NEW YORK — Taseko Mines Ltd. has received a 72-hour strike notice from the Canadian Auto Workers (CAW) union, which represents employees at the company’s majority-owned Gibraltar copper and molybdenum mine in British Columbia.

The labor contract has expired and "there are some outstanding issues that have to be dealt with," CAW lead negotiator Peter Smith told AMM Wednesday. The union and Taseko are working to agree on dates for further negotiation, he added.

"Taseko remains firmly committed to negotiating a new contract with the CAW and avoiding strike action," the Vancouver-based company said.

The Gibraltar Mine, which produced 23.7 million pounds of copper and 276,000 pounds of molybdenum in the quarter ended Sept. 30, is owned 75 percent by Taseko and 25 percent by Cariboo Copper Corp., a subsidiary of Tokyo-based Sojitz Corp.