Freeport Indonesia employee shot dead at Papua's Grasberg mine

JAKARTA, March 11 (Reuters) - An employee of gold and copper miner Freeport Indonesia was shot dead on Wednesday in Indonesia's easternmost region of Papua, authorities said.

Here are some details about the incident:

• The employee was shot in Freeport's Grasberg mine area in the region of Mimika, Central Papua province, said Jeremias Rontini, the head of the local police.

• "The victim, a male, died from a gunshot wound to the left ear," he told Reuters.

• The victim was in a pick-up truck and inspecting one of the company's operations area when he was shot, Rontini said.

• Authorities are still investigating the perpetrator, he said when asked whether Papuan rebels were involved in the attack.

• Freeport company spokesperson Katri Krisnati confirmed that its employee had been shot and expressed condolences to the victim's family.

• "The company's operations are running normally following the shooting incident in the Grasberg area," she said.

• Last month, a Free Papua Movement rebel group attacked a Freeport Indonesia convoy in Papua, killing a soldier and injuring a Freeport employee.

• A low-level but increasingly deadly conflict between security forces and separatists has simmered in resource-rich Papua since it was brought under Indonesian control in a 1969 vote overseen by the United Nations.