UPDATE 3-Barrick says union on strike at Veladero mine in Argentina

(Recasts; Adds union comment, stock price)

BUENOS AIRES, May 29 (Reuters) – Barrick Gold Corp said on Monday one of several labor unions at its Veladero mine in Argentina, the site of three cyanide solution spills in 18 months, went on strike on Sunday.

Leaching activities at Veladero have been restricted since March 29 when a pipe carrying cyanide solution used for processing gold from ore failed at the mine’s heap leach facility.

Construction in the heap leach valley that is needed for full operations to resume at the mine is not affected by the work stoppage, Barrick said. It said it still expects to resume normal leaching activities in the second half of June.

Barrick said it is meeting with union leaders to reach a timely resolution to the situation.

A source from the AOMA union, who asked not to be named, told Reuters that talks with Barrick were ongoing. The source declined to say what the complaint was that led to the “open-ended” work stoppage.

The government of Argentina’s San Juan province, where Veladero is located, said earlier this month that it had approved a plan for improving safety following the facility’s most recent cyanide solution spill.

Barrick’s stock was little changed, up 2 Canadian cents at C$22.05 on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

Veladero is one of Barrick’s five core mines. Barrick, the world’s biggest gold producer, agreed in April to sell 50 percent of Veladero to China’s Shandong Gold Mining Co Ltd for $960 million.

(Reporting by Nicolas Misculin in Buenos Aires and Parikshit Mishra in Bengaluru; Writing by Hugh Bronstein and Nicole Mordant; Editing by Paul Simao and Steve Orlofsky)

Article Courtesy of CNBC