Teck, tariffs, and the Red Dog zinc mine
Shane Lasley, North of 60 Mining News, May 1, 2025
Having zinc concentrates frozen in Northwest Alaska offers Teck time to see if trade relations thaw before the Arctic ice.
Teck Resources Ltd. CEO Johnathan Price says the diversified Canadian miner’s portfolio of American mining operations delivering metals critical to 21st-century energy and technologies are well-positioned to weather a geopolitical storm that threatens to hobble the global economy, fuel inflation, and disrupt supply chains.
“Despite these headwinds, we believe that the fundamentals for our key metals, copper and zinc, are robust over the medium and long term as several macro factors continue to drive demand,” he informed analysts and investors during an April 24 earnings call. “These metals are essential for global manufacturing and development, industrial policy and national security, electrification infrastructure, as well as the growth of the digital economy.”
While the market dynamics for copper and zinc help galvanize Teck as it navigates the uncharted waters of an escalating international trade war, the Canadian mining company must maintain a vigilant lookout for escalating tariffs, resource nationalism, and other trade hazards as it delivers copper, zinc, and other metals to safe ports of call.
“Although the situation is fluid and evolving rapidly, we do not expect announced tariffs to materially impact our business,” Price told shareholders and analysts. “That said, a global trade war could weigh on global economic growth with potential implications for metals demand.”
Even with the potential for cooling demand, Teck does not see any shortage of buyers for the germanium- and silver-enriched zinc and lead concentrates produced at Red Dog. However, tariffs and counter-tariffs may impact where the metals produced at the world’s largest zinc-producing mine are shipped.
With the port that delivers Red Dog concentrates to international markets locked in ice until June, Teck executives have time to finalize the destination of the metals produced at the Northwest Alaska mine as it waits for Arctic shipping lanes – and hopefully international trade relations – to thaw.
“Fortunately, at this time of the year, given the shipping seasons at Red Dog, we’re not moving material from the site,” the Teck CEO said. “So, we’re pretty well covered at present.”