Teck Resources Ltd (TECK) 2023 Q3 法說會逐字稿

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for standing by. Welcome to Teck's Third Quarter 2023 Earnings Release Conference Call. (Operator Instructions). This conference is being recorded on Tuesday, October 24, 2023.

女士們先生們，謝謝你們的支持。歡迎參加泰克資源 2023 年第三季財報發布電話會議。 （操作員說明）。本次會議於 2023 年 10 月 24 日星期二錄製。

I would now like to turn the conference over to Fraser Phillips, Senior Vice President, Investor Relations and Strategic Analysis. Please go ahead.

我現在想將會議交給投資者關係和策略分析高級副總裁弗雷澤·菲利普斯 (Fraser Phillips)。請繼續。

Thanks, Therese. Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us for Teck's Third Quarter 2023 Conference Call. Please note, today's call contains forward-looking statements. Various risks and uncertainties may cause actual results to vary. Teck does not assume the obligation to update any forward-looking statements. Please refer to Slide 2 for the assumptions underlying our forward-looking statements.

謝謝，特蕾莎。大家早安，感謝您參加泰克資源 2023 年第三季電話會議。請注意，今天的電話會議包含前瞻性陳述。各種風險和不確定性可能導致實際結果有所不同。泰克資源不承擔更新任何前瞻性陳述的義務。請參閱投影片 2 以了解我們前瞻性陳述的假設。

In addition, we will reference various non-GAAP measures throughout this call. Explanations and reconciliations regarding these measures can be found in our MD&A in the latest press release on our website. Jonathan Price, our CEO, will begin today's call with highlights from our third quarter results. Crystal Prystai, our CFO, will follow with additional color on the quarter. Jonathan will conclude today's session with a brief update on our value creation strategy before we open the lines to questions.

此外，我們將在整個電話會議中參考各種非公認會計準則衡量標準。有關這些措施的解釋和調節可以在我們網站上最新新聞稿中的 MD&A 中找到。我們的執行長喬納森·普萊斯 (Jonathan Price) 將在今天的電話會議中介紹我們第三季業績的重點內容。我們的財務長 Crystal Prystai 隨後將對該季度進行更多介紹。在我們開始提問之前，喬納森將簡要介紹我們的價值創造策略，以結束今天的會議。

With that, I'll turn the call over to Jonathan.

這樣，我會將電話轉給喬納森。

Thank you, Fraser, and good morning, everyone. I'm speaking to you today from Iquique in the Tarapaca region of Northern Chile, where we're gathering this week to celebrate the opening of our flagship QB2 operation. This is a momentous event for Teck with Quebrada Blanca as the cornerstone of our copper growth strategy. More on that later.

謝謝弗雷澤，大家早安。我今天在智利北部塔拉帕卡地區的伊基克向大家發表講話，本週我們將聚集在那裡慶祝我們的 QB2 旗艦業務開業。對 Teck 來說，這是一個重大事件，Quebrada Blanca 是我們銅成長策略的基石。稍後會詳細介紹。

So starting on Slide 4. Our positive financial performance in the third quarter reflects continued strong pricing for copper and steelmaking coal in addition to higher base metal sales volumes. Adjusted EBITDA of $1.2 billion reflects lower-than-expected steelmaking coal sales in the quarter and a localized geotechnical event at Highland Valley in August.

所以從幻燈片 4 開始。我們第三季的正面財務表現反映出銅和煉鋼煤的定價持續強勁，以及基本金屬銷售的增加。調整後 EBITDA 為 12 億美元，反映出本季煉鋼煤炭銷售低於預期以及 8 月在 Highland Valley 發生的局部岩土工程事件。

During the quarter, we made significant progress to unlock the value of our industry-leading copper portfolio. Our QB2 project continues to ramp up and is expected to achieve design throughput and recovery rates by year-end. The assets are performing well, and we are pleased with the strong operational performance we have seen to date. We have a line of sight to double our consolidated copper production when QB2 reaches full capacity and we continue to advance our actionable portfolio of development options to position Teck for our next phase of copper growth.

