WORLD'S TOP COPPER MINE AVERTS STRIKE THREAT

Workers at Escondida, the world's largest copper mine, voted 95% in favor of a strike on October 1. Thirteen days later, the same supervisors' union approved BHP's new contract offer with just 64% support, canceling the walkout before it started. The mine, which produces 1.26 million metric tons of copper a year, avoids a disruption that would have tightened global supply just as $FCX and other copper miners navigate a volatile metals market.