SANTIAGO.- According to a company source, the Andina and Salvador divisions (Codelco´s smallest mines) remained closed on Monday due to a strike on the part of subcontracted workers.
Both divisions were closed on Wednesday for safety reasons following protests by Codelco´s subcontracted workers in search of the fulfillment of agreements reached with the copper giant during the middle of last year, which brought an end to a strike which had lasted for more than a month.
Codelco asserts that the agreements have already been fulfilled. “Indeed, Andina and Salvador will not be open today”, a Codelco source told Reuters.
Over the weekend, protests held by the subcontracted workers forced the El Teniente division to suspend worker shifts, affecting the mine’s production levels.
The conflict has propped up the price of copper while the international market has been reporting a reduction in inventory levels of the metal.