本季度，我們在釋放業界領先的銅投資組合的價值方面取得了重大進展。我們的 QB2 專案繼續推進，預計到年底將達到設計產量和回收率。這些資產表現良好，我們對迄今為止所看到的強勁營運表現感到滿意。我們的目標是，當 QB2 達到滿載生產時，我們的綜合銅產量將增加一倍，並且我們將繼續推進我們可行的開發方案組合，為泰克資源的下一階段銅增長做好準備。

Importantly, we ended the quarter in a strong financial position with $7 billion of liquidity included $1.5 billion in cash, and we returned $65 million to shareholders through the payment of our quarterly base dividend. In the third quarter, we continued to make steady progress against our sustainability goals. We announced an agreement with Norden to reduce emissions in our steelmaking coal supply chain. The agreement is expected to reduce annual emissions from Teck shipments handled by Norden by 25%, and our reported high potential incident frequency remained low at a rate of 0.13.

重要的是，本季結束時，我們的財務狀況強勁，擁有 70 億美元的流動資金，其中包括 15 億美元的現金，我們透過支付季度基本股息向股東返還 6,500 萬美元。第三季度，我們繼續在永續發展目標上取得穩步進展。我們宣布與 Norden 達成協議，以減少煉鋼煤炭供應鏈中的排放。該協議預計將使 Norden 處理的 Teck 運輸的年排放量減少 25%，並且我們報告的高潛在事件頻率仍保持在 0.13 的低水平。

Now turning to QB2 on Slide 5. We made solid progress on the ramp-up during the quarter. And as I just mentioned, we're seeing strong asset performance with the QB2 plant performing well. At the end of the third quarter, it had been operating consistently at 70% of design capacity. Both Line 1 and Line 2 are operating well. Success so far with Line 2 reflects a faster and more effective commissioning as a result of leveraging the learnings from Line 1. As a result, we generated our first quarterly gross operating profit at QB2, though modest, it is a key milestone in the development of the project.

現在轉向幻燈片 5 上的 QB2。本季度我們在提升方面取得了紮實的進展。正如我剛才提到的，我們看到 QB2 工廠表現良好，資產表現強勁。截至第三季末，該工廠一直以設計產能的70%運作。 1號線、2號線均運作良好。到目前為止，2 號線的成功反映了我們利用1 號線的經驗教訓實現了更快、更有效的調試。因此，我們在QB2 實現了第一個季度毛營業利潤，儘管規模不大，但這是發展過程中一個重要的里程碑項目的。

While we are pleased with the performance of the assets so far, we are not pleased with what we have had to increase capital guidance to $8.6 billion to $8.8 billion from $8 billion to $8.2 billion previously. The increase was driven by delays in construction of both the molybdenum plant and the port offshore facilities as well as costs associated with contract claims and slower than planned demobilization.

雖然我們對迄今為止的資產表現感到滿意，但我們對必須將資本指引從先前的 80 億美元增加到 82 億美元到 86 億美元到 88 億美元感到不滿。這一增長的原因是鉬廠和港口海上設施建設的延誤以及與合約索賠相關的成本和比計劃的復員速度慢。

The last 2 outstanding pieces of construction at QB2 are the moly plant and the port offshore facilities. The moly plant will be completed by the end of the fourth quarter, and the port will be complete in the first quarter of 2024, and significant efforts are ongoing to mitigate risks and cost pressures.

QB2 的最後兩個突出建設項目是鉬廠和港口海上設施。鉬廠將於第四季末竣工，港口將於 2024 年第一季竣工，目前正在努力緩解風險和成本壓力。

Importantly, we continue to expect to be operating at design throughput and recovery rates by year-end, although we expect to be near the lower end of QB2's 2023 annual copper production guidance range of 80,000 to 100,000 tonnes.

重要的是，我們繼續預計到年底將按設計產量和回收率運營，儘管我們預計將接近 QB2 2023 年銅產量指導範圍 80,000 至 100,000 噸的下限。

Turning to Slide 6, where we outline a summary of our key 2023 operational guidance updates. In our copper business unit, we decreased our annual production guidance for Highland Valley by 10,000 tonnes to reflect the impact of the localized geotechnical event in August. We do not expect any impact of this event to carry beyond 2023, and our unit cost guidance remains unchanged.

