BHP says Escondida is producing, but not at full capacity

SANTIAGO: Escondida, the world's biggest copper mine, has restarted production but is still some way from a return to full capacity after a strike that ended in late March, a senior executive from mine owner BHP Billiton said on Tuesday.

Relations with the union were being rebuilt, but it was too soon to give an estimate as to the cost of the six-week long stoppage, Danny Malchuk, president of operations at BHP Minerals Americas, told reporters on the sidelines of the CRU World Copper Conference.