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BHP has lost 41,000 tonnes of copper due to strike at Escondida Cecilia Jamasmie | about 22 hours ago | 1,243 | 0 BHP has lost 41,000 tonnes of copper due to strike at Escondida BHP Billiton has a 57% stake in Escondida, the world’s largest copper mine. (Image courtesy of Municipalidad Antofagasta | Flickr ) World’s largest miner BHP Billiton (ASX, NYSE:BHP) (LON:BLT) has already lost 41,000 tonnes of copper production due to an ongoing strike at its Econdida mine in Chile, the world’s largest. According to 24 Horas (in Spanish), there seems to be no end in sight for the stoppage, which completed 14 days Wednesday, following a failed government-mediated meeting between workers and the company held on Tuesday. BHP said is willing to return to the negotiating table as many times as necessary to reach a new collective agreement. Both sides have yet to reach an agreement over topics such as shift pattern changes, one-off bonus sizes and fresh wages, but a mine’s spokesman said Wednesday management is willing to return to the negotiating table as many times as necessary to reach a new collective agreement, PubliMetro reports (in Spanish). He added the firm won’t replace any workers until past 30 days of the labour action, even though it can legally hire temporary workers after 15 days of a strike. While it’s difficult to estimate the potential financial impact of the strike, BHP — which declared force majeure on shipments from the mine last week — has said it expected to produce about 1.7 million tonnes of copper this year at Escondida. Considering that figure represents a daily output of 2,931 tonnes, the company is already 41,000 tonnes behind its estimate. Based on BHP’s latest earnings report released on Tuesday, health and safety are part of the company's values and the miner said it was "committed to providing a safe workplace." In the same release, the Melbourne, Australia-based firm noted that total copper output guidance for 2017 was currently under review due to the strike at Escondida. BHP also stated it was on track to deliver $1.8 billion of productivity gains within the 2017 financial year, excluding any impact from the ongoing industrial action at its largest copper mine.

Freeport halts Grasberg mine, begins sending workers home Cecilia Jamasmie | about 3 hours ago | 251 | 0 PEOPLEMINE FACEBOOK LINKEDIN TWITTER EMAIL PRINT Freeport halts Grasberg mine, begins sending workers home Freeport's iconic Grasberg mine in Indonesia's remote Papua province produced more than 500,000 tonnes of copper and over 1m ounces of gold in 2016. Shares in Freeport McMoRan Inc (NYSE:FCX), the world's largest listed copper miner, were down 1% in pre-market trading Tuesday on the company’s decision to halt operations at its Grasberg mine in Indonesia. The firm’s local unit, which has not been able to ship copper from the mine in over a month due to a ban on concentrate exports that kicked in on January 12, also said Tuesday it has begun sending workers home, Reuters reports. The shutdown, which effectively happened Friday, comes after PT Freeport Indonesia ran out of space to store copper that has been backing up at the site. It also coincides with an ongoing strike at BHP Billiton’s Escondida copper mine in Chile, the world’s biggest. Copper has rallied lately as a result of the stoppages at both Grasberg and Escondida and it’s having the best start to a year since 2012. Copper has rallied lately as a result, hitting its highest levels since May 2015 overnight, and trading at $2.76 a pound in New York Tuesday morning. The red metal has climbed about 11% since Jan.1, the best start to a year since 2012 for the commodity, which has been named by analysts as the one they expect to perform the best in 2017. Freeport's Grasberg mining complex is responsible for more than a quarter of the Phoenix, Arizona-based company's total output. The miner has been trying to reach a deal with the government of Indonesia to resume exports and previously said that each month of delay in obtaining such approval meant production would be reduced by 70 million pounds of copper and 70,000 ounces of gold. And while it continues to hold talks with local authorities on the matter, Freeport told Reuters that no deal had been reached on the terms that were "necessary and critical" for its long-term investment plans. As a result, the firm said the export ban remained in place. Before the current troubles, Grasberg was set contribute an even greater proportion this year as copper grades improve and gold production is boosted. In 2016, the iconic mine produced more than 500,000 tonnes of copper and over 1 million ounces of gold. The miner’s overall consolidated sales for 2017 are expected to be around 4.1 billion pounds of copper, 2.2 million ounces of gold and 92 million pounds of molybdenum, including 1.0 billion pounds of copper, 460,000 ounces of gold and 23 million pounds of molybdenum for first-quarter 2017.

