Strikers at Namibia’s largest zinc mine are accusing the owners of trying to intimidate them by bringing in police.

Michaeleno Kadhikwa, a local Mineworkers Union of Namibia leader, told The Associated Press Wednesday it was unnecessary to bring in police, who have been at the Skorpion Zinc mine since Tuesday.

Kadhikwa says strikers have tried to keep temporary workers from taking their jobs, but the strike has been peaceful.
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Rio Tinto Group, the world’s third- largest mining company, reported a drop in production of steelmaking coal, copper, diamonds, zinc and lead as the industry struggles to grow at a time of record-high prices.

First-quarter coking coal output fell 27 percent after weather disrupted supplies from Australian and mined copper dropped 6 percent, the London-based company said today in a statement. Chief Executive Officer Tom Albanese is fighting off a hostile $158 billion bid from BHP Billiton Ltd.
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HudBay Minerals Inc. says it’s fast tracking its diamond drill program at its Lalor Lake mineral project in Manitoba after finding what it calls a “significant new zinc discovery.”

The Winnipeg based mining firm said in August that the first 10 holes drilled showed potential for a high-grade zinc deposit.

“Results from the next set of holes have substantially increased the potential deposit size,” the company said in a release late Tuesday.
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Copper dropped for a third consecutive session in London after stockpiles rose and Japanese shipments of cable and wire fell, renewing concern that Asian demand may be slowing. Nickel and zinc declined.

Inventories of copper monitored by the London Metal Exchange rose 1,200 metric ton to 119,025 tons, the bourse said today in a daily report, bringing this month’s gain to 7.1 percent. Metal-wire and cable shipments in Japan, the world’s second-largest economy, fell 2.5 percent on year in May, according to preliminary data from the Japanese Electric Wire and Cable Makers’ Association.
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