Chilean National Copper Company On June 22 Shutdown!

Workers at Codelco, Chile's copper giant, are preparing to strike on June 22 in protest at the proposed closure of the Ventanas smelter, according to the Copper workers' Union.

"We will start a national shutdown in the next few hours to allow the government and the Board of Codelco to reconsider their decision on the closure of the Ventanas smelter and to continue investing so that Chilean copper can continue to be smelted and refined in Chile," the union said in a statement on June 21.

Codelco chairman Maximo Pacheco announced June 17, "Codelco will begin preparations for the closure of the Ventanas smelter due to increasing political pressure over its environmental impact. In addition, a new smelter will be studied and constructed using the latest technology and the highest environmental standards."

The decision was welcomed by Chilean President Gabriel Borici, who promised to clean up the country's environmental black spots. President Borich and Codelco said they would find new jobs for their 350 workers. The closure of the smelter will not affect the electrolytic refinery on site.

The smelter has been offline since June 6 because air quality is below permitted levels. Codelco denies any responsibility and is carrying out maintenance work until atmospheric conditions in the area improve.

But unions accuse the government of reneging on promises to make the investments needed to cut emissions, equivalent to processing 400,000 tonnes of copper concentrate a year. "Today it is clear that they want to close the state-owned smelter and secretly privatise the company, denying them the investment needed to continue to contribute to Chile's progress," the federation said.

The conditions for closing the Ventanas smelter are that lawmakers remove Codelco's legal obligation to process ore and concentrate at its smaller mine in Ventanas in central Chile. That was the condition Codelco demanded when it bought the facility from state-owned mining company Enami in 2005.