FCX (FCX, rated BUY)

October 4, 2008

Protests and strike hit mining sector in Peru

Workers at Freeport-McMoRan’s FCX.N: Cerro Verde copper mine, the third largest in Peru, went out on strike for higher wages.

The disputes, which come as Peru’s Congress is debating revisions to the county’s mining tax code, are the latest in a long series of protests.

Peru’s economy grew some 9 percent last year, helped by high prices for minerals exports. But workers say they are not benefiting from the country’s 7-year economic boom and are tired of waiting.

"We demand mining taxes are redistributed in a fair way. We cannot allow this aid to have the hint of politics," Luis Torres, the mayor of the city of Tacna, told Reuters by telephone.

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