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Developing new mines will be an important cornerstone for growth in the 1990s, shareholders of Teck (TSE) were told at the company’s recent annual meeting.

President Norman Keevil provided details of three new “opportunities” which are expected to provide cash flow to the company in the coming decade. These include the Quintette coal mine 60 km from the company’s existing Bullmoose operation in northeastern British Columbia. Last summer, Teck took over management of the financially beleaguered operation and went on to make operational changes, complete coal price negotiations for the next three years and negotiate a restructuring which was recently approved by creditors and the courts.

During the past year, Teck also acquired a 32.5% interest in the Quebrada Blanca copper deposit in northern Chile, a joint venture involving Cominco (TSE), Cominco Resources International (TSE) and Chilean interests. “Quebrada Blanca should be one of the lowest-cost copper producers in the world and a significant source of income for Teck in 1994,” Keevil said, adding that the operation will bypass smelting and produce an estimated 75,000 tonnes of cathode copper annually onsite by using a solvent extraction-electrowinning (SX-EW) process.

The property has a high-grade zone containing 85 million tonnes averaging 1.3% copper which is amenable to open pit mining, heap leaching and SX-EW processing. Additional reserves beneath this enriched zone are estimated at 250 million tonnes averaging 0.5% copper, which may be treated by conventional milling to extend mine life.

Teck also expects the Louvicourt copper-gold-zinc project near Val d’Or, Que., to be in production by 1994. The major will acquire a 25% interest in this project by paying 55% owner Aur Resources (TSE) $15 million and putting up the first $30 million of Aur’s share of development costs. A 5,000-tonne-per-day mine and mill is being planned to exploit the deposit which has preliminary reserves of 28 million tonnes averaging 4.3% copper, 2.1% zinc and 0.033 oz. gold per tonne. Keevil described the Louvicourt deposit as “the most significant base metal discovery in Canada in many years.”

On the operations front, Teck reported that all its mines operated at a profit in 1991 and during the first quarter of 1992. The major posted net earnings of $8.8 million (or 11 cents per share) on revenues of $90 million in the first quarter of this year, compared with $10.9 million on revenues of $104 million during the comparable 1991 period. (Cominco contributed a loss of $3 million, compared with a loss of $4.2 million in the first quarter of 1991.)

Keevil said Teck stands out in the industry for its low-cost mines, strong balance sheet and financial performance during a period of low metal prices. The company produces both base and precious metals, with gold accounting for 60% of operating earnings in 1991. Teck’s total gold production last year was 441,060 oz., compared with 504,370 oz. in 1990.