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Teck Resources, Canada’s largest diversified miner, has cut its refined zinc production estimates for 2021 due to widespread wildfires in British Columbia over the summer.
Operations at the Vancouver, BC-based miner were temporarily shut down in August for about ten days due to poor ambient air quality from the fires.
The complex, located in the community of Trail, produces refined zinc and lead, a variety of precious and specialty metals, chemicals and fertilizers.
The company now expects annual production of refined zinc to be between 285,000 and 290,000 tonnes, down from a previous estimate of 290,000-300,000 tonnes.
On the coal side, Teck produced more than 21 million metric tonnes of coal for steelmaking last year from four sites in western Canada. The business accounted for 35% of the company’s gross profit.
The company has talked openly in the past about the possibility of spinning off or selling its coal operations to focus on increasing its exposure to copper, one of the key metals needed to spur the green energy transition.
Major miners around the world, including BHP, Rio Tinto and Anglo American, have shed their coal assets, particularly thermal coal.
Australian banks have recently made headlines: Macquarie Group, Australia and New Zealand Banking Group, Commonwealth Bank of Australia and Westpac recently signalled their intention to stop financing coal operations.
Last week, South Africa’s First Rand announced an end to lending for new coal-fired power stations and coal mines by 2026.
