Teck Cominco Investing $300 Million to Extend Highland Valley Mine Life

- On Feb. 12, 2007, Teck Cominco announced plans for a further six-year mine life extension from 2013 to 2019 at the Highland Valley copper mine near Kamloops, British Columbia. The Highland Valley mine plan now contemplates mining an additional 247 million mt of ore from an expanded Valley pit as well as continued mining of the Highmont pit. A push-back of the west wall of the Valley pit will provide access to the additional ore and will allow Highland Valley to produce an average of 125,000 mt/y of copper in concentrates after 2013. Life-of-mine copper and molybdenum grades are expected to decline by about 10% as a result of the inclusion of lower grade ore in the mine plan.

The Highland Valley extension will require an investment of about $300 million, consisting of $167 million in incremental waste stripping and the balance for mobile equipment. The company will order roughly $50 million in mobile mining equipment in 2007 to allow waste stripping to begin in 2009.

The newly announced extension at Highland Valley adds to a five-year extension from 2008 to 2013 announced by Teck Cominco in September 2005 (E&MJ, Nov. 2005, p. 6). The planned push-back of the Valley pit east wall for this extension is progressing on schedule, and the relocation of the crusher and conveyor system is expected to take place in the summer of 2007.

Highland Valley copper production is expected to decrease from 2007 to 2009 while the east Valley pit is being developed, with production of copper in concentrates in these years averaging 140,000 mt/y. Copper production from 2010 to 2013 will rise to about 165,000 mt/y.

During 2006, Highland Valley Copper produced 167,000 mt of copper and 4 million lb of molybdenum in concentrates and achieved a record operating profit of $1 billion, up from $613 million in 2005.