OPINION: Teck Resources is amassing the cash to slowly triple its copper production – by Andrew Willis (Globe and Mail – December 19, 2023)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

By next fall, Teck Resources Ltd. chief executive officer Jonathan Price will likely be sitting on US$9-billion in cash, the payout for selling its coal mines in British Columbia.

The CEO of the country’s largest mining company will also have a long list of projects to spend that money on, including planned new mines in Mexico, Peru, Chile, the United States and Canada that will triple Teck’s copper production and make it one of the world’s largest metal producers.

In recent weeks, Mr. Price has been doing the rounds on Bay Street, telling investors that despite an almost unimaginable amount of cash on hand and soaring demand for the critical minerals Teck produces, the company will take a slow and steady approach to building new mines. The message was well-received.

Mr. Price is trying to walk the tightrope that comes with running a global mining business. Investors award premium valuations to miners that are ramping up production of metals essential to the energy transition. The same crowd punishes companies that fail to deliver projects on time and on budget, or blow their balance sheets on acquisitions.

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