Codelco reached an agreement for a new collective labor contract with the professionals' union at its Ministro Hales copper mine in Chile, Reuters reported March 22.

The 36-month contract, which includes a signing bonus of 7.1 million Chilean pesos, followed early talks with the union and was approved by 75% of its members.

Codelco Chairman Oscar Landerretche Moreno recently indicated that the company made a profit of US$2.88 billion in 2017 due to higher copper prices.

As of March 22, US$1 was equivalent to 607.82 Chilean pesos.