轉向投影片 6，我們概述了 2023 年關鍵營運指南更新的摘要。在我們的銅業務部門，我們將 Highland Valley 的年度產量指導值減少了 10,000 噸，以反映 8 月局部岩土工程事件的影響。我們預計該事件的任何影響不會持續到 2023 年之後，並且我們的單位成本指導保持不變。

Copper capitalized stripping guidance was revised to $395 million, up from $295 million. The increase reflects additional stripping at QB2 while the concentrator was in ramp-up as well as additional stripping at Antamina and the change in the mine plan at Highland Valley due to the localized geotechnical event.

銅資本剝離指引從 2.95 億美元修訂為 3.95 億美元。這一增加反映了選礦廠處於爬坡階段時 QB2 的額外剝離、Antamina 的額外剝離以及 Highland Valley 採礦計劃因局部岩土​​工程事件而發生的變化。

And in steelmaking coal, we lowered our 2023 production guidance to 23 million to 23.5 million tonnes, down from 24 million to 26 million tonnes to reflect the intermittent plant challenges we've experienced this year. Our unit cost guidance remains unchanged.

在煉鋼煤方面，我們將 2023 年產量指引從 2,400 萬噸至 2,600 萬噸下調至 2,300 萬噸至 2,350 萬噸，以反映我們今年經歷的間歇性工廠挑戰。我們的單位成本指導維持不變。

With major maintenance activities completed and the implementation of our plant improvement initiative, we saw an improvement in plant reliability in the third quarter relative to the first half of this year. Our steelmaking coal operations are well positioned in the fourth quarter and into 2024. Strong raw coal inventories are also expected to provide additional product flexibility and optionality going forward.

隨著主要維護活動的完成和工廠改進計劃的實施，我們看到第三季工廠的可靠性比今年上半年有所改善。我們的煉鋼煤炭業務在第四季度和 2024 年處於有利位置。預計強勁的原煤庫存也將在未來提供額外的產品靈活性和選擇性。

Across our businesses, we remain laser-focused on execution. We intently manage our key business drivers and continuously enhance our operating practices while rigorously managing our controllable costs. For external risks outside of our control, we have solid mitigation plans, such as supply chain recovery and strategic sourcing to mitigate inflationary cost pressures. As ever, our focus is to drive reliable operational performance and maintain our competitive low-cost position.

在我們的業務中，我們仍然高度關注執行力。我們專注於管理我們的關鍵業務驅動因素，不斷增強我們的營運實踐，同時嚴格管理我們的可控成本。對於我們無法控制的外部風險，我們有可靠的緩解計劃，例如供應鏈恢復和策略採購，以減輕通膨成本壓力。一如既往，我們的重點是推動可靠的營運績效並維持我們的低成本競爭地位。

With that, I will now hand it over to Crystal for additional color on the quarter.

有了這個，我現在將把它交給水晶，為該季度提供額外的顏色。

Thank you, Jonathan. Starting with an overview of our third quarter financial results on Slide 8. We generated $1.2 billion in adjusted EBITDA or $0.76 of adjusted diluted EPS with contributions from each of our business units. However, we fell short of consensus analyst estimates for adjusted EBITDA and EPS in the quarter. The variance was primarily driven by the localized geotechnical event at Highland Valley, consensus expectations for QB2's ramp-up profile, the impact of lower steelmaking coal sales volume and higher than consensus corporate costs. This is partially offset by strong sales at Red Dog in the quarter.

謝謝你，喬納森。首先從幻燈片 8 中我們第三季財務業績的概述開始。在每個業務部門的貢獻下，我們產生了 12 億美元的調整後 EBITDA 或 0.76 美元的調整後攤薄每股收益。然而，我們對本季調整後 EBITDA 和 EPS 的預期未能達到分析師的一致預期。這種差異主要是由於高地谷局部岩土工程事件、對 QB2 產能提升的普遍預期、煉鋼煤炭銷售下降以及高於普遍預期的企業成本的影響所致。這被本季 Red Dog 的強勁銷售所部分抵銷。

Looking forward, we are well positioned for strong fourth quarter results for a number of reasons. First, steelmaking coal prices remain robust, driven by supply constraints and strong demand, particularly from India and China. Prices rose through the third quarter and into October and FOB premium spot prices currently stand at USD 343 per ton.

