Two dozen commitments agreed by the Swiss mining giant reassure community leaders
The mayors of two towns in British Columbia’s southeastern Kootenay region weren’t too happy when Glencore PLC first tried to buy Teck Resources Ltd. and its four steelmaking coal mines.
Six months on, however, both mayors seem to have changed their point of view now that Glencore is set to take over most of Teck’s coal mines for about US$7 billion. One of them even hopes the Swiss mining giant can help build more homes to address the region’s housing shortage.
The change in tone can be attributed to the two dozen commitments Glencore has agreed to make if the federal government approves the deal.
For example, if the deal goes through, Glencore will be legally bound to maintain “significant employment levels in Canada” and not have a net reduction in the number of employees, spend 50 per cent more than what Teck has currently allotted on water quality treatment technologies, implement a climate transition strategy and honour existing relationships with Indigenous communities.
For the rest of this article: https://financialpost.com/commodities/mining/bc-leaders-soften-stance-glencore-buys-teck-coal-mines