BHP Billiton resumes talks with union leaders at Chilean copper mine

BHP Billiton has resumed wage talks with union leaders at Chile's Escondida copper mine in a bid to end a strike that began on Tuesday, according to people familiar with the matter. The Escondida 1 union agreed to BHP Billiton's request to revisit key issues that led the two sides to fail to reach an agreement in talks that ended on Monday. The meeting is scheduled to end at 8pm Chilean time (8am Beijing time today). Escondida, which produces about 5 per cent of the world's copper, will resume normal operations if an agreement is reached and approved by workers.