Teck union to strike at Chile mine

Workers at Teck Resources' Carmen de Andacollo copper mine in Chile planned to begin a strike today, after talks with the company failed to produce an agreement on 11 October.

A collective bargaining agreement between the Teck Carmen de Andacollo Workers Union and Teck Resources expired on 30 September.

The union, which represents 473 workers, entered into a five-day mediation process but had yet to come to an agreement by 11 October.

Teck expected operations to halt at the mine, excluding essential activities. Teck owns 90pc of the mine with the remaining 10pc share owned by Empresa Nacional de Minería.

The mine produced 15,300t of copper in the second quarter of 2019, 4pc lower than the year earlier period. Output fell because of a thickener failure in June.

Carmen de Andacollo produced 67,000t of copper in 2018, down from 76,000t in 2017. Revenues attributed to the mine slid to $488mn from $549mn over the same period.
Teck operates three active copper mines in Chile with another planned to begin production in the second half of 2021.