Barrick faces Peruvian strike

Workers at a Barrick gold mine in Peru have voted to go on strike next week, sparking concerns of interruption to the gold supply.

Barrick's Pierina site is the stage for a dispute over pay, with the company fearing interruption of production at the Andean mine.

Carlos Zarate, the union's director, told Reuters, that the situation was still in the balance: "We are waiting for the second round of voting."

Peru has this year proven the site of militant worker resistance across the mining sector, with the National Federation of Mining, Metallurgy, and Steel Workers Union in ongoing disputes with Southern Copper.

With workers still awaiting a second vote and still to decide on a commencement date, Barrick may hope to prevent the conflict from escalating, but the Peruvian strikers have so far shown little will to back down.

It is not the first time that the Canadian gold giant faces trouble in South America, with the company recently battling to overturn a Chilean court ruling that had annulled a purchase agreement between Barrick and Villar.