Name of the Project
Quebrada Blanca Phase 2 (QB2) copper project.

Location
Tarapacá region, northern Chile.

Project Owner/s
Teck Resources holds an indirect 60% interest in the mine. Sumitomo Metal Mining and Sumitomo Corporation together have a collective 30% indirect interest in the mine. Chilean State agency ENAMI has a 10% nonfunding interest.

Project Description
QB2 is one of the world’s biggest undeveloped copper resources.

The supergene orebody, a near-surface deposit, was mined during the initial phase of Quebrada Blanca. QB2 will develop the deeper sulphide resource underlying the existing operation. 

QB2 is expected to produce 316 400 t/y of copper equivalent for the first five years of mine life. The project is expected to have an initial 28-year mine life.

The project is expected to include the construction of a 140 000 t/d concentrator, tailings storage facility, concentrate pipeline, water supply pipeline, desalination plant, concentrate filtration plant and port to produce copper and molybdenum concentrates.

The project will include the first large-scale use of desalinated seawater at a mining operation in the Tarapacá region of Chile, in place of freshwater use. In addition, port facilities for loading mineral concentrate onto ships for transport to markets will be built.

Potential Job Creation
About 15 000 people are working on the QB2 project, with 2 000 ongoing direct and indirect jobs during operation.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
Not stated.

Capital Expenditure
Teck Resources increased the capital cost guidance for the QB2 copper growth project in November 2022 by at least $500-million, citing current foreign exchange assumptions and cost pressures pertaining to weather and subsurface conditions.

The capital expenditure (capex) guidance is now between $7.4-billion and $7.75-billion, compared with the prior guidance of between $6.9-billion and $7-billion in July 2022, and an earlier guidance of $4.7-billion.

The new Teck construction cost guidance is in line with the $7.5-billion estimate that Japanese partner Sumitomo (33.33% owner) reported in August.

Planned Start/End Date
QB2 will start up in the second half of 2022, doubling Teck’s consolidated copper production by 2023.

Latest Developments
Teck CEO Jonathan Price has said the group continues to target first copper from line one late this year, but “if productivity impacts persist, this will be delayed into January 2023”.

The next phase of development of QB2 will be the Quebrada Blanca mill expansion (QBME). The QBME feasibility study, including all the environmental baseline activities, will be completed in 2022, Price has noted.

QBME, which will entail an increase in concentrator throughput of about 50% with the addition of one identical, semiautogenous grinding mill, will be a significant contributor to the company’s near-term copper growth portfolio, with first production targeted for 2026.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
None stated.

Contact Details for Project Information
Teck Resources senior communications specialist Chris Stannell, tel +1604699 4368 or email Chris.Stannell@teck.com.
Teck Resources investor relations, tel +1604699 4257 or email investors@teck.com.