Strike at Inmet’s Ok Tedi shortlived

A strike at Inmet Mining’s (IMN-T, IEMMF-O) Ok Tedi copper-gold mine, in Papua New Guinea, lasted only four days, with workers agreeing to go back to work at the project on March 15.

While the strike was brief, it still managed to hurt production, with 2,500 tonnes copper and 6,400 oz. gold lost. With an 18% stake in the mine, Inmet’s share in the metals is 450 tonnes copper and 1,200 oz. gold.

Workers walked after seeing mining engineers at the site get a 100% wage hike. Their demand was simple — they wanted the same raise.

The details of the settlement weren’t made public.

Ok Tedi occupies a huge space in Papua New Guinea’s economy as it makes up roughly 20% of the country’s exports, and is partly owned by the government.

The mine provides just over 1% of the world’s copper concentrate.

In 2007, Ok Tedi produced more than 169,180 tonnes of copper in concentrate and 498,790 oz. gold.

PNG Sustainable Development Program — a government-run organization that was a product of a deal between former mine operator BHP Billiton (BHP-N, BLT-L) and the government — holds 52% of Ok Tedi.

In Toronto, on the news, Inmet shares closed at $85.54, down 46 on 383,000 shares traded. The company has roughly 48 million shares outstanding.