Teck Resources details copper growth strategy at investor day

Teck Resources (TECK) will present its strategy for generating value for shareholders and stakeholders and lay out the company’s disciplined investment pathway to grow copper production to 800,000 tons per year before the end of the decade, at Teck’s 2024 Strategy Day on November 5. The company said, “Price and members of the executive leadership team will provide details on the company’s performance and strategy for energy transition metals growth, including: Near-term growth supported by one of the strongest balance sheets in the sector, enabling the company to fund growth while continuing to return cash to shareholders: $2.3 billion of debt reduction year-to-date 2024, and current net cash position of $1.8 billion. $5.3 billion returned to shareholders since 2019, including more than $0.9 billion in share buybacks so far in 2024, with a further $2.3 billion of authorized buybacks ongoing. Planned investment in the range of US$3.2 to US$3.9 billion over 4 years to develop four key near-term copper projects is expected to increase copper production to about 800 kilotonnes per annum (ktpa): Quebrada Blanca (QB) optimization and debottlenecking (Teck 60% owner, Chile) – extremely low capital cost option to potentially increase QB production by a further 15-25% (US$100-200 million estimated attributable capital cost). Highland Valley Copper Mine Life Extension (Teck 100% owner, Canada) – low complexity brownfield project extending the life of Canada’s largest copper mine to mid-2040s. Estimated life-of-mine copper production of 137 ktpa post-2024 (US$1.3-1.4 billion estimated attributable capital). Zafranal Project (Teck 80% owner, Peru) – long life, competitive capital cost and low-complexity copper-gold project, SEIA approval received and positioned for sanction decision in H2 2025. Estimated copper production of 126 ktpa over the first five years with substantial additional gold value (US$1.5-1.8 billion estimated attributable capital). San Nicolas Project (Teck 50% owner, Mexico) – low capital cost, low-complexity copper-zinc project in well-established mining jurisdiction in partnership with a leading Canadian mining company. Estimated production of 63 ktpa copper and 147 ktpa zinc over the first five years. Feasibility study and execution strategy progressing with potential sanction decision in H2 2025 (Teck estimated funding requirement US$0.3-0.5 billion). This growth pathway builds on significant copper growth achieved to-date, with copper production increasing from 297 kilotonnes (kt) in 2023 to a potential 420-455 kt in 2024 and 510-590 kt in 2025.”