Xstrata Sudbury labour talks extend past deadline

LONDON, Feb 1 (Reuters) - Labour talks between Xstrata and workers at its main Canadian nickel operation continued past a Sunday strike deadline, the firm said on Monday.

A spokeswoman in London gave no details about the talks on the main contract at the Sudbury, Ontario, operation which Xstrata acquired when it bought Canada's Falconbridge in 2006.

On Friday, an official in Canada said the firm was hopeful of a renewed agreement before the deadline.

Unionized workers -- represented by the Canadian Auto Workers -- voted two weeks ago to give the union a strike mandate if a deal was not reached.

The Sudbury operations consist of its Nickel Rim South project, a mill and a smelter. The smelter processes nickel and copper concentrate from Xstrata operations in Canada and Australia.

Xstrata released 2009 production data on Monday showing the firm's total mined nickel output rose 4.6 percent to 57,052 tonnes.

(Reporting by Eric Onstad; Editing by Hans Peters) Keywords: XSTRATA NICKEL/TALKS ([e-mail]; [phone]; Reuters Messaging: [e-mail]; ) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.