展望未來，由於多種原因，我們已經做好了第四季度強勁業績的準備。首先，在供應限制和強勁需求（特別是來自印度和中國的需求）的推動下，煉鋼煤炭價格仍然強勁。從第三季到 10 月份，價格一直在上漲，目前 FOB 溢價現貨價格為每噸 343 美元。

As a result of pricing, flat reliability improvements and inventory levels, our high-margin steelmaking coal business unit is well positioned to deliver strong financial performance in Q4. And at current copper prices, we expect QB2 to generate a gross profit in the fourth quarter as the ramp-up continues in production rates.

由於定價、穩定的可靠性改善和庫存水平，我們的高利潤煉鋼煤炭業務部門處於有利位置，可以在第四季度實現強勁的財務業績。按照目前的銅價，隨著生產率的持續上升，我們預計 QB2 將在第四季度產生毛利。

Turning to the key drivers for our financial performance on Slide 9. Adjusted EBITDA in the third quarter decreased compared to the same period last year, primarily driven by considerably lower commodity prices for steelmaking coal and zinc, reduced sales volumes of steelmaking coal as well as copper at Highland Valley and higher operating costs. These items were partially offset by higher copper prices, positive pricing adjustments and a weaker Canadian dollar.

轉向幻燈片 9 中我們財務表現的關鍵驅動因素。第三季調整後 EBITDA 與去年同期相比有所下降，主要是由於煉鋼煤和鋅的商品價格大幅下降、煉鋼煤銷量減少以及高地谷的銅礦和更高的營運成本。這些項目被銅價上漲、積極的定價調整和加幣疲軟部分抵消。

We continue to experience inflationary pressures in the cost of key supplies, including mining equipment, tires, labor and contractors despite the decline in diesel and other fuel costs compared to the same period last year. This is reflected in our sustaining capital expenditures and full year unit cost guidance ranges, which are both unchanged. Our underlying mining drivers remain relatively stable and we remain highly focused on managing our controllable operating expenditures.

儘管柴油和其他燃料成本與去年同期相比有所下降，但我們仍面臨關鍵供應成本的通膨壓力，包括採礦設備、輪胎、勞動力和承包商。這反映在我們的持續資本支出和全年單位成本指導範圍中，兩者均保持不變。我們的潛在採礦驅動因素保持相對穩定，我們仍然高度關注管理可控的營運支出。

Turning to each of our business units in more detail and starting with copper on Slide 11. Copper prices were up 8% year-over-year. Copper production volumes in the third quarter, including QB2, increased by 8%, while sales volumes, including QB2, increased by 3% compared to last year.

更詳細地介紹我們的每個業務部門，從幻燈片 11 上的銅開始。銅價年上漲 8%。第三季銅產量（包括QB2）較去年同期成長8%，銷售量（包括QB2）較去年同期成長3%。

At QB2, we produced 18,300 tonnes of copper and concentrate, more than half of which was produced in the month of September. Sales volumes of 14,300 tonnes drove our first quarterly gross profit before depreciation and amortization for QB2 of $19 million, in line with our expectations. However, as mentioned earlier, production at Highland Valley was impacted by a localized geotechnical event in the south end of the Valley pit in August, which required processing of lower-grade stockpiled ore for the remainder of the quarter.

在 QB2，我們生產了 18,300 噸銅和精礦，其中超過一半是在 9 月生產的。 14,300 噸的銷售量推動我們 QB2 的第一個季度折舊和攤銷前毛利潤達到 1,900 萬美元，符合我們的預期。然而，如前所述，Highland Valley 的產量受到 8 月份山谷坑南端局部岩土工程事件的影響，該事件需要在本季度剩餘時間內加工較低品位的庫存礦石。

In early October, the Valley pit was safely reopened and mining of higher grade ore recommenced. A complete analysis of the failure resulted in a revised mine plan to mitigate production losses for the fourth quarter.

