The Tenke Fungurume mine is one of the largest in Democratic Republic of Congo, which is Africa's leading copper producer and the world's top miner of cobalt.
Striking miners and police clashed earlier on Tuesday, with authorities using rubber bullets and tear gas as workers tried to block access to the state-owned firm's mine.
“Copper mining in Chile has become more and more difficult as ore bodies decline, the target rocks are increasingly harder, and water is getting far more expensive.
