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Rio Tinto suspends work at Australia bauxite mine after fatality

Smoke billows from chimneys at the Rio Tinto refinery in Gove, also known as Nhulunbuy, located 650 kilometers (404 miles) east of Darwin in Australia's Northern Territory July 16, 2013. REUTERS/David Gray

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Rio Tinto said it has suspended bauxite mining at its Gove operations in Australia on Tuesday following the death of a worker.

The employee was fatally injured while performing maintenance work, Rio Tinto said in a statement e-mailed to Reuters.

"We will be pausing all operations at the mine," the statement said,

All non-essential activity at an adjoining alumina refinery has also been halted for at least 24 hours, according to the company.

The Gove operation produces more than 8.2 million tonnes of bauxite and 2.7 million tonnes of alumina a year.

Rio in November announced it would close the alumina refinery this year because it was losing money but would continue mining bauxite for export.

(Reporting by James Regan; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)