Reuters reported that Chile's Collahuasi sought to defuse a strike in its 12th day by enticing workers to break ranks with a sweetened deal but union leaders said workers will stay out.

Collahuasi which is jointly owned by Xstrata and Anglo American said that it has had no direct contact with the union. However, it has asked local authorities to mediate.

The operator of the deposit which yields 3.3% of the world's mined copper, or 1,500 tonnes per day, said that operations are running at normal levels under a contingency plan. However, it has not clarified what normal levels mean.

The mine shipped 11,013 tonnes of copper concentrate to Belgium at the weekend and vowed to meet all commercial contracts in November. Industry experts said that the mine was well-prepared for the strike, with plenty of copper stocks at ports, but operations were probably taking a hit.

Ms Bernardita Fernandez the operator's spokeswoman said that the mine plans to deliver strikers a very attractive offer soon, as a way to convince them to return to work starting Friday when Chilean law allows employees to break the strike without penalties. She said that I hope that workers see that the company is making a serious and sustainable offer, which is in line with their legitimate aspirations.

The 1,551 member union which claims the mine is running at only 20 % of its levels before the strike has said that workers will remain on strike and even threatened fines for those who return to work.

Union leaders accuse the operator of hiding output losses to undermine the union's claim that the strike is working. The strike is the biggest among private mines in Chile since 26 day stoppage by workers at the world's No 1 copper deposit, Escondida that drove up copper prices in 2006.

The operator added that it has filed a complaint against the union for disloyal practices for possible fines on workers who break the strike on Friday, which we hope puts workers at ease so they can return to work without the threat of punishment.

Union dissidents could weaken the strike, forcing it to return to talks and take an offer similar to the operator's last proposal that included USD 27,000 in benefits. Workers are not paid while on strike.

Union workers nearly unanimously voted to strike after wage negotiations failed earlier in November. Workers are demanding a bigger slice of the mine's record profits as copper prices soar.

(Sourced from Reuters)