SANTIAGO—Chile's Codelco said Monday its Teniente division, home to the world's largest underground copper mine, remained shut due to a continued subcontractor strike, helping drive U.S. futures to all-time highs.
State-owned Codelco reopened the mine on Saturday after a series of disruptions, but then closed it again that evening after striking workers—who began their Codelco labor action 20 days ago—threw rocks at buses carrying full-time miners.
"(The situation) remains the same," a Codelco source said, insisting on anonymity in line with policy. "Today's (morning) shift has not begun. Workers are not getting into buses."
U.S. copper futures surged to all-time record highs in thin volume at the open on Monday on news that Codelco's Teniente division remained shut due to the continued subcontractor strike, analysts said. Global copper markets were already nervous about low inventories.
By 8:30 a.m. EDT (1230 GMT), copper for July delivery shot up 44.00 cents or 11.50 percent to $4.2605 per lb on the COMEX metals division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, besting the metal's previous all-time high of $4.16 set in May 2006.
Codelco said Saturday its smaller Andina division, first shut on April 16 during the latest in a series of strikes by subcontracted miners demanding a bigger share of windfall profits and improved work conditions, was back at work.
Its Salvador division was still shut and its two other divisions, Codelco Norte and Ventanas, have been operating normally throughout.
Codelco, which produces about 1.7 million tonnes of copper a year, said last Tuesday it had lost about 19,000 tonnes of production due to the strike, or about $100 million in losses.
On Friday, there were signs the strike could soon lift after the government made a proposal it said focused on Codelco and the subcontractors fulfilling a series of agreements reached last year, among them a pledge by the state-owned giant to absorb some subcontractors into its full-time ranks.
There was no word from the subcontractors early on Monday.
Teniente, 50 miles (80 km) south of Santiago, produced 405,000 tonnes of copper last year.
Andina, about 50 miles (80 km) northeast of the Chilean capital, produced 218,000 tonnes of copper in 2007. Salvador, 685 miles (1,100 km) north of Santiago, produced 64,000 tonnes of copper last year.
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