Chile Collahuasi Copper Mine Strike Enters Day 5; Output Normal

While the strike at Chilean copper mine Dona Ines de Collahuasi enters its fifth day, output at the mine remains normal, a company spokeswoman said Tuesday.

The 1,551 unionized workers at the mine began their strike Friday after government-mediated talks ended without any contract agreement.

"As a result of our contingency plan, output remains normal and there haven't been any incidents at the mine," she said.

A northern Chile newspaper, Diario 21, reported Tuesday that a Labor official was proposing mediating talks between Collahuasi management and its workers to end the strike.

If both sides seek it "we can act as mediators to get both parties closer to each other and help them reach an agreement because this (strike) isn't favoring either one," regional Labor Director Horacio Ara told Diario 21.

The spokeswoman said no meeting between both sides had been scheduled for this morning. Union leaders weren't immediately available for comment.

Collahuasi is owned by diversified mining companies Xstrata PLC (XTA.LN) and Anglo American PLC (AAUKY, AAL.LN), each with a 44% stake. A consortium led by Mitsui & Co. (MITSY, 8031.TO) holds the remaining 12%.

The mine is located in Chile's northernmost First Region. It's 185 kilometers southeast of the port of Iquique, at 4,400 meters above sea level high in the Andes.

It produces about 500,000 metric tons of copper a year, or about 10% of Chile's annual output. Chile is the world's leading copper producer, accounting for about 35% of global output.

-By Carolina Pica, Dow Jones Newswires; 56-2-715-8919; carolina.pica@dowjones.com

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