Teck Resources, a Canadian-headquartered mining company, announced that it will miss its previous copper production target due to delays in the construction and commissioning of its Quebrada Blanca Phase 2 (QB2) project in Chile. The company has lowered its guidance for QB2 to a range of 80,000 to 100,000 tonnes for the year, resulting in an overall guidance range of 330,000 to 375,000 tonnes. However, the guidance for the years 2024 to 2026, which is projected to be between 545,000 to 640,000 tonnes, remains unchanged.

Despite the setback, Teck achieved a significant milestone during the second quarter with the first shipment and sale of copper concentrate from the QB2 project. CEO Jonathan Price reassured that QB2 will ramp up to full production later this year. The company is actively exploring various options to realize the full potential of its base metals business and advance its copper growth pipeline. This includes seeking regulatory approval for its Zafranal project, which was granted in May.

Teck is also working on the mill expansion project at Quebrada, or QBME, to increase concentrator throughput by approximately 50%. The feasibility study for QBME is expected to be completed in the second half of 2023.

In terms of production, Teck produced 64,000 tonnes of copper in the second quarter and 121,000 tonnes in the first half of the year. This is slightly lower compared to the previous year's figures of 72,000 tonnes and 139,000 tonnes for the respective periods. Zinc-in-concentrate production decreased to 164,000 tonnes in the reviewed quarter, and refined zinc output declined to 68,000 tonnes.

At the Red Dog mine in Alaska, zinc production dropped to 133,700 tonnes in the second quarter, primarily due to lower zinc grade and an unplanned five-day shutdown caused by power system availability issues. Lead production, however, increased to 23,500 tonnes due to higher lead grade, as expected in the mine plan. However, recovery was lower than planned, leading to a reduction in Teck's 2023 production guidance for lead.

Refined zinc and lead production at the Trail Operations in Canada were lower, affected by planned maintenance and commissioning issues with new automated equipment to cast zinc, and unplanned maintenance due to boiler leaks for refined lead production.

On a positive note, steelmaking coal production increased to 5.8 million tonnes, and strong performance from the steelmaking coal unit contributed to solid financial results, reinforcing the value of the steelmaking coal business.

Overall, Teck posted an adjusted profit of C$643 million, or $1.24 a share, in the second quarter, with adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization of C$1.5 billion, driven by robust commodity prices and strong steelmaking coal sales.