Is This The Final Week For The World's Largest Copper Mine? By Dave Forest - Feb 06, 2017, 10:38 AM CST Escondida mine I’ve been writing the last few weeks about brewing problems at the world’s largest copper mine: BHP Billiton’s Escondida operation in Chile. And this week, it’s crunch time for that critical project. BHP has been working on a new contract with mineworkers’ unions at Escondida for months now. With reports emerging that the two sides are log-jammed over pay demands. Ads by And the standoff between workers and owners came to a head last Friday. When unions voted to launch strike action – with leaders saying they were prepared to idle Escondida for up to two months if necessary. The strike was scheduled to begin today. But BHP gained a last-minute reprieve over the weekend – by filing for mediation with government labor authorities in Antofagasta, where the mine is located. That move officially prevents workers from striking for five days. Meaning the strike will be pushed to next week if the two sides are unable to find a solution through mediation. A resolution seems unlikely, given how far apart workers and management appear to be on labor demands. With unions reportedly requesting $25 million in bonuses and a 7% salary increase – while BHP is offering just $8 million bonuses and no pay increase. If the strike does go ahead, BHP has asked unions to maintain minimum services at the mine. A request that union heads are reportedly still analyzing. Related: Keystone XL Needs Much Higher Oil Prices To Be Viable If the unions decide against, we could see Escondida shut down completely, very soon. Perhaps for an extended period of time. That would almost certainly give a lift to copper prices. Both because of the actual supply disruption from this key mine – and because the labor action here could entice workers at other operations across Chile to take similar action. We’ve still got a few days for management to pull this one out of the fire. Watch to see if a solution does materialize, and for upward momentum in the copper price early next week if a strike does go ahead. Here’s to hanging in the balance. By Dave Forest

Copper Tops $6,000 as Escondida Strike Vote Escalates Risks by Laura Millan Lombrana and David Stringer February 1, 2017, 3:55 AM GMT February 1, 2017, 2:09 PM GMT Stoppage at northern Chile mine could start as soon as Monday Citigroup has warned of strike risks after prices rallied Workers at BHP Billiton Ltd.’s Escondida copper mine in Chile voted against the company’s latest wage offer, opening the door for a strike and potentially heralding a wave of stoppages at global suppliers after a rally. Prices rose above $6,000 a metric ton in London. Some 99 percent of members voted in favor of a strike, which could start on Monday, according to a statement from Union Number 1. Its 2,492 members represent about 95 percent of Escondida’s workers. The project is the world’s largest copper mine, and is forecast to produce about 1.1 million tons in the 12 months to June 30, according to BHP. Copper has surged to the highest since 2015 as demand recovered and investors anticipated higher infrastructure spending from Donald Trump’s new administration. Citigroup Inc. has warned of the increased risk of strikes this year as workers seek pay rises, with almost a fifth of global mine capacity facing contract renewals. While there’s still time for an 11th-hour agreement under Chilean law, a strike at Escondida would serve as a precedent for another 15 contracts up for renewal in the country, according to BTG Pactual. “The strength of the vote closes the door to any attempt by the company to introduce its disastrous plans to lower costs through making the workforce cheaper,” the union said in the statement. “If Escondida imposes its policies, it will pave the way for other companies to do the same.” A request for comment from BHP wasn’t immediately answered. A strike at Escondida would add to expectations of more disruption in copper this year after a benign 2016, UBS Group AG analyst Daniel Morgan said by phone from Sydney. About 1 million tons of output, or 5 percent of supply, may be disrupted in 2017 compared to around 600,000 tons last year, he said. Grasberg Dispute Three-month copper -- which has risen about 32 percent over the past 12 months -- ended at $5,991 a ton on the London Metal Exchange on Tuesday, the highest close since June 2015 as the Escondida vote was under way. On Wednesday, the metal gained as much as 0.3 percent to $6,007, before retreating to $5,969 at 2:05 p.m. in London. The potential stoppage at Escondida coincides with an interruption to supplies from Indonesia’s Grasberg, the world’s second-biggest mine, where exports of concentrate have been halted amid a dispute between Freeport-McMoRan Inc., the world’s biggest publicly traded copper producer, and the government. A halt to shipments from Grasberg, flooding and road disruption around Freeport’s Cerro Verde mine in Peru, and some shipping delays because of

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