Copper: Humanity’s first and most important future metal
Millions of feet of copper wiring will be required for strengthening the world’s power grids, and hundreds of thousands of tonnes more are needed to build wind and solar farms.
First Quantum Minerals (TSX:FM), is going to court over a disputed labour agreement at its Zambia copper mine, after talks between the company and unions collapsed.
Workers at First Quantum’s Kansanshi copper/gold mine went on strike for two days in January over wages, which led to a suspension of production.
Reuters reports that First Quantum, an Africa-focused copper producer, agreed to grant workers a 15% pay hike, but the two sides differ on how long the agreement should stay in place. The unions want the agreement to last no more than 12 months but the company says it should run for two years.
Kansanshi is Zambia’s largest copper mine, producing 231,000 tonnes in 2010.
