Police and workers clash in Timika.

Police and workers clash in Timika. Photo: AP

THREE contract workers at a strike-hit, American-owned mine in Indonesia's Papua province have been shot dead in an ambush and three people wounded, police said yesterday.

The trio had been brought in as part of efforts to keep up production at the giant Grasberg complex, which is owned by Freeport McMoRan and is one of the world's biggest gold and copper mines.

Police in the restive province said two bodies were recovered on Friday from a burning Freeport-owned car on a road to the mine, and the third nearby.

''The three men were found dead yesterday and are yet to be identified. Today we will continue to investigate who the attackers might be and how the shooting happened,'' police spokesman Mada Laksanta said.

''Two military officers and a Freeport security guard were also shot. The officers were shot in the leg and the guards in the right arm.''

More than 8000 of Freeport's 23,000 workers at the mine, near the town of Timika, have been on strike since September 15, demanding big wage increases.

Protests turned violent last Monday when strikers clashed with police, who shot dead one worker and injured at least six others. Striking workers have since blocked the only road to the mine. The strikers, mostly indigenous Melanesians, say they are the lowest-paid Freeport workers in the world, earning between $US1.50 and $US3.50 an hour. They are demanding their wages go up more than eightfold to a minimum of $US12.50 an hour and a maximum of $US32. The company's offers now stand at about 25 per cent.

The attack was the latest in a string of ambushes on the road to the mine. Attacks on it have claimed eight lives since July 2009, including that of an Australian technician.

The mine has been the subject of controversy since production began in the 1970s. The region also has an insurgency that seeks independence from Indonesia.

AFP, AP