Striker violence keeps giant copper mine operating below half capacity

Output at Chile’s El Teniente mine, the world’s No. 5 copper deposit owned by Codelco, fell on Friday as staff held off a full return to work after contractor protest violence, the company’s chairman said.

Gerardo Jofre told reporters the mine was operating at 40 percent of capacity, down from around 50 percent on Thursday — when output was gradually recovering as thousands of contract workers opted to abandon a sometimes violent 17-day walkout over wages at the 404,000-tonnes-a-year mine.