Reuters reported that striking workers at Chile's Spence copper mine entered the third week of a strike after government mediated talks over salaries with owner BPH Billiton failed.

The talks took place on Monday and Tuesday, but mediators were unable break the impasse.

Mr Andres Ramirez president of the 560 member Spence union said that "The talks fell short because the company insists on negotiating from the bottom of their last salary offer. The company is hoping to weaken the union with its position but we are firm with the strike."

Production at Spence, which last year produced 165,000 tonnes of copper cathodes, has been cut to a minimum since miners laid down their tools. The company has not hired replacement workers during the strike.

(Sourced from Reuters)