Canadian mining giant Teck Resources has successfully concluded its exit from coal with the conclusion on Thursday of the sale of its remaining 77% stake in its Elk Valley Resources (EVR) steelmaking coal business to commodities major Glencore.
Last week, the federal government announced it had approved the sale of EVR to the Swiss-headquartered group, but imposed "strict" conditions.
The transaction has bolstered Teck’s financial position by $7.3-bilion, funds that will be strategically invested to expand its position in metals that are essential to global development and the energy transition.
CEO Jonathan Price said last week that the funding would support Teck’s ambitions to increase copper production by 30% as early as 2028. The growth trajectory is underpinned by developments such as the ramp-up of the QB mine, in Chile, which is expected to double copper production to about 600 000 t/y.
In parallel, Teck is advancing several of its near-term copper projects, including extending the life of the Highland Valley copper mine in Canada, developing the Zafranal project, in Peru, advancing the San Nicolas project, in Mexico, and debottlenecking operations at QB. First sanction decisions are expected in 2025. The estimated capital cost outlay for these projects range between $3.3-billion and $3.6-billion.
Longer-term, Teck plans to pursue both brownfield and greenfield development opportunities, including the Galore Creek project in Canada, and the potential expansion of Trail Operations to include an electric vehicle battery recycling facility.
In addition to reinvestment, Teck intends to return $2.6-billion to shareholders from the EVR sale and reduce debt by up to $2-billion.