The prices of copper rose in trading today partly due to a thirteen-day strike at Chile’s Codelco mines. Though one mine reopened on Saturday, two belonging to the world’s largest copper producer have remained closed as subcontractors demand a larger share of profits:The strikes are the latest in a series of protests by subcontractors over the past two years to demand a bigger share of windfall revenue because prices have jumped nearly seven-fold this decade.
The strike at Codelco, which produces about 1.7 million tones of copper per year, has pushed global copper prices to near-record highs of about $4 per pound as markets grow nervous about inventories that are already stretched thin.
No love has been lost between management and workers; Codelco has hired at least 1500 workers to cross picket lines while other unions have threatened to join the strike.
Sources- Mineweb, Reuters, Bloomberg
Image- New York Times
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