Southern Copper: Buying and Holding is Boring, But it Works

On Friday, Southern Copper Corporation (PCU) released its
1Q08 results, and they came in very much in line.<!--more--> Production was lower
due to the Cananea strike in Mexico (still rumbling on) but price rises
in copper pushed up profits. Rather than repeat the numerical bones, here's the Reuters report that has all of the necessary figures.

The Cananea situation is a good example of the difference in management
quality in Mexico and Peru. In Peru, the management/worker relationship isn't
amazingly warm and cuddly, but at least one side listens to the other.
But Mexican management is stuck in the 1970s, when techniques to improve
productivity were zero carrots and hundreds of sticks. The latest move
is to threaten to close the mine completely if the workers don't go
back, one of the better examples of cutting your nose to spite your
face so far this year.