Quote from the Grasberg wikipedia page:
"By the mid-1980s, the original mine had been largely depleted. Freeport explored for other deposits in the area. In 1988, Freeport identified reserves valued at $40 billion at Grasberg (Dutch, "Grass Mountain"), just 3 kilometres (1.9 miles) from the Ertsberg mine. The winding road to Grasberg, the H.E.A.T. (Heavy Equipment Access Trail), was estimated to require $12 million to $15 million to be built. An Indonesian road-builder who had contributed to the Ertsberg road took a bulldozer and drove it downhill sketching the path. The road cost just $2 million when completed."
I remember at that time seeing a short documentary style movie showing the Indonesian bulldozer operator working down the cliffs and razorbacks. It seemed like it was solo effort, and the accomplishment made him a hero there. Maybe that's what the original poster was thinking of. (The film had many long telephoto shots of the machine on the side of the mountain.)
