Canada's Taseko shares fall 8% after strike at Gibraltar mine

By Divya Rajagopal

TORONTO (Reuters) - Shares of Canadian copper miner Taseko Mines fell 8% on Monday on the Toronto Stock Exchange as the company suspended operations at its Gibraltar mine after workers called a strike over the weekend.

The Gibraltar mine is the second largest open pit mine in Canada. For the quarter ending May 2024, the mine produced 30 million pounds of copper and 247 thousand pounds of molybdenum according to company statement. It sold 31.7 million pounds of copper from this mine at an average cost of $3.89 per pound.

Unifor, the union representing 550 mine workers said on Saturday the disruption was the company's doing as they had been negotiating for a new contract since February.

"The situation that I've heard from our bargaining committee is that the workers are extremely determined, and they are prepared to last a long time in this dispute. There's a very high level of frustration," said Gavin McGarrigle, Western Regional Director, Unifor on Monday.

He added the corporate headquarters should take a fiscally responsible decision of getting a new contract with the workers while the commodity price is high. "Fiscally it is the right thing to do, versus a complete shutdown of the mine for an indefinite period," McGarrigle said.

Taseko declined to comment.

Company shares were down 8% at 1:28 p.m. EDT (1728 GMT).

Copper, the metal used in electrification, has had a resurgence in prices after a two-year slump as markets expect a shortage of supply of the key metal.

Last month's failed bid by Australian miner BHP Group to acquire Anglo American was primarily to access copper, which is seen central towards energy transition.

Benchmark copper CMCU3 on the London Metal Exchange (LME) was up 1.2% at $10,164 a ton at 1601 GMT after data from China showed stronger factory activity and hopes of rate cuts in the U.S.

However, the strike at Taseko will not significantly impact copper prices as a sufficient supply has entered the U.S. in the last three weeks due to arbitrage trade between Chicago Metals Exchange and LME, according to an industry representative who did not wish to be quoted as the person is not authorised to speak to the media.

(Reporting by Divya Rajagopal; Editing by Josie Kao)