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BHP and striking union at Escondida mine discuss return to formal negotiations

The striking union at BHP's Escondida copper mine in Chile is meeting with management to see if they can bring positions better, stated a. source with understanding of the matter on Wednesday.

The union began a strike on Tuesday at Escondida, the. world's biggest copper mine, after contract settlements fell. apart. The conference did not make up an official restart of talks. and was a preliminary meeting to go over a go back to official. negotiations, the source stated.

BHP did not right away respond to a request for comment but. the union validated the conference to Reuters.

In a declaration Wednesday afternoon, the union stated the. strike was keeping the Los Colorados concentration and. electrowinning plants completely offline, and continued to. accuse the business of anti-union practices by replacing. workers.

A few hundred employees started developing an encampment at Puerto. Coloso in the northern city of Antofagasta on Wednesday, BHP's. special port for deliveries, which also houses its desalination. plants, according to a Reuters witness.

A report by BTG Pactual, a Brazilian financial investment bank, stated. that BHP might lose between $25 million and $30 million a day if. the strike goes on like the 2017 strike that lasted 44 days. It. included that Chile's GDP dropped 1.9% year-on-year in February due. to that strike.

Aurora Williams, Chile's mining minister, stated she hoped. talks could resume, adding that collective bargaining in the. nation is well-regulated and the government does not. participate in the procedure.

(source: Reuters)