Unionized workers at Escondida copper mine in Chile ended a 24-hour strike Friday but may put down tools again next week over company's planned layoffs.
Codelco Chief Executive Pizarro said company produced 1.24m tonnes of copper in January-to-September period, a 3 percent decline from same period last year.
Sociedad Quimica Y Minera said on Thursday its ongoing legal dispute with Chilean authorities over royalty payments may not be resolved until end of 2018.
They claim it won’t be possible to cut costs enough to offset the higher levies, and warn that some miners may need to pass on this new cost increase to the industrial production chain.
This is the third strike this year over profit-sharing staged by the company’s unions and it affects Southern Copper's two mines in the country — Cuajone and Toquepala.