Output at Chile’s El Teniente mine, the world’s No. 5 copper deposit, remained well below capacity on Sunday as staffing was limited by renewed violence from striking contractors, mine owner Codelco said.
The state miner had expected to return to full production over the weekend, but protester violence on Friday led the company to hold many workers back from the 404,000 tonnes-a-year mine.
Some full-time staff were -returning to work in extended shifts, minimizing bus trips that had been a flash point for protests, union leaders said.
“With the contingency plan, miners are sleeping up at the camp for three or four days at a time. We’re still far from normal staffing,” said Juan Meneses, president of El Teniente’s largest staff union.
Codelco’s struggle to recover output may keep pressure on global copper prices, stoking fears of a prolonged supply disruption in Chile, the world’s top copper producer.
The company did not provide an updated output figure on Sunday, but two staff union sources said the mine was producing less than half of capacity.
Thousands of contractors went on strike on May 25 to demand Codelco and their employers increase wages and benefits as global copper prices hover near record levels.
Contractors met with their -employers late on Friday to lay out their demands, but have not heard back, protest leaders said.
“We expect to hear from them Monday morning, and in the meantime our strike is holding firm,” said Marco Alarcon, a protest leader.
Codelco chairman Gerardo Jofre said on Friday that the mine output dropped back to 40 percent of capacity after violence flared up and El Teniente could miss its output target for this year. Still, he said there were no plans to break off contracted shipments with a declaration of force majeure.
Chief executive Diego Hernandez said on Thursday that the -company had lost about 7,000 tonnes of copper. Codelco and unions pulled most staff workers off the job over a week ago after protesters threw rocks at buses carrying workers to the world’s biggest underground copper mine.
Codelco said on Friday that renewed violence was keeping about 6,000 contractors, more than half the total, from returning to work after they agreed to ink new wage contracts.
Protest leaders denied that so many contractors have abandoned the strike, but acknowledged last week that hundreds have returned to work.
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