ESCONDIDA SUPERVISORS VOTE 95% TO STRIKE

Supervisors and staff at BHP's Escondida copper mine in Chile voted 95% in favor of a strike after wage negotiations collapsed at the October 13 deadline. The dispute centers on how to value BHP's final offer: the company says it is worth 28 million pesos per worker, about $28,700, while the union puts the real value at 25 million pesos, around $25,600, arguing part of the package is a repayable loan rather than a bonus. The vote covered roughly 1,020 members of the mine's Supervisors and Staff Union. Escondida is the world's largest copper mine, and a prolonged walkout threatens to tighten global copper supply just as prices have been climbing. $BHP shares are exposed to any production hit from the standoff.