase 1306, said Barapukuria Coal Mining Company Ltd (BCMCL) Managing Director Saiful Islam Sarkar.
Also Read: Coal extraction at Barapukuria coal mine starts 20 days early
Authorities estimate that about 400,000 metric tons of coal may be found in this phase.
Coal extraction at the mine began 20-days early on Wednesday after it was shut for nearly three months.
Coal was last extracted from phase 1310 of the mine on May 1.
Extractions at the new phase were expected to start somewhere in August, after the last phase was declared abandoned by authorities on June 19.
