Strike continues at Capstone Copper’s Mantoverde mine after negotiations fail

A workers’ strike at Capstone Copper’s Mantoverde mine in northern Chile will continue after negotiations between the company and the union failed, the union said on Wednesday.

The union in a statement said it expected a lengthy strike and that the mine was almost completely shut down. The concentrator was being fed at 30% capacity with stockpiled inventory that will run out in a couple of days, the statement added.

The strike began on Friday after Union No. 2, the mine’s largest, and Capstone failed to reach a collective bargaining agreement. The union, which represents 645 members, said negotiations fell apart over final demands that it said would have cost the company about $500,000 a year.

Vancouver-based Capstone did not immediately respond to a request for comment. After initial negotiations failed, the company said it was open to talks to resolve the dispute and that striking workers represented about 22% of its workforce.

Capstone owns 70% of Mantoverde with Mitsubishi Materials owning the remaining 30%. The mine had an expected 2025 production of 29,000 metric tons to 32,000 metric tons of copper cathodes. Chile’s total production for last year was projected to amount to 4.4 million tons, according to state copper commission Cochilco.

(By Fabian Cambero and Alexander Villegas; Editing by Daina Beth Solomon)