The supervisors and staff union at Escondida said it would begin a strike on Wednesday, October 14, after government mediated talks on a new collective contract failed, Reuters reported. The union said its final offer accepted most company proposals while keeping demands on pay, production bonuses and benefits, and it accused BHP of ending the mediation. BHP did not immediately respond to requests for comment in the reports.
The union involved is the No. 2 supervisors and staff union, with more than 1,000 members. Supervisors do not haul ore, but a prolonged stoppage can slow planning, maintenance sign off and shift coordination at a complex operation. In earlier reporting on the dispute, the union called a proposed signing bonus of roughly $25,500 per worker below market relative to the mine’s earnings, while BHP said its offer would keep Escondida supervisors among the best paid in their segment in Chile.
Escondida, in the Atacama Desert, is operated by BHP with Rio Tinto and Japan based JECO as minority partners. Shanghai Metals Market put fiscal 2026 output at 1.26 million tonnes, down 3 percent year on year, with fiscal 2027 guidance of 1.0 to 1.1 million tonnes. Any extended disruption would be measured against that already lower guidance range.
The strike lands on top of two other Chilean supply hits this week. Unions at Antofagasta’s Centinela mine are also on strike and returned to mediation on Tuesday, with the unions saying activity is curtailed and the company saying operations continue. At Codelco’s El Teniente, a landslide on Sunday, October 11 killed two contractor workers and suspended work in the south pit sector, a story covered here on October 11. Copper rose 0.88 percent to $6.74 a pound in the October 14 market table, and futures reporting put the metal above $6.70, close to record highs, with traders citing the Chilean disruptions.