Global copper prices jumped by 3% on Tuesday and sped towards $6,000 a tonne after workers at the world’s largest copper mine in Chile rejected a management wage offer, raising the possibility of a strike.
Unionised workers at the BHP Billiton-owned (NYSE:BHP, LON:BLT, ASX:BHP) Escondida mine have until Jan. 31 to vote on a new wage proposal – results of which often set the bar for other mines in Chile, the world’s biggest producer of copper, representing 6% of the world’s refined copper supplies.
The red metal has rallied 14% since Donald Trump was elected US president on hopes he will boost infrastructure spending. BHP Billiton’s Wall Street ADRs were up 3.2% at $41.59 on Tuesday.