Break taken in Voisey's Bay strike talks

Both sides in a long-running strike at Voisey's Bay Nickel's mine in northern Labrador have adjourned talks for a week.

Independent mediator Bill Wells has been working with mining giant Vale and the United Steelworkers union to resolve a strike that started in August 2009.

Neither side is commenting on whether anything has been accomplished since Wells entered the talks earlier this month.

The Newfoundland and Labrador government hired Wells to help break an impasse that has kept the two sides apart, even after a similar Vale strike in Ontario ended after one year on the picket lines.

The two sides are scheduled to return to the table on Oct. 2.

Voisey's Bay Nickel, a subsidiary of Vale, has been able to maintain production at its mine, although with significantly reduced productivity.