A wave of national strikes in Chile has been raging in the past week, but Codelco, the world's number one copper miner on Wednesday, said the project has returned to normal operation after union workers and government officials reached an agreement late Wednesday. This one-day strike.

SMM News: A wave of national strikes in Chile has been raging in the past week, but Codelco, the world's number one copper miner on Wednesday, said the project has returned to normal operation, after union workers and government officials reached a late Wednesday. The agreement ended the one-day strike.

The Copper Workers' Workers' Federation (FTC) also joined the national strike to protest the protests of protesters demanding Chile's inequality.

FTC members come from union workers in every department of Codelco.

FTC leader Juan Olguín said that the Chilean center-right coalition government led by President Bastian Pinera agreed to hold a round table to try to improve the working conditions of the state-owned mines.

“Given the government has agreed to our request, we announced the end of the strike,” Olguín told reporters.

"We need to return to normal life."

The Chilean demonstration riots triggered by “the rise in subway fares” have escalated into riots. According to official statistics, as of now, the riot has killed 18 people and 11 regions in Chile are in a state of emergency.

In order to restore social order as soon as possible, Chilean President Piniella publicly apologized for giving a televised speech at 10 pm local time on the 22nd and announced a series of corrective measures.

The Chilean TV station “13” said that Pinera announced that it would raise pensions by 20% immediately, and that older people over the age of 75 would increase their pensions. For the middle class and women who pay social security, the government will provide financial subsidies to ensure that these groups can receive more pensions when they retire.

For income inequality, Piniella said it would impose a 40% supplementary tax on people with monthly incomes of more than 8 million pesos (about $11,000), a move that could increase government taxes by $160 million. In addition, the government will set a minimum wage of 350,000 pesos (about 480 US dollars). In addition, the government will reduce the number of members and will limit re-election.

Olguin acknowledged that the government’s latest social program shows that the government led by Pinera “can listen to the voice of the people”.

Earlier today, the strike caused Codelco's Andina copper mine near San Diego to close, and its subsidiary Ventanas copper smelter was also struggling to maintain production. The project is still running on Wednesday, but the number of employees is only enough to "ensure equipment safety."

Codelco also said that its Salvador project is only "partial".

** Limited impact**

Chilean mining minister Baldo Prokurica told reporters late on Wednesday that it is still too early to assess the impact of the strike on the production of the Chilean National Copper Company.

As the world's largest copper producer, many global private mining giants, including BHP Billiton (BHP), Anglo American Plc and Teck Resources Ltd, have their own projects in Chile.

Most of these projects are located in the north of San Diego, and a one-week strike has only a modest impact on these projects.

The shift workers at BHP Billiton's Escondida copper mine left the office for a few hours yesterday to show their solidarity with the protests.

The union said that any impact of the short-term strike on production would be replenished in the next few days.

Chilean miner Antofagasta Plc said on Wednesday that Chile's protests could reduce its production by about 5,000 tons, less than 3% of production in the third quarter.

Anglo American said that its flagship Los Bronces copper mine on the outskirts of San Diego was forced to “adjust production”, considering the riots and the traffic network, but said it would continue to operate normally.

Teck Resources said in a statement, "The recent protests have not had a material impact on the production of Teck's resources."

According to data released by the International Copper Research Organization (ICSG) on Wednesday, the global copper market is expected to have a shortage of 320,000 tons this year. In 2020, it is expected to have an oversupply of 281,000 tons.

Anton Berlin, who is in charge of marketing at Norilsk Nickel, Russia, said: "Considering such projections, the Chilean incident will not have much impact on the copper market."

However, Jimena Blanco, head of Latin American research at Verisk Maplecroft, a consultancy, said, “It’s only a matter of time before the negative impact on the mining industry is linked to the supply chain.”

“For example, yesterday’s port worker strike affected 20 domestic shipping facilities, including the Antofagasta Region and Iquique’s key mineral export ports,” she said.