Copper clashes at world's largest pit signal trouble ahead

The world’s biggest copper maker is pushing to modernise one of its oldest mines. With the plans spurring a quickening series of worker protests and disruptions, it’s becoming clear that technical challenges won’t be the only hurdle.

Codelco is in the last stages of a $5.5-billion project to breathe new life into its Chuquicamata operation in northern Chile, which will transform the largest openpit mine by size into an underground operation. The state-owned miner needs to spend $22-billion through 2022 upgrading its aging mines to maintain output at a time when stockpiles in the world’s warehouses are ebbing.