UPDATE 1-Ok Tedi strike hits Inmet copper, gold production

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TORONTO, March 12 (Reuters) - Inmet Mining Corp (IMN.TO) said a strike over wages at its partly owned Ok Tedi mine in Papua New Guinea would reduce its copper production by 85 tonnes, and gold by 330 ounces, for each day the strike continues.

The Canadian company, which owns 18 percent of the mine, said on Wednesday the strike by members of the Ok Tedi Mining and Allied Workers Union was illegal.

Work there came to a halt on Tuesday when workers walked off the job. Ok Tedi Mining Ltd, the mine's operator, said on Wednesday it hoped the wildcat strike would end by Thursday.

Mine workers are striking after they were excluded from a 100-percent pay increase management awarded to the mine's engineers in a bid to retain them.

Government labor negotiators were on site meeting with the company and workers on Wednesday, Ok Tedi Mining told Reuters.

Inmet said in a statement the mine's management "is taking appropriate steps to address the strike action."

The company's stock fell C$1.75, or 2.1 percent, to C$81.50 amid a broader decline among miners on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

Last year, Ok Tedi produced 169,184 tonnes of copper in concentrate and 498,790 ounces of gold.

($1=$0.99 Canadian) (Reporting by Jonathan Spicer; additional reporting by James Regan in Sydney, editing by Mario Di Simine)