Striking workers at Mexico’s biggest gold mine have plenty of funds available to extend a stoppage as a dispute with owner Newmont enters a second week, a union official said Tuesday.

About 2 000 unionized workers at the Penasquito mine downed tools to push for clarification over profit-sharing terms and alleged contractual breaches related to overtime payments and safety, said Jorge Ramon Monsivais, labor secretary of the Sindicato Minero union. Newmont says it’s fully compliant with contracts.

Striking workers at Penasquito have a so-called “resistance fund” to prolong the strike and would receive the support of associated members if those funds were to run out, Monsivais said. “They’re willing to continue the movement until this is cleared up,” he said in an interview.

The strike marks the third labor dispute since Newmont bought Penasquito from Goldcorp Inc in 2019. The mine, located about 480 miles northwest of Mexico City, is a major producer of silver and also churns out lead and zinc in addition to gold. In an analyst note, UBS estimated that Newmont’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization would decrease 3.6% in the second quarter if the suspension lasts for one month.

Even though the mine employs directly and indirectly another 3 000 people, production has been suspended with a skeleton crew performing only basic tasks, Monsivais said.

While Newmont said workers are pushing for an increase in profit-sharing from an agreed 10% to 20%, Monsivais said demands are centered around a clarification on how the plan is calculated rather than a percentage increase.

Penasquito is Newmont’s third-largest mine by sales. It brought in $2.8-billion in sales in 2022, although that was down 17% from the year before as production lagged. Output fell 38% in the first quarter, according to Newmont’s latest quarterly report.