PNG nickel mine reopens after rioting

A Chinese-owned nickel mine in Papua New Guinea has resumed production three days after an attack by armed villagers forced work to halt, a Chinese embassy official in the South Pacific country said on Thursday.

The $2.1 billion mine, forecast to produce 22,000 metric tons of nickel in 2014, is operated by Ramu NiCo, which is majority owned and run by Metallurgical Corp of China Ltd (MCC).

Equipment including nine excavators, a fuel truck and a lighting vehicle were burned, and five Chinese workers were injured in Monday's attack, the embassy said, confirming earlier media reports.