JAKARTA - A FOREIGN worker has been shot dead near the massive Grasberg mine in Indonesia's Papua province, which is run by a unit of Freeport McMoran Copper & Gold Inc, Papua's police chief said on Saturday.

'An Australian working for Freeport got shot at 5.30 this morning,' police chief Bagus Ekodanto said by telephone, adding the shooting happened between Tembagapura and Timika.

A spokesman for PT Freeport Indonesia confirmed a company worker had been shot dead. He said the attack took place outside the mining area and operations were not affected.

'We confirm there was a shooting around mile-post 52 to 53 of a Freeport vehicle where one passenger who sat in the back was shot dead,' said Freeport spokesman Mindo Pangaribuan, adding he could not immediately confirm the nationality of the victim.

He added that it was unclear who was behind the attack and police were investigating.

The Jarkata Post gave the same name for the victim, but said he was a 29-year-old American national.

The mine has been a frequent source of controversy over its environmental impact and the share of revenue going to Papuans.

There was an arson attack near the mine earlier this week when a bus and a security post were set on fire in what police said was an attempt to block a road leading to the mine.

Papua has suffered a low-level separatist insurgency for decades.

The Grasberg mine has the world's largest recoverable reserves of copper and the largest gold reserve. It accounts for nearly 40 percent of Freeport's total copper reserves of 93 billion pounds, according to the Freeport's website. -- REUTERS