SUGAR LAND, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Researched by Industrial Info Resources -- Newmont Corporation (NYSE:NEM) (Greenwood Village, Colorado) has issued a statement asking workers to end a strike at its Peñasquito mine in Mexico, adding the work stoppage has forced the company to “rethink our activities and future investments that are necessary to maintain the level of operations of Peñasquito.”
Industrial Info is tracking three active capital projects at the Workers at the Peñasquito mine, worth US$34 million. Subscribers to Industrial Info’s Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Metals & Minerals project and plant databases can click here for the project reports and click here for the related plant profile.
The workers have been on strike since June 7, seeking better economic benefits.
According to information shared by the miner in a communique issued on social media last week, the worker's union threatened to strike if Newmont did not double the workers’ share of an uncapped profit sharing benefit to 20%, from the 10% that was agreed upon in a collective bargaining agreement. The company denied the request and suspended operations at the Peñasquito mine, and it has been calling on the union to abide by the agreements signed during labor negotiations last year.
Peñasquito, located in Zacatecas state, is a open-pit gold mine that employs more than 5,000 workers. Last year, Peñasquito contributed $1.9 billion to the Mexican economy, including $643 million in wages, taxes and royalties.
Last year, the mine produced 566,000 ounces of gold, according to Newmont's report.
For this year, however, the company has projected gold output between 330,000 and 370,000 ounces, about 25% less than last year.
After more than a month of strikes, Newmont said it was reconsidering its investments in the mine.
“Minera Peñasquito has a potentially bright future in Mexico, but this situation affects the sustainability of our operations and forces the company to rethink our activities and future investments that are necessary to maintain the level of operations of Peñasquito mining,” reads Newmont's statement addressed to the workers' union.
Additionally, the company is calling on workers to restart a dialogue and return to work and find a solution to end the situation.
In 2019, the Peñasquito mine was closed for a month after local communities and contractors shut access to the mine to request better contracts and water systems.
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