Teck is reporting a third-quarter loss of $31 million at its Trail smelter, and a year-to-date loss of $24 million.
That’s compared to a gross profit of $14 million in the same quarter of last year and a $12Â million profit in the first nine months of 2021.
The company says refined zinc production was down 13 per cent from a year ago, mainly due to major upgrades that started in September and that will continue into November.
That includes replacing the KIVCET furnace hearth and a zinc roaster dome, each of which has been operating for 25 years.
The smelter produced 63,800 tonnes of refined zinc from July through September, which was 9,300 tonnes less than a year ago. Refined lead production of 17,300 tonnes was 2,900 tonnes less.
The company says operating costs were also 32 per cent higher than a year ago at $169 million, which it attributed mainly to the $19-million cost of its new five-year collective agreement reached with the United Steelworkers in July.
Company-wide, Teck is reporting a gross profit of nearly $1.9 billion in the third quarter, up from about $1.7 billion for the same three months of last year.
