SANTIAGO – Supervisers at Chile's Escondida mine and mine operator BHP decided on Tuesday to extend negotiations over a labour contract for another day in a last-ditch attempt to stave off a strike at the world's largest copper deposit, the union told Reuters.
The union of supervisors at Chile's Escondida mine last week rejected BHP's final offer in contract negotiations, but the mining company agreed to meet again with the union on Tuesday.
The union said the two groups had not yet completed talks and would continue into Wednesday.
Several labor negotiations at mines in Chile, the world´s top copper producer, have supported copper prices in recent weeks. Though the sprawling Escondida mine could continue to operate even if supervisors walked off the job, a strike could lead to production bottlenecks or slowdowns.
Escondida produced 1.19-million tons of copper in 2019.