Copper: potential strike at Bhp’s Cerro Colorado mine

The workers’ union at BHP’s Cerro Colorado copper mine in Chile has called on its members to reject a final contract offer from the company, paving the way for a strike at the small deposit.

The union tensions come shortly after a court ordered the mine to stop pumping from a reservoir that supplies it with fresh water, citing environmental concerns and slowing progress on a key mine maintenance project.

Union leader Marcelo Franco reported that BHP used the regulatory problems it faces as an excuse to propose an inadequate contract to workers.

“We are calling for a strike vote,” Franco reported.

If the union rejects the contract, Chilean law allows the parties to request government-led mediation for up to 10 days in an attempt to reach an agreement and avert a strike.

The global miner recently struck a deal with workers at its massive Escondida mine that resulted in record-breaking benefits, an outcome that is likely to raise the bar at Cerro Colorado and elsewhere in the world’s leading copper producer Chile.

Cerro Colorado, a small mine in BHP’s Chilean portfolio, produced about 1.2% of the South American nation’s total copper production in 2020.