Fiji's largest private employer announced on Tuesday it was shutting down, resulting in the loss of almost 1,700 local jobs.
The Emperor gold mine, which is in the north of the main island of Viti Levu, says its decision to cease trading immediately has nothing to do with the coup.
The company says that the gold mine is no longer economic to run.
At its peak it earned tens of millions of dollars and poured three times that amount into the local economy.
Advertisement
Its closure will devastate the northern town of Vatukoula which is almost entirely dependent on the mine.
Fiji's military seized a vast amount of explosives from the mine on Tuesday after the company voiced concerns they could be stolen amid the current unrest.
