Vale strikes continue to drive LME nickel prices

Nickel Investing News reports nickel prices soared on the London Metal Exchange due to Vale Inco’s strikes.

Vale Inco declared force majeure Friday because of ongoing strikes at its nickel operations in Sudbury, its nickel refinery in Port Colborne, and its nickel, copper and cobalt operations in Voisey’s Bay, Newfoundland and Labrador. In Greater Sudbury, more than 3,000 members of Local 6500 of the United Steelworkers have been on strike since July 13 in a dispute over pensions, bonuses and job security. Wayne Fraser, the United Steelworkers union’s Ontario and Atlantic Canada director, said that negotiations with Vale Inco are at a standstill. “This could be a long strike,” he said. “It could be four or five months before we even return to the (negotiating) table.” Vale, who is coping with the huge drop in nickel values has claimed that operations at the mines at the current price of nickel are not “sustainable.”

For complete story, click this link.

Follow developments in resource mining and exploration for free.

Sign on to The Resource Stock Watch.