The Quebrada Blanca project is a key part of Teck's appeal to Glencore
Glencore sees $1-billion of value from adopting a joint approach to two giant copper mines in Chile as part of its proposed merger with Teck Resources.
Teck’s Quebrada Blanca, or QB, mine is a key part of the Canadian company’s appeal to Glencore. An expansion at QB is set to ramp up this year toward annual output of as much as 315 000 metric tons. In a March 26 letter posted on its website, Glencore said operating QB jointly with the nearby Collahuasi mine would add at least a $1-billion of value to the metals firm resulting from the merger.
To be sure, Glencore mentioned sharing infrastructure rather than creating a single operation. The latter would require approval from Anglo American, which has 44% of Collahuasi, and perhaps Sumitomo, which has a 30% indirect interest in QB. But if they were to combine, Collahuasi-QB would leapfrog Grasberg in Indonesia to become the world’s No. 2 copper mine — second only to BHP Group’s Escondida in Chile.
A Glencore-Teck tie-up would also have ramifications for BHP in Peru, where the three companies are shareholders in the Antamina copper-zinc mine.