After a long strike at Chile's Collahuasi mine workers seem to be more receptive to the new wage talks being held. The mine is a joint venture between Anglo American and Xstrata.
The present talks seek to end the longest recorded strike at a major copper mine in the country.
The 27 day strike at the world’s third largest copper deposit may finally be over if the union workers accept the new wage terms offered by the management this time. Despite the ever present tensions the two sides are carrying on with negotiations and hope that a deal may be reached soon.
The talks which are being mediated by Iquique City Catholic Bishop Marco Antonio Ordenes may prove fruitful as early as tomorrow if sources close to the mine management are to be believed. The union President Manuel Munoz refused to make any comment citing a silence pact with the company.
The company spokesperson Bernardita Fernandez said that the mine and port continued to operate normally. As per her the company started loading a 44,000-ton shipment of copper yesterday at its Patache port.
The strike at the mine is longer than the 26 day strike at the Escondida copper mine in 2006 which is owned by BHP Billiton.