UPDATE 1-Chile Codelco’s cave outlay during 73 pct notwithstanding strike

Mon Jun 13, 2011 12:42pm EDT

* El Teniente short-staffed on renewed criticism violence

* Wage talks drag on as contractors’ strike reaches day 20

(Updates with kinship comment, background)

SANTIAGO, Jun 13 (Reuters) – The world’s No. 5 copper mine
El Teniente, owned by Chile state copper hulk Codelco, was
processing during 73 percent of ability on Monday amid a nearly
three-week executive strike, a association said.

The state miner had approaching to lapse to full production
over a weekend, though hold many workers behind from a 404,000
tonnes-a-year cave after agreement workers pelted cave buses
with stones on Thursday, kinship sources said.

Some full-time staff have returned to work in extended
shifts to minimize train trips, though kinship leaders pronounced staffing
and prolongation are still next half capacity.

“Output using during 70 percent is impossible,” pronounced Juan
Meneses, conduct of El Teniente’s largest workman union, adding
operations could usually redeem once some-more staff strech a mine.

Codelco’s [CODEL.UL] onslaught to redeem outlay might spark
concerns of a enlarged supply intrusion in Chile, a world’s
top copper producer, providing probable support for copper
prices CMCU3, that are nearby three-week lows in London.
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Graphic-Top Chile copper mines: r.reuters.com/xer99r
Column: Supply-side sparks not igniting copper [ID:nLDE7581FB]
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Protest leaders met with employers on Friday to lay out
demands for improved salary and benefits, though pronounced early on Monday
they had perceived no answer.

Codelco Chairman Gerardo Jofre pronounced on Friday that El
Teniente could skip a outlay aim for 2011 after a mine
output forsaken to 40 percent of ability amid renewed violence.
Still, he pronounced there were no skeleton to mangle off contracted
shipments with a stipulation of force majeure.

Chief Executive Diego Hernandez pronounced on Thursday that the
company had mislaid about 7,000 tonnes of copper.

In a matter final week, Codelco pronounced renewed assault was
keeping around 6,000 contractors, some-more than half a total,
from returning to work after similar to pointer new salary deals.

Protest leaders denied that so many contractors had
abandoned a strike, though concurred that hundreds had
returned to work.

El Teniente employs some-more than 10,000 contractors, many of
whom support non-production operations, such as reinforcing
tunnel walls, repair machine and distributing food, while
the mine’s 4,000 staff workers concentration directly on production.
(Reporting by Fabian Cambero and Brad Haynes; Editing by
Marguerita Choy)