Workers invade BHP mine

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BHP Billiton halted all operations at its Spence copper mine in Chile after striking workers invaded the installations, a company official said on Wednesday, the 37th day of the strike.

Diego Hernandez, head of base metals for the global mining company, told Reuters that Billiton had to evacuate employees at the mine after striking workers invaded the site.

He did not say whether anyone was injured at the mine, which produced 164,800 tonnes of copper last year.

Workers at the Spence mine earlier said BHP Billitonrejected a new proposal aimed at ending the that has curbed output amid global supply worries.

Spence union head Andres Ramirez repeated threats to invade installations and block roads.

"Workers are growing tired of the company's constant denials," Ramirez said.

Spence workers this week made a counter offer similar to the one delivered by the company in October, which set a 4 percent wage hike and around $15,000 ($NZ20,452) in bonuses, but also sought housing and health benefits. Employees had originally rejected that offer, calling it insufficient.

Copper prices have moved higher this week. Copper for December delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange's COMEX division ended up 0.20 cent at $3.1105 a lb after hitting a session peak at $3.1720, its highest level since late September 2008.

On the London Metal Exchange (LME), benchmark copper touched $6,992 a tonne, another high dating back to September 2008, and more than double the levels seen in January. The metal used in power and construction settled up $25 at $6,880 a tonne.

- Reuters