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Gold/Mining/Energy : Copper - analysis -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Stephen O who wrote (1467)	7/24/2006 5:16:18 PM
From: Stephen O	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 2131

BHP Billiton to Face Strike at Escondida, Union Says (Update1) 2006-07-24 13:22 (New York) (Adds union, company comments in third, fourth paragraphs.) By Heather Walsh July 24 (Bloomberg) -- BHP Billiton Plc, the world's biggest mining company, will face a strike at its Escondida mine in Chile after failing to sweeten a wage offer, union spokesman Pedro Marin said. The union expects to vote on July 28 to begin a strike on Aug. 7 that would halt production at the mine, Marin said today in a telephone interview. Workers seek a wage increase 13 percentage points above the inflation rate, while management today held its offer at 1.5 points above inflation. ``A strike is imminent,'' Marin said. ``These negotiations have been a sham. The company only wants to protect its capital.'' Marin said a protest at the mine that workers began on July 7 has reduced production by 25 percent, a claim the company contests. Workers want a wage raise that reflects rising profit at Escondida, the world's biggest copper mine, after prices for the metal soared 54 percent this year. BHP Billiton spokeswoman Alejandra Wood, who denied the protest has reduced output, said in a telephone interview that management will make every effort to reach an accord to avert a strike. Escondida is the world's biggest copper mine, accounting for 8.5 percent of global output from mines last year. The union is called Escondida's Workers' Union No. 1. BHP Billiton owns 57.5 percent of Escondida, Rio Tinto Plc owns 30 percent and a group led by Mitsubishi Corp. owns 10 percent. The International Finance Corp. owns the rest. --Editor: Kleege.