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Mexican Police and Miners Clash at Cananea Mine
 Mica Rosenberg & Sean Mattson - Reuters
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June 11, 2010
Mexico City - Mexican miners clashed briefly with federal police on Thursday at the Cananea copper mine, raising tensions which could complicate owner Grupo Mexico's efforts to reopen the pit after a nearly 3-year-long strike was broken.
Two people were injured during the scuffle, which began when unionized miners tried to block contract workers from entering the mine to start repairs, the union said in a statement. A spokeswoman for the Federal Police said one policeman had teeth knocked out in the clash but denied any miners were hurt.
"There were three large buses of scabs (the company) was bringing into the property and there was a confrontation between the miners and the federal police," Manny Armenta, a visiting representative of the United Steelworkers union, said. The U.S. union has backed the miners.
Television images of the clash showed miners throwing rocks at police in riot gear and security forces responding by shooting tear gas guns at the workers on a road near the mine.
Federal Police took control of the mine in a late Sunday night raid after the union lost a long series of legal battles and a court ruled Grupo Mexico (GMEXICOB.MX) could fire the workers and reopen the copper mine, Mexico's largest.
The company has said the mine in northern Mexico near the U.S.-Mexico border could be running again as soon as the end of this year. [ID:nN09174805]
Cananea once produced 40 percent of Mexico's copper but has been closed since July 2007 when the strike began over health and safety concerns.
Grupo Mexico is planning to invest $3.8 billion in expanding Cananea to increase production there from 190,000 tonnes to 460,000 tonnes a year.
(Editing by Marguerita Choy and Richard Chang)
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