Teck merger a ‘vote of confidence,’ says Eby, pitching B.C. as Canada’s ‘engine’

The proposed merger between Teck Resources Ltd. and Anglo American PLC to create a $70-billion mining giant based in B.C. is a “vote of confidence” showing the province is a global hub for mining, Premier David Eby said Thursday.

Eby said the merger will bring billions of dollars in investments to B.C., where his government is looking to mining, especially critical minerals, to drive economic growth and provide revenue to help ease the cost-of-living “pinch.”

His remarks alongside Teck president and CEO Jonathan Price came at a press conference marking the start of construction at the extension project for Teck’s Highland Valley Copper Mine outside Logan Lake, B.C., southwest of Kamloops.

Price said the construction start marked “a significant step forward” for Canada’s critical minerals industry as it competes to win a “global race” to secure the resources.

The province was positioned to be a “critical minerals powerhouse,” he said, adding “we are well on our way.”

Teck and Anglo American have pitched their merger as creating a champion of metals key to the energy transition.

Roughly 70 per cent of its focus would be on copper, making it the fifth-largest producer in the world, headquartered in Vancouver.

The company to be known as Anglo Teck would be “the largest company in the history of British Columbia,” Eby said.

“I just want to float another potential name, Anglo Canadian,” Eby joked.

The premier said B.C. would benefit from holding onto Teck and its long history in the province while adding the “global reach” of Anglo American.

The merger represented “the best of both worlds,” he said, by keeping the company’s “operating mind” in B.C. while expanding access to international investments.

“We’re going to be tapping international capital around the world to come and invest in British Columbia to create jobs here,” Eby said.

“That guarantee of a perpetual location of the new company in British Columbia, I’ll be working with the federal government to make that as ironclad as possible so it survives changes in leadership,” he added.

There’s renewed focus on resource projects in B.C.

On Thursday, Prime Minister Mark Carney included planned expansions at the LNG Canada facility in Kitimat and the Red Chris gold and copper mine in the province’s northwest on the federal government’s list of projects under consideration for fast-track approvals.

Eby said he is scheduled to travel to Ottawa next week to push the projects in B.C., adding his province is “going to be the engine of the new Canadian economy.”

The Red Chris mine is located in B.C.’s so-called golden triangle, a hot spot for the mining industry, and Eby said there are “11 potential new mines” in the region.

The two B.C. projects on Ottawa’s list represent “just a fraction” of the opportunity the province offers, the premier said.

“If the federal government wants to drive the Canadian economy, they only have to look west,” he told the press conference at the Highland Valley mine site.

The Highland Valley expansion was among 18 projects Eby’s government identified earlier this year for its own fast-track review in order to bolster the economy in the face of economic threats by the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump.

The project is set to extend the life of the mine, which is the largest open-pit copper mine in Canada, to 2046, beyond the previous timeline for winding down in 2028.

Eby said the expansion represents the largest investment in critical minerals in B.C.’s history, adding 1,500 ongoing jobs to the region and helping the province weather the economic threats coming from south of the border.

“It means prosperity, not just here in the local community, but across the province.”

Price told the news conference he wanted to acknowledge that the Nlaka’pamux Nation, on whose territory the mine is located, historically had not benefited or had the opportunity to contribute to the decision-making process.

“We have now started down a different path, and while not perfect, this mine life expansion project contributes to a new and more collaborative way of doing things.”

Christine Walkem, chief of Cook’s Ferry Indian Band, also spoke, saying Nlaka’pamux peoples would no longer be left out of decisions in their territory.

“The future we are working on is different,” she told the news conference.

“It’s one where the Nlaka’pamux Nation leads in stewardship of lands, where governments and industry must recognize and respect our leadership.”

Ottawa’s fast-track list has meanwhile drawn criticism from environmental groups, including Nature Canada, which issued a statement Thursday saying that “without even a nod to nature,” it was concerned about the direction the process may take.

“We recognize the government’s priorities and why it has decided to move so quickly in the face of the national threats we face,” the statement said. “But we are disappointed that nature is absent from the initial list.”

The list contains “no new parks to protect our lands and waters, no restoration projects to protect our communities in the face of climate disasters, and no Indigenous-led conservation to advance reconciliation,” it said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2025.

Brenna Owen, The Canadian Press