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 SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) - The world's largest mining company has had a very good year, something not lost on its miners in Chile.
Some 2,000 miners at BHP Billiton's Escondida mine in Chile have been striking since early August, demanding a larger slice of what one worker called "the cake" being enjoyed by the Anglo-Australian company in the form of record profits from soaring world metal prices.
The strike has roiled world copper markets, often setting off buying and selling waves. Copper from Escondida represents about 8 percent of world production, and the strike has brought about half that production to a halt — stoking fears of a shortage in an already tight market.
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