By Devon Maylie
Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
LONDON (Dow Jones)--Brazilian mining company Vale SA (VALE) said it will meet with union representations from its Canada-based Voisey's Bay operation Monday for the first time since union members went on strike in July.
Vale told Dow Jones Newswires it was using a local mediator.
Workers at Vale Inco's Sudbury, Ontario, mine complex downed tools July 13 and those at its Voisey's Bay complex in Newfoundland-Labrador followed suit two weeks later.
Talks haven't been scheduled for the Sudbury operation, Vale said.
There are 3,100 on strike overall.
Primarily a nickel producer, Sudbury produced 85,300 metric tons of nickel and Voisey's Bay 77,500 tons in 2008.
The two sites had already been shut since May for care and maintenance and then again between June 1 and July 27 due to low nickel prices. They were scheduled to reopen at the end of July but the strike delayed that.
Vale held three months of talks with union representatives at the Sudbury operation before workers decided to strike in July. But it hadn't met with Voisey's Bay specifically before, the company said. Issues to discuss include contract language and the bonus system.
"Today we hope is the start of some constructive talks," Vale said.
Vale restarted some operations at the Canadian complex in October using non-unionized workers to produce copper concentrate. It hasn't restarted nickel operations yet.
It started operations at its Clarabelle mill, processing stockpiled ore and it restarted work on mining copper and platinum group metal ore bodies at its Coleman Mine and Garson Ramp using the roughly 1,200 employees that aren't unionized.
Nickel prices on the London Metal Exchange are currently trading around $16,850 a metric ton. The strike fueled a rise initially to $21,325/ton in August. Nickel is up about 50% from the end of 2008.
-By Devon Maylie, Dow Jones Newswires; +44 (0)20 7842 9483; devon.maylie@dowjones.com
