Local Zinc Concentrate Supply for Teck Resources LTD. Trail Metallurgical Complex

The inland location of the Teck smelter in Trail results in high inbound logistics costs for raw materials relative to competitors. „Local‟ concentrate supplies (deliverable to Trail directly by rail or truck from the mine site) can mitigate this competitive disadvantage. Teck Resources Ltd. needs to support the development of local concentrate supply to improve Trail‟s profitability and resilience to supply change disruptions.This paper will make recommendations to change Teck Resources Ltd. strategy with respect to zinc to take advantage of favourable market conditions for zinc and realize more potential from the Trail Metallurgical Complex. The final section will justify options for re-opening of the Pend Oreille mine and present ideas that will make current properties more attractive for development.