Tucson-based copper producer Asarco LLC wants permission to make a $2.4 million contribution due Oct. 15 on the pension plan covering salaried employees.
Authority to make pension contributions for union workers was part of the approval given in November 2005 to a new collective bargaining agreement.
Asarco is now asking the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Corpus Christi, Tex., to give retroactive approval to $2.8 million in payments already made for the salaried workers.
The company filed to reorganize under Chapter 11 in August 2005 to deal with asbestos claims.