Chilean copper mine Dona Ines de Collahuasi is looking for an alternative port from which to ship its copper concentrate, after declaring a force majeure suspension on its copper concentrate sales contracts, the company said Tuesday.

The force majeure follows a 33-day labor strike that ended earlier this month during which the company met all its sales contracts.

Collahuasi invoked the force majeure, a contract suspension that companies use in circumstances beyond their control, after an accident killed three workers at its Patache port.

"Mine production remains normal at this time and we're actively pursuing other ports to ship concentrate from... while we look, we're storing concentrate," said company spokeswoman Bernardita Fernandez.

On Dec. 18, its shiploader suffered a structural failure causing the death of the three maintenance workers and severe damage to parts of the loading facilities.

Collahuasi is evaluating the extent of the damage and how long it will take to repair the shiploader.

The mine is controlled by diversified mining companies Xstrata PLC (XTA.LN) and Anglo American PLC (AAUKY, AAL.LN), each holding a 44% stake in the mine. A consortium led by Mitsui & Co. (MITSY, 8031.TO) holds the remaining 12%.

With an annual output of around 550,000 metric tons of copper, the mine one of the world's largest copper mines. It is 185 kilometers southeast of the port of Iquique, high in the Andes Mountains at 4,400 meters above sea level.

Chile is the world's leading copper producer, accounting for nearly 35% of global supply.

-By Anthony Esposito, Dow Jones Newswires; 56-2-715-8929; anthony.esposito@dowjones.com
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