Unionized workers at precious metals miner Minera Yanacocha SRL say talks have broken off with the company for a new collective agreement and they plan to go on strike, a union official said Friday.

The company and workers held last-minute meetings on Thursday, aiming to head off any work stoppages.

"We haven't reached any agreement with Yanacocha despite mediation by the ministry (of Labor), and the company has tried to slow the negotiations by another week, but we haven't accepted this," said Guillermo Nina, secretary general of the union at Yanacocha.

"(Friday) morning we are going to present our strike notice in the regional office of the Labor Ministry, and five days later we can go on strike," he said. "This is definitive. We are going on strike because there isn't any willingness to talk."

Unionized workers at Yanacocha, one of the world's largest gold mines, decided to stay on the job during the national mining sector strike that started Monday.

A national strike to back a series of labor-related demands started Monday, led by Peru's National Federation of Mining, Metallurgy and Steel Workers federation, which represents 74 unions and 22,000 workers nationwide.

Yanacocha is operated by Newmont Mining Corp. (NEM), which holds a 51.35% stake, and Compania de Minas Buenaventura SAA (BVN), which holds a 43.65% share. The International Finance Corporation holds a 5.0% stake.

Production at the mine is forecast to decline to around 1.6 million ounces of gold this year, from 2.6 million ounces last year and 3.33 million in 2005.