13th Feb 2017 15:25
MELBOURNE (Alliance News) - Copper prices are likely to trade higher, taking cues from global situations and on evaluation of tense strike at world's major copper mine owner BHP Billiton Ltd.
The company reported vandalism by a group of people at the Escondida mine. The strike has forced to stop output of the mine. A group of 300 people from outside tried to enter the premises, set off alarms and cut the electricity at security posts. BHP said the attack has left the cameras and verification systems at the site inoperable.
In a statement, the company said it would go ahead with legal actions to guarantee security of all workers.
The workers of around 2500 went on strike after failure of a discussion to raise wages on Thursday. The strike might restrict supply of copper. The mine has a production output of around 1.15 million tonnes that comes around 6% of global output.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX
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