In This Article:
Teck Resources Limited TECK announced fourth-quarter and 2024 production and sales volumes.
TECK’s Production & Sales Update
In the fourth quarter of 2024, Teck Resources sold 124,900 tons and produced a record 122,100 tons of copper. The company’s annual copper production came in at 446,000 tons, within its guidance of 420,000-455,000 tons.
The upside in production was driven by the ramp-up of Quebrada Blanca, which achieved design throughput rates by the end of 2024.
Fourth-quarter 2024 sales and production of zinc came in at 204,000 tons and 146,400 tons, respectively. The annual production of 615,900 tons of zinc came within the company's expectations, driven by the higher year-over-year annual production at Red Dog.
The refined zinc production for the fourth quarter of 2024 was 62,100 tons, whereas sales were 61,100 tons. The annual refined zinc production was slightly higher than the guidance at 256,600 tons.
Teck Resources’ Other Updates
TECK sold its steelmaking coal business (“EVR”) in 2024 to position itself as a pure-play energy transition metals business focused on copper and zinc.
Teck Resources intends to allocate proceeds from the transactions in accordance with its Capital Allocation Framework. The allocation strategy includes cash returns to shareholders, reducing debt, setting aside cash for taxes and transaction costs, and retaining funds for strategic copper projects that drive long-term value growth.
In 2024, Teck Resources executed $1.25-billion from its authorized share buyback program of $3.25 billion. The company lowered its debt by $1.6 billion through a bond tender offer for public notes in July 2024 and additional debt repayments in the second half of the year.
TECK’s 2025 Guidance
The company predicts total copper production at 490,000-565,000 tons in 2025.
The total zinc concentrate production in 2025 is estimated between 525,000 and 570,000 tons. The refined zinc production is estimated at 190,000-300,000 tons for 2025.
The zinc production over the next three years is likely to fall because of deteriorating grades at Red Dog.
Capital expenditure in 2025 is estimated to be lower than that recorded in 2024, owing to decreased spending.
Teck Resources’ Stock Price Performance
The company’s shares have gained 16.3% in the past year against the industry’s 7.8% fall.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Performance of Another Mining Stock
Fortuna Mining Corp. FSM produced 116,358 gold equivalent ounces in the fourth quarter of 2024, a 14.5% decrease from the year-ago quarter. This includes a gold production of 95,993 ounces and a silver production of 843,611 ounces. However, Fortuna Mining’s 2024 gold equivalent ounces production increased 0.8% year over year to record 455,958 ounces.
The gold output in the fourth quarter of 2024 marked a 10.6% year-over-year fall, whereas the silver production was down 38%.
The company produced a record gold of 369,637 ounces in 2024, up 13.2% year over year. Silver production came in at 3.7 million ounces compared with 5.9 million ounces in 2023. The gold equivalent ounces and the gold ounces produced came in line with FSM’s annual guidance for 2024, while the silver production fell below the guidance.