Despite the labor strike at Chilean copper mine Dona Ines de Collahuasi dragging on into its 25th day, the mining company will be shipping out 44,000 metric tons of copper bound for China and South Korea, a company spokeswoman said Monday.

The mine's 1,551 unionized workers went on strike Nov. 5, after contract negotiations fell through, but the mine has been operating as a result of a contingency plan.

This is the third shipment Collahuasi has sent out since the strike began.

"Everything is operating normally," said Collahuasi spokeswoman Bernardita Fernandez.

The two sides are scheduled to meet later Monday, after the Archbishop of the city of Iquique acted as a facilitator to set up the meeting, to hopefully restart negotiations, Fernandez said.

Union leaders, meanwhile, say they haven't received any calls from the company or the religious leader to resume negotiations.

"We've been willing to negotiate and waiting since Friday from the call to restart talks," union leader Cristian Arancibia told Dow Jones Newswires.

More than 200 strikers have broken away from the strike and returned to work after the company sweetened its contract and signing bonus offer.

Last week, Collahuasi chief executive Jon Evans said 220 workers had ended their strike. Fernandez said more workers than the previously reported 220 had returned to work, but she didn't have a precise figure.

According local labor laws, once 51% of strikers break way, the strike officially ends. Collahuasi officials have said that it's unlikely that around 780 strikers will break away from the industrial action and return to work.

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

Collahuasi, one of the world's largest copper mines, is located 185 kilometers southeast of the port of Iquique, high in the Andes mountains at 4,400 meters above sea level. 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
Mitsui (NASDAQ:MITSY)
Historical Stock Chart
From Jun 2024 to Jul 2024 Click Here for more Mitsui Charts.
Mitsui (NASDAQ:MITSY)
Historical Stock Chart
From Jul 2023 to Jul 2024 Click Here for more Mitsui Charts.