Soaring demand for copper will help drive mergers, BHP CEO says
Demand for copper, a key element in the energy transition, is set to rise by 70% to 100% by 2050, Mike Henry said
Teck Resources announced today that it expects lowers coal output this year due to bad weather conditions along its rail lines and an ongoing labour dispute at its Elkview operations.
The company believes that coal sales in 2011 will be between 23.5 and 24.5 million tonnes. Previous guidance predicted coal sales of 24.5 to 25.5 million tonnes in 2011.
Teck also expects lower sales costs as well:
We now expect the unit mining cost of product sold to be in the range of $63 to $67 per tonne for the year and in the range of $77 to $80 per tonne for the first quarter, due primarily to lower coal volumes. This annual guidance does not reflect any provision for further losses in production due to the Elkview labour disruption continuing into the second quarter or other potential labour disruptions.
Teck also expects annual copper sales to be in the range of 330,000 to 340,000 tonnes as a result of adverse effects of unusual and heavy rainfall at our Quebrada Blanca operation and continued ore throughput issues at the new concentrator at our Carmen de Andacollo operation. Work continues to assess the extent of the ore hardness issue and to optimize the mill circuit of the new plant to increase throughput. This reduction will largely be reflected in the first quarter results for 2011, with total expected copper production of 75,000 tonnes.
As a result of the recent earthquake and tsunami in Japan, Teck has carried out an initial review with our customers and currently expects minimal impact to the shipment of our core commodities of copper, steelmaking coal and zinc to Japan.
