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Explosion at Polymetals-owned Endeavor mine

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Polymetals shares on trading halt

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Mining operations at Endeavor suspended

(Adds Polymetals comments in paragraphs 4-6)

SYDNEY, Oct 28 (Reuters) - Two workers were killed and

another injured in an explosion at the recently reopened

Polymetals Resources-owned Endeavor silver, zinc and

lead mine in Australia on Tuesday, forcing the temporary

suspension of operations.

Emergency services were called to the remote mining town of

Cobar in the state of New South Wales, some 700 km (435 miles)

northwest of Sydney, after a critical workplace incident,

Australian authorities said.

Police said it believed a man in his 60s and a woman in her

20s died, while a second woman in her 20s was flown to the

hospital for minor injuries and shock. They have not been

formally identified.

Polymetals Executive Chairman Dave Sproule said he was

"shocked and saddened by the tragic incident".

"The site emergency response team has been activated, and we

are working with all relevant authorities. Mining operations

have been temporarily suspended," Sproule said in a statement.

Polymetals on Tuesday requested a two-day trading halt on

its shares.

The company did not specify what caused the explosion.

The mine had operated since 1982 but was closed for

maintenance in 2020. Polymetals bought the site in 2023 and

restarted mining operations this year, according to the

company's website.

New South Wales Premier Chris Minns said that although

mining safety has greatly improved, the deaths show that the

sector must never stop being vigilant about worker safety.

"This is a heartbreaking day for the Cobar community and

will be felt across the entire mining industry," Minns said in a

statement.