Labor peace comes to Zaldivar

Vancouver A labor dispute that halted production at the Zaldivar copper mine in Chile since July 4 has been resolved.

Mine operator Placer Dome (PDG-T) and the union representing mine employees agreed to a 38-month settlement days after the company planned to keep the mine operating under a contingency plan. Before the dispute was resolved, Chilean authorities had allowed the company to continue operations at one-third of daily capacity until training of contract miners was completed.

Now that workers have agreed to the new contract, production is expected to reach normal levels within several days.