十月初，Valley 礦坑安全地重新開放，並重新開始開採更高品位的礦石。對故障的全面分析導致修訂了礦山計劃，以減輕第四季度的生產損失。

Production at Andacollo was also impacted by a 14-day unplanned shutdown in August, which was due to a conveyor failure. Copper net cash unit costs increased as a result of lower production at Highland Valley and Carmen de Andacollo, an overall increase in maintenance and repair costs as well as lower zinc and moly cash margins for byproducts. Despite this, our full year operating cost guidance for our copper business unit is unchanged.

Andacollo 的生產也受到 8 月因輸送機故障而導致的 14 天計劃外停工的影響。由於 Highland Valley 和 Carmen de Andacollo 產量下降、維護和修理成本總體增加以及副產品鋅和鉬現金利潤率下降，銅淨現金單位成本增加。儘管如此，我們銅業務部門的全年營運成本指引保持不變。

Looking forward, we decreased our 2023 copper production guidance for Highland Valley to 100,000 to 108,000 tonnes to reflect the impact of the localized geotechnical event in August. QB2 production guidance is unchanged at 80,000 to 100,000 tonnes, although we expect to be at the lower end of this range.

展望未來，我們將 Highland Valley 2023 年銅產量指引下調至 10 萬至 10.8 萬噸，以反映 8 月局部岩土工程事件的影響。 QB2 產量指引維持在 80,000 至 100,000 噸不變，但我們預計將處於該範圍的下限。

We have also lowered our total molybdenum production guidance for the full year due to the delay in construction of the QB2 moly plant. For QB2, as a result of recent changes to IFRS, we are required to recognize sales proceeds and related costs associated with products sold during the ramp-up and commissioning phase through our earnings, rather than capitalizing these amounts.

由於 QB2 鉬廠建設的推遲，我們也下調了全年鉬總產量指引。對於 QB2，由於最近 IFRS 的變化，我們需要透過我們的收益確認與在啟動和調試階段銷售的產品相關的銷售收入和相關成本，而不是將這些金額資本化。

In addition, as QB2 continues to ramp up production, we incur costs that are capitalized because they relate to bringing the asset to its design capacity operating level. These costs are referred to as capitalized ramp-up costs. We have capitalized $561 million of these costs as of September 30. For the fourth quarter, we expect capitalized ramp-up costs to be lower than those capitalized in the third quarter.

此外，隨著 QB2 繼續提高產量，我們會產生資本化成本，因為這些成本與使資產達到其設計產能營運水準有關。這些成本稱為資本化的提升成本。截至 9 月 30 日，我們已將這些成本資本化 5.61 億美元。對於第四季度，我們預期資本化的提升成本將低於第三季的資本化成本。

As mentioned earlier, we expect QB2 to generate a gross profit in the fourth quarter as ramp-up continues and at current copper prices.

如前所述，我們預計 QB2 將在第四季度產生毛利，因為產量將繼續增加，並以當前的銅價計算。

Moving to zinc on Slide 11. Profitability was impacted by zinc prices, which were 26% lower compared with the same period last year. This was partially offset by higher zinc premiums on our contracted refined zinc sales. Red Dog has had a strong shipping season this year, and zinc and concentrate sales increased 14% year-over-year to 269,700 tonnes, which was within our guidance range.

轉到投影片 11 上的鋅。獲利能力受到鋅價的影響，鋅價比去年同期下降了 26%。這被我們合約精煉鋅銷售的鋅溢價較高所部分抵消。 Red Dog今年的運輸旺季表現強勁，鋅和精礦銷量年增14%至269,700噸，在我們的指導範圍內。

However, Red Dog zinc concentrate production was driven by reduced mill throughput as a result of equipment failure. At Trail operations, refined zinc production was impacted by reduced concentrate supply, and refined lead production continues to be impacted by the KIVCET furnace that is nearing the end of its life. Our replacement is slated for 2024. Looking forward, we expect Red Dog Q4 zinc sales of 130,000 to 150,000 tonnes, reflecting the normal seasonal pattern.

然而，Red Dog 鋅精礦的生產是由於設備故障導致工廠產量減少而推動的。在 Trail 營運中，精煉鋅產量受到精礦供應減少的影響，精煉鉛產量持續受到即將報廢的 KIVCET 熔爐的影響。我們的替代方案將於 2024 年進行。展望未來，我們預計 Red Dog 第四季鋅銷量為 13 萬至 15 萬噸，反映了正常的季節性模式。

And while our overall full year zinc production guidance remains unchanged, we made minor revisions to our site guidance. A 5,000-ton decrease in Red Dog's guidance due to production issues is offset by a corresponding increase in Antamina's guidance due to higher-than-expected zinc production.

