Teck Resources has emerged as a premier play on the global energy transition, with copper now driving most of its earnings following the transformative sale of its coal business. The company’s latest quarter saw revenue surge 41% and earnings more than double, underpinned by robust copper prices and a 7% increase in copper production.
Looking ahead, the Teck Resources is uniquely positioned to capitalize on tightening copper markets with a pipeline of projects that could double copper capacity by the end of the decade. The company’s exposure to zinc and specialty metals adds diversification, while its deep portfolio of undeveloped resources offers significant long-term potential.
Meanwhile, the stock trades at 21.9 times the company’s forward earnings forecast.
TECK RESOURCES LTD. (Toronto symbol TECK.B; www.teck.com) sold its remaining 77% stake in metallurgical coal business Elk Valley Resources (EVR) to Switzerland-based mining company Glencore plc (Over-the-counter Pink Sheets symbol GLCNF) for $7.3 billion U.S. That followed its earlier sale of 23% of EVR for $1.3 billion U.S.
The remaining company now operates copper and zinc mines. Those include the second phase of Teck’s Quebrada Blanca copper mine in northern Chile (called QB2). The company holds a 60% stake in QB2. This project should double the company’s copper production. As well, it has a
projected mine life of 27 years.
Recently, the B.C. government approved the company’s plan to expand its Highland Valley copper mine.
Teck expects to begin construction in the third quarter of 2025. The company has not yet said how much this project will cost. However, it will boost the mine’s annual output by roughly 34%, from 102,000 metric tonnes in 2024 to 137,000 tonnes. The plan will also extend the life of this mine from 2028 to 2043.
Mining Stocks: Copper output surging with the QB2 ramp up
Teck’s revenue in the three months ended March 31, 2025, rose 41.4%, to $2.29 billion from $1.62 billion a year earlier. Despite several problems at QB2—a maintenance shutdown, power outages and bad weather—Teck’s copper production still rose 7.2%. Higher prices for copper (up 10.7%) and zinc (up 16.2%), as well as the lower Canadian dollar, also contributed to the revenue gain. Earnings before unusual items totalled $0.60 a share (or a total of $303 million). That’s a big improvement over the year-earlier loss of $0.01 a share (or $6 million).
Teck ended the quarter with cash of $6.21 billion, while its long-term debt was $4.09 billion, or a low 18% of its market cap.
The company is using that cash to repurchase its shares—it spent $380 million on buybacks in the latest quarter. In all, it plans to repurchase up to 7.9% of its class B shares by November 2025.
Teck’s copper mines in B.C., Chile and Peru ship most of their output to customers in Europe and Asia, so it has little exposure to the U.S. government’s plan to impose a 50% tariff on copper imports.
Moreover, the ramp-up of QB2 to full capacity should lift Teck’s earnings by 82% in 2025 to $2.11 a share, and the stock trades at a reasonable 21.9 times that estimate. The $0.50 dividend yields 1.1%.
Recommendation in The Successful Investor: Teck Resources Ltd.is a buy.
