Approximately 2,500 workers at BHP Billiton's Escondida mine, the largest copper mine in the world, have been on strike since Thursday. Copper prices reacted to the strike, hitting 20-month highs. The strike comes after new labor laws in Chile have paved the way for difficult bargaining over wages. Union leaders have said that an agreement in the near future is unlikely. Other mining companies are set to begin negotiations with workers this year and may take actions similar to those at the Escondida mine.
See "New labor laws in Chile embolden striking miners", Gram Slattery and Fabian Cambero, Reuters, February 15, 2017