Vancouver-headquartered Canadian Goldcorp has announced that members of the Asociacion Obrera Minera Argentina (AOMA) have ‘illegally’ called strike action at its Cerro Negro mine in Argentina.
The strike began on 8 March, and has led to a suspension of production, as surface stockpiles have been depleted. Last year, the company ramped up the mine, which now has a capacity of 4,000t of ore per day.
Goldcorp did not provide a reason for the union strike, reported Reuters.
The company is holding deliberations with the union and government authorities to resolve the dispute and expects to commence operations soon.
In 2015, the AOMA went on strike at the Cerro Negro mine over working conditions.
This issue was resolved only when the provincial government ordered Goldcorp to comply with the workers’ demands.
The firm has been the target of a friendly $10bn acquisition bid by Newmont Mining. With Barrick Gold withdrawing from a hostile bid for Newmont this week, it has eliminated a potential obstacle for Newmont to acquire Goldcorp, reported the news agency.
In January 2019, Newmont Mining signed a definitive agreement to acquire all of the outstanding common shares of Goldcorp in a deal valued at $10bn.
The agreement would see the merger of two gold mining companies to form a new entity, called Newmont Goldcorp.
Once formed, this new company is expected to create a significant portfolio of operations, projects, exploration opportunities, reserves and people in the gold mining sector.
In 2016, Goldcorp completed the acquisition of Canada-based Kaminak Gold for C$520m ($404m).
