Gunmen shoot at bus near Freeport Indonesia mine

JAKARTA, Aug 12 (Reuters) - Unindentified gunmen fired at a bus near Freeport McMoran Copper & Gold Inc's (FCX.N) copper mine in Indonesia's Papua province, the company said on Wednesday, although no one was hurt and mining operations were not affected.

Freeport Indonesia spokesman Mindo Pangaribuan said the company had temporarily closed part of the road leading to the mine to ensure the safety of workers.

Mining and milling operations had not been affected, he added.

"This morning at about 6.55 at mile 40 there was shooting at an empty worker bus," Papua police chief Bagus Ekodanto told Reuters by telephone.

"It's been three weeks since the last attack, and we have captured some perpetrators beforehand, so we are still investigating who is behind this," he added.

Last month the police arrested eight suspects, two of whom were working for Freeport, although police are still looking for the mastermind behind a series of shootings.

An Australian technical expert employed at the giant Grasberg mine was killed last month, while a security guard died and others were wounded in subsequent shootings. [ID:nN23460144]

The mine, about 3,400 km (2,100 miles) east of Indonesia's capital of Jakarta, has been a frequent source of friction over its environmental impact, the share of revenues going to Papua and the legality of payments to Indonesian security forces who help guard the site.

The Grasberg mine has the world's largest recoverable reserves of copper and the largest gold reserves. (Reporting by Olivia Rondonuwu; Editing by Ed Davies