Strike halts output at top Peru copper mine Cerro Verde – union
LIMA – Workers at Peru's top copper mine, Freeport-McMoRan's Cerro Verde, started an indefinite strike on Friday that halted 95% of production of about 40 000 tonnes per month, the union said.
But a dispute over worker demands might be solved at a scheduled meeting between union officials and the mine's management on Monday, said Zenon Mujica, the secretary general of the union.
Workers want better family health benefits and a bigger share of the mine's profits, which Mujica said have risen on better copper prices and higher output following an expansion.
"Copper prices have improved, production has improved, but profits for workers haven't improved," said Mujica.
Freeport said in a statement that Cerro Verde was "operating and continues to engage in constructive discussions with the Union and the company's employees to address their concerns."
The company declined further comment.
The stoppage is the latest disruption to global copper supplies to put pressure on prices, amid a monthlong strike at BHP Billiton's Escondida mine in Chile and a dispute over export rights at Freeport's Grasberg mine in Indonesia.
Nearly all of the 1 300 unionised workers at Cerro Verde downed tools at 7:30 am, said Mujica.
The company had planned to mitigate the impacts of the strike using 300 to 400 non-unionised workers who do not normally work in areas essential to production, said the union's deputy secretary general, Cesar Fernandez.
Freeport-McMoRan owns a 53.56% stake in Cerro Verde, which more than doubled its production of copper to nearly 500 000 t of copper last year after a major expansion.
Sumitomo Metal Mining Company Ltd controls a 21% stake in the mine, and Buenaventura has 19.58%.
The Cerro Verde union had initially scheduled a five-day strike but voted this week to stop work indefinitely, Fernandez said.
Comments
The
content
you are trying to access is only available to subscribers.
If you are already a subscriber, you can Login Here.
If you are not a subscriber, you can subscribe now, by selecting one of the below options.
For more information or assistance, please contact us at subscriptions@creamermedia.co.za.
Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):
Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):
All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors
including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.
Already a subscriber?
Forgotten your password?
Receive weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine (print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
➕
Recieve daily email newsletters
➕
Access to full search results
➕
Access archive of magazine back copies
➕
Access to Projects in Progress
➕
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA
R4500 (equivalent of R375 a month)
SUBSCRIBEAll benefits from Option 1
➕
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports on various industrial and mining sectors, in PDF format, including on:
Electricity
➕
Water
➕
Energy Transition
➕
Hydrogen
➕
Roads, Rail and Ports
➕
Coal
➕
Gold
➕
Platinum
➕
Battery Metals
➕
etc.
Receive all benefits from Option 1 or Option 2 delivered to numerous people at your company
➕
Multiple User names and Passwords for simultaneous log-ins
➕
Intranet integration access to all in your organisation