We normally don't relay this type of mining company news because the employees, the companies and probably most importantly the national governments, have huge incentives to keep the product flowing.
In this case however, the copper market is so finely balanced on the supply/demand knife-edge that the reality and the perception of the reality will have an impact on prices.
From Reuters via Yahoo Finance, September 29:
The union of supervisors at Chile's Escondida mine is gearing up to strike at the world's largest copper deposit and is almost certain to reject a contract offer from mine owner BHP, the union's president said on Friday.
Though the sprawling Escondida mine could continue to operate even if supervisors walked off the job, a strike could lead to production bottlenecks or slowdowns.
"I have no doubt that the strike will win," union head Alexis Barrera said in an interview, adding that nearly all members have already cast their votes.
Voting on a proposal from BHP, a multinational miner, closes on Friday afternoon. There was no immediate comment from BHP.
The government could launch a five-day mediation process that can be extended another five days if the parties come close to reaching a deal....
....MORE
If interested our last comment on copper supply/demand was the outro from September 26's "Germany: Copper theft hits crucial infrastructure, business".
For the second and third time in the last couple months copper futures have declined to the $3.62 - 3.64 area and bounced:
It can get confusing.