儘管我們全年鋅產量整體指引保持不變，但我們對現場指引進行了小幅修改。由於生產問題，Red Dog 的指導意見減少了 5,000 噸，但由於鋅產量高於預期，Antamina 的指導意見相應增加，抵消了這一影響。

Turning now to steelmaking coal on Slide 12. While prices for the quarter were lower than that particularly strong third quarter last year, prices remain robust and are well above historical averages. Production was impacted by planned maintenance outages at 2 of our operations, including Fording River, our largest operation. Sales of 5.2 million tonnes were below our guidance range of 5.6 million to 6 million tonnes due to a slower-than-anticipated supply chain recovery following the impact of BC wildfires, the labor disruptions at BC ports and intermittent plant challenges.

現在轉向幻燈片 12 上的煉鋼煤。雖然本季的價格低於去年特別強勁的第三季度，但價格仍然強勁，遠高於歷史平均水平。我們的 2 個工廠（包括我們最大的工廠 Fording River）的計劃維護中斷影響了生產。 520萬噸的銷售量低於我們560萬噸至600萬噸的指導範圍，原因是受不列顛哥倫比亞省野火影響、不列顛哥倫比亞省港口勞動力中斷和間歇性工廠挑戰後供應鏈恢復慢於預期。

Adjusted site cash cost of sales per tonne was impacted by lower sales volumes and increased maintenance activities associated with the planned outages, while transportation costs reflect higher demurrage and port charges related to lingering impact from the labor disruption at BC ports and the BC wildfires.

調整後的每噸現場現金銷售成本受到銷量下降和與計劃停運相關的維護活動增加的影響，而運輸成本則反映出與不列顛哥倫比亞省港口勞動力中斷和不列顛哥倫比亞省野火的持續影響相關的滯後費和港口費用較高。

Looking forward, we expect Q4 sales to be between 5.8 million to 6.2 million tonnes, maximizing use of available inventories. And as mentioned earlier, we lowered our annual coal production guidance to 23 million to 23.5 million tonnes for the remainder of the year. This lower level of production is expected to put upward pressure on our adjusted site cost of sales and transportation unit costs, and we now expect both to be at the upper end of our guidance ranges for the full year.

展望未來，我們預計第四季銷量將在 580 萬噸至 620 萬噸之間，從而最大限度地利用可用庫存。如前所述，我們將今年剩餘時間的煤炭產量指引下調至 2,300 萬噸至 2,350 萬噸。產量水準的下降預計將對我們調整後的現場銷售成本和運輸單位成本造成上行壓力，我們現在預計這兩項成本都將處於全年指導範圍的上限。

Overall, our steelmaking coal business is well positioned to continue delivering strong financial performance for the remainder of the year with average steelmaking coal prices above USD 355 per ton month to date, flat reliability improvement and current inventory levels.

總體而言，我們的煉鋼煤炭業務處於有利位置，將在今年剩餘時間內繼續實現強勁的財務業績，迄今為止煉鋼煤炭平均價格高於每噸355 美元，可靠性改善平穩，當前庫存水平也較高。

Our financial position remains strong, as shown on Slide 13. Our liquidity is currently $7 billion, including $1.5 billion of cash, and we continue to maintain investment-grade credit ratings from S&P, Moody's and Fitch. We have no note maturities due until 2030. In the third quarter, we paid our quarterly base dividend of $0.125 per share. Year-to-date and in accordance with our capital allocation framework, we have paid $451 million in dividends, purchased $85 million in Class B shares and advanced our ongoing deleveraging with debt repayment of $457 million.

我們的財務狀況仍然強勁，如幻燈片 13 所示。我們的流動性目前為 70 億美元，其中包括 15 億美元現金，並且我們繼續維持標準普爾、穆迪和惠譽的投資級信用評級。我們在 2030 年之前沒有到期票據。第三季度，我們支付了每股 0.125 美元的季度基本股息。年初至今，根據我們的資本配置框架，我們已支付了 4.51 億美元的股息，購買了 8,500 萬美元的 B 類股票，並透過償還 4.57 億美元的債務推進了持續的去槓桿化。

We remain focused on balancing our investment in growth against returning capital to shareholders while maintaining a strong balance sheet.

