Freeport Indonesia mine workers extend strike for fourth month

An estimated 5 000 workers at the giant Grasberg copper mine operated by Freeport-McMoRan's Indonesian unit will extend their strike for a fourth month, a union official said on Friday, in an ongoing dispute over layoffs and employment terms. The escalating labour issue comes as Freeport, the world's largest publicly traded copper miner, is snarled in a lengthy and costly dispute with Indonesia's government over rights to the Grasberg copper and gold mine.