The origins of Minas de Río Tinto Sociedad Anónima Laboral (1993-1995)

The Rio Tinto mines, a reference for metal mining in the Spanish state, under­went a process of gradual closure since the 1980s. In 1993, the U.S. multinational Freeport McMoran announced the definitive closure of the mines for 1996. The union response was to defend an alternative for maintaining employment and mining activity, which led to an agreement whereby the workers took charge of ownership of the facilities and constituted Minas de Río Tinto Sociedad Anónima Laboral, thus becoming the largest labor management company at the state level in its period of existence (1995-2001).