The landslide in Rio Tinto's mine is expected to reduce their copper production this year by 20%. The mine was to contribute 1.3% of total copper mined in the world this year.

This will chip away at that surplus. Depending on what happens in Chile, where a third of the world copper production happens, we might not end up with much of a surplus at all. The one-day Codelco strike was supposed to be the first of a campaign of disruption by the workers.

A good picture on this site that shows 150 Mt's that fell into the pit. This is less than the 171 Mt's of course that we have in our pit currently treated as waste.

--http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/dec41148-a669-11e2-bc0b-00144feabdc0.html#axzz2QeSPQKMP