Copper Miners in Chile Strike Placer Dome

In Chile, 500 miners are striking at Placer Dome’s Zaldivar copper mine in the northern region. The miners, members of Zaldivar Mining Union No. 1, rejected a pay offer 23 June, but Placer Dome invoked Chilean law calling for a return to talks before a strike could occur. In those talks, the Canadian company stuck to its 3.5% wage offer, far below Chile’s 6% inflation rate and the union’s bottom line, and miners struck 4 July.

The company last week said it would attempt to resume 75% of production at the mine using supervisors and contract workers. The Zaldivar mine produced 148,000 tonnes last year and accounts for 1% of the world’s copper supply. Placer Dome, which operates 17 mines in seven countries, is the world’s fifth largest gold miner. The company is also engaged in contentious salary talks behind the Chamber of Mines in South Africa with the National Union of Mineworkers.