VANCOUVER \u2014 Teck Resources Ltd. says its board has given the green light to extending the life of Canada\u2019s biggest copper mine by almost two decades with an investment of up to $2.4 billion.<\/p>\n
With the Highland Valley Copper Mine Life Extension project south of Kamloops, B.C., the Vancouver-based miner aims to produce 132,000 tonnes of copper per year on average and extend its life from 2028 to 2046. <\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a lower risk and lower complexity brownfield project,\u201d chief executive Jonathan Price told analysts on a conference call Thursday. <\/p>\n
The company bills the project as the largest critical minerals investment in B.C. history.<\/p>\n
The capital cost is expected to range from $2.1 billion to $2.4 billion, up from an earlier estimate of $1.8 billion to $2 billion.<\/p>\n
The cost increase was a result of additional engineering work meant to optimize the project. <\/p>\n
\u201cThis now includes project-level contingencies, accounts for inflation, input cost escalation, and the impact of potential tariffs on construction materials and reflects the accelerated procurement of mobile equipment originally planned for later project phases,\u201d Price said. <\/p>\n
Major permitting has wrapped up, engineering is 70 per cent complete and construction is set to begin in a few weeks, he added. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe have operated Highland Valley for decades and have successfully executed several mine-life extensions there.\u201d<\/p>\n
The project is \u201cfoundational\u201d to Teck\u2019s ambitions to double production of copper \u2014 \u201can energy transition metal\u201d \u2014 by the end of the decade, he said. <\/p>\n
Teck estimates 2,900 jobs and $435 million in additional gross domestic product will be generated during construction. <\/p>\n
In a Teck news release, B.C. Premier David Eby called the investment \u201cjust one example of how British Columbia can drive our country\u2019s economy forward even in challenging times.\u201d<\/p>\n
Federal Natural Resources Minister Tim Hodgson said projects like the Highland Valley extension put Canada on the map. <\/p>\n
\u201cBy extending the life of Canada\u2019s largest copper mine, we are strengthening our critical minerals sector here at home and becoming the international supplier of choice when it comes to critical metals and minerals,\u201d he said in the release. <\/p>\n
Chief Christine Walkem of Cook\u2019s Ferry Indian Band said in the release that the decision is a \u201cdefining moment\u201d for both industry and local communities participating in the Citxw Nlaka\u2019pamux Assembly. The CNA manages and administers agreements between Teck and eight bands. <\/p>\n
\u201cOur communities are not bystanders to development \u2014 we are decision-makers. We are forging a new path with Industry and the Crown for how major projects unfold in our territory: grounded in respect, guided by our values and focused on long-term benefit for our people,\u201d said Walkem, who chairs the CNA\u2019s board. <\/p>\n
\u201cAs the project enters construction, we remain firm in our expectations. Our voices must continue to be heard. Our laws must continue to guide the process. Our people must continue to share in the benefits \u2014 now, and for generations to come.\u201d<\/p>\n
Teck shares were trading almost six per cent lower on the TSX on Thursday afternoon at $49.42. <\/p>\n
Also Thursday, Teck said its profit from continuing operations attributable to shareholders amounted to $206 million or 41 cents per diluted share for the quarter ended June 30.<\/p>\n
The result compared with a profit of $21 million or four cents per diluted share in the same quarter last year.<\/p>\n
On an adjusted basis, Teck says its profit from continuing operations amounted to 38 cents per diluted share for its latest quarter, up from 12 cents per diluted share a year earlier.<\/p>\n
Revenue for the quarter totalled $2.02 billion, up from $1.80 billion.<\/p>\n
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 24, 2025.<\/p>\n
By Lauren Krugel<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"VANCOUVER \u2014 Teck Resources Ltd. says its board has given the green light to extending the life of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":21259,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[45,49,48,3540],"class_list":["post-21258","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-business","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-mining"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21258","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21258"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21258\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21259"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21258"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21258"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21258"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}