BHP Chile has successfully agreed terms to a new collective contract with workers, easing concerns about a possible disruption that would have further restricted global copper supplies, the company says.

A new deal was reached with workers at its Spence mine, the second largest copper miner in Chile, on 11 June. It follows the end of an indefinite strike started on 27 May, after both sides agreed to extend service contracts for an additional 18 months, Kallanish notes.

Service contracts allow the miner to replace duties of 205 workers to remotely manage pits and cathode and concentrators plants with substitutes.

“The agreement reached is an important sign of how we must face the present and future challenges of Spence,” comments Ana Zúñiga, BHP’s director of Corporate Affairs for Pampa Norte.

According to the latest data by the Chilean national copper commission Cochilco, Spence’s output was down 8.1% on-year in the first four months of 2021 at 54,600 tonnes of copper. BHP’s production at the Escondida mine was down 14.5% in the period at 341,900 t.