The Escondida mine in northern Chile, the world's largest copper operation, produced 327,863 mt of copper in the first six months of the year, a fall of 39% on the year, the BHP-controlled company said in a statement Thursday.
The open pit mine produced 237,891 mt of copper in concentrates, down 35.7% from a year earlier, and 89,972 mt of copper cathode, down 47.1%.
The fall in production reflects the impact of a prolonged strike by unionized workers at the mine which halted all production during more than 40 days in the first quarter.
But the latest figures suggest a rapid recovery since the strike ended in late March with copper production jumping to 230,760 mt in Q2 from 97,103 mt in Q1.
The 2,500 strong union ended the strike without a deal on a collective wage agreement meaning the two sides are due to begin fresh contract talks in the coming months.
The drop in production resulting from the strike meant that the company's H1 profit fell 91% to $50 million, despite a 22% increase in the average copper price during the period to $2.61/lb.
Costs excluding net financial costs fell by 5% to $1.899 billion while sales income fell by 25% to $2.042 billion.
BHP operates and own 57.5% of the Escondida mine. Rio Tinto and two Japanese consortia own the balance of shares.
