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iant copper miner PT Freeport Indonesia has secured an agreement with protesting workers to lift a two-day blockade on the road to Freeport Indonesia'€™s Grasberg open-pit copper mine in Papua.

'€œFollowing a discussion regarding safety in mining areas with representatives of the [protesting] employees, the access to and from the Grasberg open-pit has been re-opened,'€ Freeport spokesperson Daisy Primayanti said in a written statement.

A number of employees held a protest and blockaded access to Grasberg following an accident in the area killing four people last week. They demanded Freeport'€™s management take responsibility for the accident and pay more attention to work safety as accidents continued to occur in the company'€™s mine.

Late last week, Freeport reported a collision involving an operational vehicle and a large haul truck en route to the Grasberg open-pit mine. The haul truck, which had wheels 2.2 meters high, accidently crushed the operational vehicle, which was carrying nine people.

Three of the five injured in the accident had left hospital, Daisy said. Meanwhile, two others continued to receive intensive care in Jakarta.

Figures from the mineral and coal office show that 232 mining accidents occurred last year, increasing from 216 accidents in 2012. In 2013, there were 46 fatalities, a significant increase compared to the 29 fatalities in 2012.

Last week'€™s accident raised safety concerns at Freeport as similar accidents had occurred in the past.

The Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry is mulling sanctions for the company to improve its safety measures.

'€œWhen a landslide happened in Grasberg a few years ago, we asked the company to replace its mining technical head. When an accident killed 28 people last year, all the management was changed,'€ the mineral and coal directorate general'€™s technical and environmental director Bambang Susigit said.

The ministry'€™s mineral and coal office has asked the company to close its open mining activities for one week for investigation. The result is expected Tuesday.

Freeport Indonesia, a subsidiary of US-based giant Freeport McMoRan Inc., had just resumed exporting last month following the implementation of a ban on mineral ore exports in early January

An export permit was finally granted after the firm and the mineral and coal office signed a memorandum of understanding with the US giant'€™s subsidiary agreeing to amend its contract of work in Indonesia to conform to the 2009 Mining Law.