The labor strike at Chilean copper mine Spence, owned by diversified miner BHP Billiton Ltd. (BHP), continued into its 16th day Wednesday with no new talks scheduled, a union leader said.

The 560 unionized workers at the mine went on strike on Oct. 13 after voting against the company's wage and benefits renewal offer. Contracts expired on Sept. 30.

According to local labor laws, striking workers can break away from the walkout on the 15th strike day, but union leader Daniel Ibacache said no union members had returned to their posts.

"We're standing strong and not going back to work," he said.

The Spence mine, located near Calama, produced 165,000 tons of copper last year, or about 3% of the country's total output. Chile itself produces about 35% of the world's copper.

At the start of the strike, the mine halted ore extraction operations to safeguard its non-striking workers and its equipment but has continued to operate certain industrial processes at a minimal pace.

In Chile, BHP also owns and operates the Cerro Colorado and Escondida copper mines. BHP officials weren't immediately available to comment.

- By Carolina Pica, Dow Jones Newswires; 56-2-820-4244; carolina.pica@dowjones.com