Sept 23 (Reuters) – Canadian miner First Quantum Minerals FM.TO said on Monday it has temporarily suspended operations in the area of a fatal accident at its Kansanshi copper mine in Zambia.

The company said it has launched an internal investigation into the accident in which one of its employees died following an incident involving a tracked dozer and a light vehicle.

“The site of the accident was immediately secured and operations in the area of the accident have been temporarily suspended and will resume once it is determined that it can be done so in a safe manner,” the Toronto-based miner said in a statement.

The Kansanshi mine, which produced 134,827 tonnes of copper and 68,970 ounces of gold last year, has faced safety challenges in the past.

Two of First Quantum’s contractors at its Zambia operations, including one at the Kansanshi, had died in November last year in separate accidents.

(Reporting by Sourasis Bose in Bengaluru; Editing by Tasim Zahid)