Strike averted at world’s largest copper mine

Striking workers gather at Escondida entrance in March 2017. Archive image

The union of supervisors at BHP’s Escondida mine in Chile on Friday said it had reached an agreement on a labor deal, averting the threat of a strike at the world’s largest copper deposit.

The new contract with the mine operator was approved in a 58% to 41% vote by the union’s members.

Supervisors at the sprawling Escondida mine last week rejected BHP’s final offer in contract negotiations, but talks nonetheless continued through this week ahead of the agreement.

BHP did not immediately comment on the deal.

Several labor negotiations at mines in Chile, the world’s top copper producer, have supported copper prices in recent weeks.

Escondida produced 1.19 million tons of copper in 2019.

(By Fabian Cambero and Dave Sherwood; Editing by Franklin Paul and Steve Orlofsky)

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