LONDON, Mar. 1 -- Mining group Xstrata reached a labour agreement with office, technical, and clerical workers at its Sudbury nickel operations in Canada, heading off a potential strike, the firm said on Monday.

The workers had given their trade union a strike mandate and could have walked off the job if a deal had not been reached before a three-year contract expired at midnight on Sunday.

The United Steelworkers Union's bargaining team recommended acceptance of the new agreement and workers will vote this week on the deal, Xstrata said in a statement.

Anglo-Swiss miner Xstrata acquired the assets when it acquired Sudbury nickel miner Falconbridge in 2006.

Brazil's Vale also mines in Sudbury following its 2006 acquisition of Inco. More than 3,000 Inco mine workers have been on strike since last July, but the company has partially restarted its operations using contract workers and employees from outside the bargaining unit.