我們仍專注於平衡成長投資與向股東返還資本，同時保持強勁的資產負債表。

With that, I'll turn it back over to Jonathan.

這樣，我會將其轉回給喬納森。

Thanks, Crystal. Before I wrap up, I want to provide an update on separation. With responsible value creation as our North Star, we continue to engage with a number of parties that have expressed interest in our steelmaking coal business. We are evaluating a range of potential options guided by several objectives.

謝謝，水晶。在結束之前，我想提供有關分居的最新情況。以負責任的價值創造作為我們的北極星，我們繼續與許多對我們的煉鋼煤炭業務表示興趣的各方進行接觸。我們正在評估一系列以幾個目標為指導的潛在選擇。

Based on extensive shareholder feedback throughout this process, one of our core objectives is to achieve a full separation of our base metals and steelmaking coal businesses. This is key to unlocking the value of our unrivaled copper growth portfolio. We will ensure Teck is well capitalized and positioned to pursue our copper growth potential and deliver strong returns to shareholders while maintaining a strong balance sheet.

基於整個過程中廣泛的股東回饋，我們的核心目標之一是實現基本金屬和煉鋼煤炭業務的完全分離。這是釋放我們無與倫比的銅成長投資組合價值的關鍵。我們將確保泰克資本擁有充足的資本，並有能力發揮銅的成長潛力，為股東帶來豐厚的回報，同時維持強勁的資產負債表。

At the same time, we aim to realize the full value of our steelmaking coal business for our shareholders. An important consideration will be the certainty of achieving separation including receipt of the required regulatory approvals. And it is also critical that the transaction allows us to maintain social and environmental commitments to stakeholders in the Elk Valley. Overall, the Board and Special Committee are pleased with the progress we have been making. Separation remains a priority, and we are moving through the process as expeditiously as possible.

同時，我們的目標是為股東實現煉鋼煤炭業務的全部價值。一個重要的考慮因素是實現分離的確定性，包括獲得所需的監管批准。同樣重要的是，該交易使我們能夠維持對麋鹿谷利益相關者的社會和環境承諾。總體而言，董事會和特別委員會對我們所取得的進展感到滿意。分離仍然是優先事項，我們正在盡快完成這個過程。

Driving organic growth through development of our copper project pipeline remains central to our value creation journey. Looking at Slide 16, we have made meaningful progress on our near-term development projects during the quarter. We furthered the feasibility studies for San Nicolas and the Quebrada Blanca Mill expansion project. And we completed the feasibility study for HVC 2040 in Q3 with the submission of the project environmental assessment in October.

透過開發我們的銅項目管道來推動有機成長仍然是我們價值創造之旅的核心。查看投影片 16，我們在本季的近期開發案上取得了有意義的進展。我們進一步推進了聖尼古拉斯和克夫拉達布蘭卡工廠擴建計畫的可行性研究。我們在第三季完成了 HVC 2040 的可行性研究，並於 10 月提交了專案環境評估。

Looking forward, we are targeting key milestones for these projects in the fourth quarter including completion of the feasibility study for QBME, submission of the MIA-R permit application for San Nicolas and commencement of detailed engineering for Zafranal.

展望未來，我們的目標是在第四季度實現這些專案的關鍵里程碑，包括完成 QBME 的可行性研究、提交 San Nicolas 的 MIA-R 許可證申請以及開始 Zafranal 的詳細工程。

As shown on Slide 17, we have an unrivaled suite of copper growth opportunities, diversified by geography, scale and time to development. There is significant work underway to advance development of each of these projects, including resource definition, engineering and design, permitting and stakeholder engagement, and we have derisked project delivery financially and operationally through a partnership approach, such as in the case of San Nicolas.

