Teck outlines pathway to sharply higher copper production
Teck Resources Ltd. (TECK.B-TSX, TECK.A-TSX, TECK-NYSE) said it can see a pathway to grow its copper production to approximately 800,000 tonnes per year by the end of the decade. The target is up from 446,000 tonnes in 2024.
The forecast is based on production from four key operations and is contained in the company’s production results for the fourth quarter and full year, 2024.
The Vancouver-base metals giant said it can achieve that goal with planned attributable post-sanction project capital expenditures of between US$3.2 billion to US$3.9 billion on development of four key near-term copper projects, including:
 Quebrada Blanca (QB) optimization and debottlenecking (Teck 60% owner, Chile), a low capital intensity option to potentially increase throughput at QB by a further 15% to 25% ($100 million to $200 million estimated attributable capital cost)
Highland Valley copper mine life extension (Teck 100% owner, British Columbia) A lower complexity brownfield project extending the life of Canada’s largest copper mine to the mid 2040s. Estimated life-of-mine copper production of 137,000 tonnes per annum post 2024 (US$1.3 billion to US$1.4 billion estimated attributable capital.
Zafranal project (Teck 80% owner, Peru). Long-life, competitive capital cost and lower complexity copper-gold project, SEIA approval received and positioned for a potential sanction decision in the second half of 2025. Estimated copper production 126,000 tonnes annually over the first five years with substantial gold by-product credits (US$1.5 billion to US$1.8 billion estimated attributable capital).
San Nicolas project (Teck 50% owner, Mexico). Low capital intensity, lower complexity copper-zinc project in well established mining jurisdiction in partnership with Agnico-Eagle Mines Ltd. (AEM-TSX, AEM-NYSE) . Estimated production on a 100% basis is 63,000 tonnes per annum of copper and 147,000 tonnes of zinc annually in the first five years. Feasibility study and execution strategy are progressing toward a potential sanction decision in the second half of 2025 (Teck estimated funding requirement US$300 to US$500 million.
In 2024, Teck reported copper production of 446,000 tonnes, an increase of 50% from 2023, primarily due to the ramp up of QB, which achieved design throughput rates by the end of the year. That included record fourth quarter copper production of 122,000 tonnes, an increase of 19% compared to the same period in 2023, with QB contributing 60,700 tonnes.
Teck produced 615,900 tonnes of zinc in concentrate in 2024, a decrease of 4.0% from the previous year. This was primarily due to a high proportion of copper-only ore relative to copper-zinc ore at the Antamina mine in Peru. This was largely offset by a 3.0% increase in annual production at the Red Dog mine in Alaska, which produced 555,600 tonnes. Refined zinc production in 2024 was 256,000 tonnes, a 4.0% decrease from the previous year due to a localized fire in the electrolytic zinc plant at Trail, B.C. in September, 2024, which impacted production in the fourth quarter.
On Wednesday, Teck shares eased 0.22% or 14 cents to $62.55. The shares trade in a 52-week range of $74.37 and $49.45.