The Alacran deposit is part of the San Matias development.

Hudbay has now completed the collective bargaining process with all of its unions in Manitoba.

In the fourth round of metal auctions this year, the administration will sell off 30,000 tonnes of copper, 50,000 tonnes of zinc and 70,000 tonnes of aluminum.

Residents in several northern provinces have already been dealing with blackouts, while traffic lights are being turned off.

Governments across Europe are coming under pressure to help curb soaring energy costs for companies and households caused by a global surge in wholesale gas prices.

Unifor, which represents about 900 workers at the miner's aluminum smelting plant in Kitimat and power generating facility in Kemano, had started a strike action in July.

China is in the grip of a power crunch as a shortage of coal supplies, toughening emissions standards and strong demand from manufacturers and industry have pushed coal prices to record highs.