Teck Resources’ Canadian copper mine resumes operations

Canadian mining firm Teck Resources announced yesterday that it has resumed operations at the Highland Valley Copper (HVC) mine in south-central British Columbia following the lifting of a wildfire evacuation order.

The district of Logan Lake, where HVC is located, issued the order on 14 August in response to wildfire activity in the area.

HVC is now ramping back up to full production, Teck said. It will update its production target "as necessary after the risk of further effect on operations from wildfires subsides" and continue to closely monitor wildfire and regional air quality conditions.

The HVC copper-molybdenum project, with a mine life until 2027, is wholly owned by Teck. But mine production rates are expected to decline from 2022.

The company is advancing a plan, or the HVC 2040 project, to prolong the mine life of HVC to at least 2040 by extending existing site infrastructure.

Teck expects HVC's copper production to come in at 135,000-165,000 t/yr over 2022-24, higher than an initial target of 128,000-133,000t for 2021.