SANTIAGO (Reuters) – Chile’s state copper miner Codelco said on Wednesday it has reached an early contract agreement with the Ministro Hales workers union.
The new three-year contract will take effect in December.
Union negotiations at Chilean copper mines are being closely watched by analysts and investors since a strike last month at BHP’s Escondida, the world’s largest copper mine, which resulted in an improved bonus for workers.
Codelco said in a statement the deal is based on ensuring worker safety and the sustainability of the business for the coming decades. It did not detail the specific terms.
The Ministro Hales division produced 126,000 metric tons of copper in 2023.
Unionized workers at Codelco’s El Teniente complex are also scheduled to negotiate new collective contracts this year.
(Reporting by Fabian Andres Cambero, Writing by Daina Beth Solomon, Editing by Sarah Morland)
