Teck Highland Valley Copper: Strike Hits B.C. Mine, but 2026 Guidance Holds

About 1,200 unionized workers at Teck Highland Valley Copper near Logan Lake, B.C., have been on strike since October 24, 2026, and the mine is running at reduced capacity. Even so, Teck Resources said in its third-quarter results on October 28 that it still expects the mine's 2026 copper production to land towards the high end of its 115,000 to 135,000 tonne guidance (Teck, Oct. 28, 2026). The numbers explain why, and also show where the real exposure lies.

What happened

United Steelworkers Local 7619 served 72-hour strike notice on October 20 after talks failed. All 944 members who voted in the strike mandate vote backed strike action. The union says its main issues are wages, pensions and the mine's ability to keep skilled trades workers (USW, Oct. 21, 2026). The previous collective agreement expired on September 30. The strike began at 8 a.m. on October 24. In a bulletin to members that day, the local said it expected all 1,277 of its members to join the picket line (USW Local 7619, Oct. 24, 2026).

Teck says contingency plans are in place, its priority is safety and environmental management, and the impact on production "will depend on the duration of the labour action" (Teck, Oct. 24, 2026). Neither side had announced a return to bargaining in any source we checked as of November 1.

Why 2026 guidance survives

Highland Valley produced 35,200 tonnes of copper in the third quarter, up from 28,100 tonnes a year earlier. Teck credits higher grades and softer ore from the Lornex pit, partly offset by wildfire-related power interruptions and a seven-day mill shutdown in August when drought left too little water on site. Over the first nine months, the mine produced 118,200 tonnes (Teck Q3 2026 report, PDF).

By our calculation, that is already above the 115,000-tonne low end of the annual range. To reach 135,000 tonnes, Highland Valley needs about 16,800 tonnes in the fourth quarter, less than half of what it produced in the third. Teck had already planned a softer fourth quarter. It expects lower grades, throughput and recoveries as the mine processes less Lornex ore and more from the Bethlehem and Highmont pits, while one grinding line is down for upgrades until January 2027 (Teck Q3 2026 report; Q3 call transcript).

The larger exposure is 2027, when Teck guides Highland Valley to 135,000 to 155,000 tonnes, its highest range in the 2026 to 2028 outlook. Guidance falls to 100,000 to 120,000 tonnes in 2028 (Teck Q3 2026 report). A strike that runs well into the new year would weigh on that 2027 figure, not this year's.

How much the mine matters

At record copper prices (LME cash averaged US$6.40 a pound in the quarter), Highland Valley generated C$793 million in revenue and C$496 million in gross profit in the third quarter, up from C$459 million and C$78 million a year earlier (Teck Q3 2026 report).

The mine also carries weight for Canada. Natural Resources Canada's preliminary estimate puts 2025 copper output at 347,075 tonnes in British Columbia and 499,896 tonnes nationally (NRCan, preliminary 2025 estimate, PDF). Highland Valley's 127,100 tonnes in 2025 is about 37% of the B.C. figure and about a quarter of the national one. These are rough shares, since company and government figures are compiled differently.

The mine life extension

The strike comes in the middle of construction on the Highland Valley Copper Mine Life Extension (MLE). Teck approved the project in July 2025 to keep the mine running from 2028 to 2046 and average about 132,000 tonnes of copper a year. When it made that decision, Teck said the project would maintain about 1,500 direct jobs (Teck, July 23, 2025).

Construction passed 25% complete in the third quarter. The capital estimate is unchanged at C$2.1 billion to C$2.4 billion for 2025 to 2028. Teck spent C$230 million on the project in the quarter, and C$672 million so far in 2026, after C$330 million in 2025 (Teck Q3 2026 report; Q3 call transcript). By our calculation, that is roughly C$1 billion to date, or about 42% to 48% of the budget. On the October 29 call, CEO Jonathan Price said Teck does not expect "any significant impact on construction timelines" from the strike.

The union points to Teck's profits and a project designed to run for two more decades. Teck is trying to keep an operating mine and a major build on schedule with reduced crews. Teck is also working towards its planned merger with Anglo American, which it says remains on track (Teck, Oct. 28, 2026).

What to watch

• Whether bargaining resumes, and any update from Teck on operating rates, which it has not disclosed.
• Teck's fourth-quarter results and any change to the 135,000 to 155,000 tonne guidance for 2027.
• The grinding line's return in January 2027 and the mill conversion Teck aims to finish in the first quarter.

For Canadian-listed miners more broadly, see our guide to Canadian mining stocks. This article is for information only and is not investment advice.

For more, see our copper and Canada coverage and our company profiles.

How we checked this: AI-drafted from the sources linked above and checked against them by our AI editor.