TIMIKA, Indonesia (AFP)--U.S. mining giant Freeport McMoRan's (FCX) Indonesia subsidiary ordered hundreds of workers at a huge gold and copper mine in Papua province to stay at home Wednesday after a spate of deadly shootings.

Freeport's Indonesia spokesman Mindo Pangaribuan said workers who lived near the coastal town of Timika had been ordered not to come to the Grasberg mine, located in the highlands about 65 kilometers (40 miles) from the town.

The order came after three people including an Australian technician were killed in ambushes along the road between Timika and the mine at the weekend, the worst attacks on Freeport workers in Indonesia since 2002.