Codelco to Resume Output at Copper Mine, Workers Say (Update2)...

Codelco to Resume Output at Copper Mine, Workers Say (Update2)

By Heather Walsh

July 20 (Bloomberg) -- Codelco, the world's biggest copper- mining company, will be able to resume production today at its El Salvador mine in Chile following a four-day stoppage, a group representing contract workers said.

Striking contract workers had blocked entrances to the mine, Codelco's smallest, since July 16. The workers agreed to allow Codelco union employees to return today, said Cristian Cuevas, a spokesman for the Confederation of Copper Workers, which represents the protesters.

Contract workers are ending the blockade as they prepare for negotiations today with Codelco aimed at ending an almost four- week strike at the company's mines, Cuevas said. Contract workers are pressing for higher wages after the price of copper more than quadrupled in four years.

``The strike could end today with a good offer,'' Cuevas said in a phone interview from central Chile.

Contract workers not taking part in the strike won't be allowed to enter El Salvador, Cuevas said. The mine produced 81,000 metric tons of copper last year.

Union workers probably will return to the mine this afternoon, said Egidio Masias, president of the largest Codelco employees union at El Salvador. The mine won't be able to produce at its full capacity without contract workers, Masias said in a phone interview from northern Chile.

Codelco's press office at its headquarters in Santiago said it will provide information on production later today. Codelco, which is owned by the Chilean government, produces 10 percent of the world's mined copper.

To contact the reporter on this story: Heather Walsh in Santiago at [email protected] .

Last Updated: July 20, 2007 11:02 EDT