Swapping aluminum for copper will maintain China’s resources, group says
China depends on overseas imports for 60% of its aluminum resources as opposed to 70% of its copper resources.
Minera Lumina Copper said on Sunday that it had reached an agreement with workers at its Caserones mine in Chile on a three-year collective contract, ending an almost month-long strike.
Minera Lumina Copper, controlled by Japan’s JX Nippon Copper, said in a statement that a deal had been struck with 98% of members of the Lumina workers’ union voting in favour of its latest offer, resulting in a contract being signed on Saturday.
“The company values the willingness to engage and reach an responsible agreement that both meets the expectations of workers and ensures that Caserones can be a secure and sustainable operation into the future despite the significant challenges that it faces,” the company said in a statement.
Workers at Caserones went on strike at the start of August after collective wage negotiations and government-led mediation foundered.
Copper prices soared to record highs this year, handing unions in Chile and elsewhere additional leverage in labor negotiations with large global miners.
Caserones, a comparatively smaller mine in Chile, produced 126,972 tons of copper in 2020.
(By Aislinn Laing; Editing by Sandra Maler)
Comments