Santiago, Chile — A protest by workers halted production for several hours Tuesday at the world's largest copper mine, Escondida in northern Chile, the No 1 Escondida Workers' Union said.

"Thanks to the union protest, the mine has been completely halted," the 2,500-member union said in a statement.

The BHP-controlled company would only say that operations had been slowed.

Hundreds of workers, members of the 2,500-strong No 1 Escondida Workers' Union, began the five-hour stoppage at 0800 local time, complaining about working conditions as well as a government clampdown on protests over living costs that have swept through Chile.

Escondida produced 1.243 million mt of copper last year, consisting of 975,893 mt of copper-in-concentrate and 266,794 mt of copper cathode.

"Our union will not accept abuse nor repression from business leaders nor the government, especially when the repression affects workers' children who are protesting against an unfair system which has been imposed by those who govern us," the union said.

The union has also complained that the company had not allowed workers to return home early to protect their homes and families during the unrest.

BHP owns 57.5% of Escondida, while Rio Tinto owns 30%. Japanese investors own the balance of shares.

About 1,500 people have been arrested across Santiago and other major cities during five days of looting and sometimes violent protests against rising living costs, low pensions, and the poor state of public schools and hospitals.

In response, President Sebastian Pinera has sent troops onto the streets for the first time in a generation and imposed curfews.

Escondida responded that it made special arrangements to facilitate workers arriving and leaving the open pit operation despite the special conditions.

"The company laments that No 1 Workers union's decision to call a stoppage, which as well as having no legal basis, does not contribute the atmosphere of dialogue that the country requires," the statement read.

The protest at Escondida appears to be an isolated event, with Mining Minister Baldo Prokurica saying Monday that the industry was operating normally.

But workers at state copper company Codelco have said that they will put down their tools if the government does not open a dialogue with opposition politicians to resolve the crisis.

Workers at Antofagasta's Antucoya mine and Teck's Carmen de Andacollo mine remain on strike since last week in ongoing pay disputes.

-- Tom Azzopardi, newsdesk@spglobal.com

-- Edited by Bill Montgomery, newsdesk@spglobal.com