"COVID-19: Mining Companies Putting Workers and Communities at Greater Risk", 31 March 2020.

...In not acting quickly to curtail or halt operations in light of COVID-19, mining companies are putting workers and communities at greater risk. 

Here are ten points to consider:

1. Mines Are Isolated With Limited Health Resources...
2. Mine Sites Are Confined and Congested...
3. Mining Workforces Are Transient...
4. Exploration Camps Are Makeshift...They are also more likely to encounter vulnerable populations who are otherwise protected by their isolation.
5. Pre-Existing Conditions Exacerbated: Some mineworkers and affected communities already face health consequences like respiratory and pulmonary illnesses, or heavy-metal toxicity...
6. Reduced Access to Clean Water: Many mines consume and contaminate large amounts of water, often at the expense of local sources for clean water. Frequent handwashing, for mineworkers and communities alike, may not be possible in many rural and remote places. 
7. Increased Tension and Violence...
8. Contract Workers at Greater Risk...
9. Overwork Can Amplify Risk...
10. Mining Is Not an Essential Service: Mining is only an essential service where existing stockpiles are inadequate and its products are needed to fill emergency needs – for example, manufacturing ventilators, not cars; building hospitals, not office towers. But even in the most essential of circumstances, it shouldn’t happen without consent.