Teck Keeps Highland Valley Copper Running at Reduced Capacity Through a Strike

Strike action began on Saturday at Highland Valley Copper, the open-pit mine in the hills above Logan Lake, B.C. The mine did not stop. Teck Resources said in a release that day that operations "are currently continuing at a reduced capacity", and that "the impact on overall production will depend on the duration of the labour action."

The union is United Steelworkers Local 7619, and its contract with Teck ended on September 30, 2026. Teck said on October 21 that it had received strike notice.

The union says it represents more than 1,200 employees at the mine, a figure The Canadian Press also reported. Teck's own releases give no headcount.

A mine that carried almost a third of Teck's copper

Highland Valley is Teck's only Canadian copper operation, and Teck calls it Canada's largest copper mine. It had a strong spring. Second-quarter output rose by about a third from a year earlier, according to Teck's second-quarter report of July 22, 2026, which credited higher mill throughput, better grades and better recoveries as the plant fed on softer ore from the Lornex pit.

Over the first six months the mine made 83,000 tonnes of copper, while Teck as a whole made 276,000 tonnes. Divide one by the other and Highland Valley supplied about 30 per cent of the company's copper in the half.

Source: Teck second-quarter 2026 report, July 22, 2026.

The mine also produces molybdenum, a metal used to harden steel, on a much smaller scale. In money terms, Highland Valley earned revenue of C$860 million in the three months to June 30, 2026, and gross profit before depreciation and amortization of C$589 million, the company's measure of what an operation earns before the cost of its equipment is spread over time.

The guidance was set in July, before the strike

Teck's 2026 copper range covers four operations: Quebrada Blanca and Carmen de Andacollo in Chile, its share of Antamina in Peru, and Highland Valley. The ranges for the company and for the mine were stated in the July 22 report, and neither has been changed since.

The first half took the mine to about 72 per cent of the low end of its own range, which is 83,000 divided by 115,000. A plain division cannot tell how the rest of the year will go, and Teck had already said the second half would be different for its own reasons. In the July report it wrote that it expected "lower mill throughput and recoveries at HVC late in the third quarter and through the fourth quarter of 2026", as the mill processes less Lornex ore and more from the Bethlehem and Highmont pits, and as upgrade work for the mine's life extension is completed.

So the strike lands on a quarter the company had already flagged as lighter. Teck has not said what reduced capacity means in tonnes per day, and it has not changed its guidance. Its October 24 release lists "the potential impact of the strike on production and previously issued guidance" among its forward-looking statements and gives no figure.

Each side has said what it wants

Teck's two October releases are short and say much the same thing. Operations continue. Contingency plans are in place "to maintain safety and environmental management during labour action". The company is "committed to reaching a collective agreement that is fair and reasonable for employees" and that supports the long-term viability of the operation.

The union has said more, through the local press. CFJC Today in Kamloops reported on October 21 that 944 members voted over two days and that the union says all of them voted to strike. Kyle Wolff, president of Local 7619, said in the union's statement that the members proposed better wages and stronger pensions, and raised the mine's difficulty in keeping skilled tradespeople. "Competitive wages attract skilled workers and strong pensions help keep them," he said. The union also said Teck's revised offer of October 20 "fell short of members' expectations." No date for further talks has been published by either side.

Neither side has released its offer. The issues are known only as each side has described them.

The last round ended at the vote

These two parties have been here before. In January 2022 the same local, then 1,048 workers by Teck's count, was bargaining for the agreement that has just expired. On January 17 that year, Teck said the union had agreed to put a mediators' recommendation to a members' vote. A mediator is a neutral third party who helps the two sides reach terms. Neither side can be made to accept them. The contract that came out of that round ran until September 30 of this year.

The comparison has limits. It shows that this union and this company have settled with outside help in the recent past. It says nothing about how long this stoppage runs.

The mine Teck is rebuilding while it bargains

The strike also falls in the middle of the largest project at the site. Teck approved the Highland Valley Copper mine life extension in July 2025, and its July 2026 report put the cost at C$2.1 billion to C$2.4 billion, unchanged, with spending from 2025 through 2028. Detailed engineering was about 95 per cent complete at June 30, 2026, and procurement was nearly done.

Teck spent C$254 million on the project in the three months to June 30, 2026, and expects to spend C$900 million to C$1.2 billion on it this year.

A labour dispute does not change the ore body or the approved plan. It can change the pace of work on site, and Teck has not said whether the extension's schedule is affected. Its next chance to say so is the third-quarter report.

The company has room to absorb a disruption. At June 30, 2026, Teck held C$6,052 million in cash and reported liquidity of C$10.3 billion, which adds undrawn credit lines to cash. Those figures come from the July report and predate the strike.

A calm session for a C$41 billion company

Teck's Class B shares closed at C$84.45 on October 26, 2026, the first session after the walkout, up C$1.77 or 2.14 per cent, per end-of-day data read at 13:20 Pacific on TMX Money. The shares traded between C$82.84 and C$84.94 during the day.

Turnover was ordinary. The day's volume on the Toronto exchange was 1,135,629 shares, close to the 1,094,998 traded on Friday, October 23, when the shares closed at C$82.68 before the strike began. At the close, TMX Money put the market value of all of Teck's share classes at about C$41.3 billion.

Copper context helps explain why a single Canadian mine draws attention outside Kamloops. Teck reported a realised copper price of US$6.09 a pound in the second quarter, against US$4.36 a year earlier, and said smelter processing charges across its operations had turned negative because concentrate supply is tight. At those prices any lost tonne costs more in revenue than it would have a year ago. The market has not been told how many tonnes, if any, the strike is costing.

October 29 is the next dated step

Teck reports third-quarter results before the Toronto open on Thursday, October 29, 2026, with a webcast at 8:00 a.m. Pacific, according to its October 6 release. The quarter ended on September 30, the same day the contract expired, so the numbers themselves predate the strike. The commentary is the part that can carry new information: whether management puts a figure on reduced capacity, whether the Highland Valley range set in July stands, and whether talks have resumed.

Until then, the facts are the ones both sides have published. A mine that supplied almost a third of Teck's copper in the first half is running below normal, and the company says the cost depends on time.