Chile strikers resume talks with BHP Billiton

* Wage negotiations resume on tenth day of strike * No new company offer on table yet SANTIAGO, Oct 22 (Reuters) - Striking workers at Chile's Spence copper mine resumed wage talks with owner BHP Billiton (BHP.AX) (BLT.L) on Thursday in hopes of ending a 10-day strike that has reduced output and fanned supply concerns. Union leader Andres Ramirez said the workers had yet to see a new contract offer from the company in the negotiations being held under a government-appointed mediator. "The government is very interested in both sides reaching a good agreement," Ramirez said. "We continue in conversations with the company today but there is nothing concrete yet." BHP Billiton officials were not available to comment. The company previously said the strike was hurting output at the mine, but would not give details. Spence produced close to 165,000 tonnes of copper last year. The prolonged strike at Spence, the start of bargaining on Wednesday at state-owned Codelco's Andina division and a series of other wage contracts that expire in coming months have raised supply concerns in the global metals market. Those concerns were exacerbated by BHP declaring force majeure on Wednesday at the company's Olympic Dam mine in Australia. [ID:nSYD244674] Copper prices on Thursday retreated on a firmer dollar and a cautious market reaction to upbeat data from China. Copper for December delivery HGZ9 on the New York Mercantile Exchange's COMEX division shed 3.80 cents to close at $2.9980 a lb. [ID:nLM487502] An upswing in the price of metals such as copper has raised the specter of labor unrest in mining powerhouses Peru and Chile, as workers demand a bigger slice of industry profits. (Reporting by Rodrigo Martinez; Writing by Louise Egan; Editing by Christian Wiessner)