CALGARY – The hostile takeover of Canada’s largest diversified mining company by a foreign entity would weaken this country’s chances of becoming a leader in critical minerals, according to industry watchers.
Critics of the recent unsolicited proposal by Swiss commodities giant Glencore to buy Vancouver-based mining company Teck Resources Ltd. say such a transaction would mean a “hollowing out” of Canada’s mining industry at a time when the sector could be poised for a boom.
W. Scott Dunbar, head of the mining engineering department at the University of British Columbia, said he believes federal politicians should be concerned at the prospect of Teck — which has its roots in the 19th century and was known as Teck Cominco until 2008 — being sold to a foreign entity. “There should be concern, if the government recognizes the loss. I’m not sure they do,“ said Dunbar in an interview. ”I don’t know if they’ve connected the dots there.“
As part of its overall climate plan, the federal government has committed to a national critical minerals strategy — calling the exploration, production and processing of minerals including lithium, nickel, cobalt and zinc a “generational opportunity” for Canada.
For the rest of this article: https://www.thestar.com/business/2023/04/17/the-sale-of-teck-to-a-foreign-buyer-would-be-a-loss-for-canada-critics-say.html