Workers extend Southern Copper Cuajone mine strike

By Maria Luisa Palomino

LIMA, June 18 (Reuters) - Workers at Southern Copper's (PCU.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz)(SPC.LM: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) Cuajone mine will indefinitely extend a strike that started on Tuesday, a union official said on Wednesday as a week-long blockade over mining taxes dragged on in Peru's Moquegua province.

The strike had been slated to last for 48 hours but has now been extended, according to union leader Roman More. He said nearly all of the more than 500 workers in his union have downed tools at the Peru copper mine, the world's second-largest.

"It's indefinite and the stoppage continues today," he said.

Southern's other operation in Moquequa, the Ilo smelter, is running low on supplies.

Southern's Chief Executive, Oscar Gonzalez, told Reuters on Monday that Ilo could be paralyzed in the next week if road blocks across Moquegua continue. Residents demand their province receive a bigger share of taxes paid by the company.

The Cuajone mine of Southern Copper, Peru's biggest copper producer, churned out 148,936 tonnes of the red metal last year.

The strike comes as Peru's third-largest copper pit, Cerro Verde (CVE.LM: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), has been hit by labor trouble, including a nine-day-old strike. The union at the mine said on Wednesday that the strike continues, though workers would evaluate a request the government has made to suspend it.

The mine's owner, Freeport-McMoRan (FCX.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), has said production remains steady. Cerro Verde produced 273,960 tonnes of copper last year, according to Peru's mining ministry. (Writing by Terry Wade; editing by Matthew Lewis)