如投影片 17 所示，我們擁有一系列無與倫比的銅成長機會，這些機會因地理位置、規模和開發時間而多樣化。目前正在進行大量工作來推進每個專案的開發，包括資源定義、工程和設計、許可和利益相關者參與，我們透過合作夥伴關係方式消除了專案交付的財務和營運風險，例如聖尼古拉斯專案。

The projects we have in place double our copper production in the near term with the potential to deliver 1 million tonnes of annual production by the end of the decade to drive substantial new intrinsic value. In prioritizing our growth options, we take into consideration multiple investment criteria including strong financial returns, balance sheet capacity and financing options, project readiness, project development capacity and the social, political and environmental context. And importantly, each of these projects will have to compete for capital with the rest of the business and generate strong returns.

我們已經實施的專案在短期內將銅產量翻一番，到本十年末有可能實現 100 萬噸年產量，從而推動大量新的內在價值。在優先考慮我們的成長選擇時，我們考慮了多種投資標準，包括強勁的財務回報、資產負債表能力和融資選擇、專案準備、專案開發能力以及社會、政治和環境背景。重要的是，這些項目中的每一個都必須與其他業務競爭資本並產生豐厚的回報。

While permitting is a major gating factor in determining potential sanction dates, we are largely in control of project timing, and we will continue to apply our disciplined capital allocation framework that balances growth with returns to shareholders.

雖然許可是確定潛在製裁日期的主要控制因素，但我們在很大程度上控制了專案時間，並且我們將繼續應用嚴格的資本配置框架，以平衡成長與股東回報。

In closing, on Slide 18, this is a very exciting time for Teck as we continue our pursuit of responsible value creation for our shareholders. We are continuing to evaluate options for a separation that would realize fair value for our world-class steelmaking coal business and unlock the full potential of our base metals business. And we continue to make significant progress against our copper growth strategy with the ramp-up of QB2 and advancements in our near-term development projects.

最後，在投影片 18 中，對於泰克資源來說，這是一個非常令人興奮的時刻，因為我們將繼續追求為股東創造負責任的價值。我們正在繼續評估分離方案，以實現我們世界級煉鋼煤炭業務的公允價值，並釋放我們基本金屬業務的全部潛力。隨著 QB2 的增加和近期開發項目的進展，我們繼續在銅成長策略方面取得重大進展。

Guided by our capital allocation framework, we are committed to balancing our opportunities for growth with financial resilience while providing cash returns to shareholders. At the same time, we are focused on execution and ensuring we pursue responsible value creation for shareholders.

在我們的資本配置架構的指導下，我們致力於平衡成長機會與財務彈性，同時為股東提供現金回報。同時，我們注重執行力，確保為股東創造負責任的價值。

Thank you. Operator, please open the line for questions.

謝謝。接線員，請開通提問線。

(Operator Instructions) The first question comes from Orest Wowkodaw with Scotiabank.

（操作員說明）第一個問題來自豐業銀行的 Orest Wowkodaw。

Jonathan, just a follow-up question, if I could, on the planned coal separation. I mean, obviously, this has been going on now for some time. Can you give us a better idea of where you are in that process? Like are we close to the finish line? Or do you think this could just take a lot longer given more interested parties coming to the table and could it spill into next year?

喬納森，如果可以的話，我想問一個關於計劃中的煤炭分離的後續問題。我的意思是，顯然，這種情況已經持續了一段時間了。您能否讓我們更了解您在過程中的進度？例如我們接近終點線了嗎？或者您是否認為，鑑於更多感興趣的各方來到談判桌，這可能需要更長的時間，並且可能會延續到明年嗎？

Thanks for the question. Look, we're making very good progress here. I'm very happy as to where we are at present. We have a competitive process, which is the most important thing here to ensure we have options ahead of us to realize a good outcome.

謝謝你的提問。看，我們在這裡取得了很大的進展。我對我們目前的處境感到非常高興。我們有一個競爭性的流程，這是確保我們有選擇來實現良好結果的最重要的事情。

As I've mentioned a couple of times recently, I believe we'll be in a position to make a decision before the end of the year. That hasn't changed. The key thing for us is to ensure we make the best decision here possible rather than rush the process. But as I said, we're well positioned right now. We're happy with the level of competition we have, and I'm confident we can get a good outcome for shareholders.

正如我最近多次提到的，我相信我們將能夠在今年年底之前做出決定。這一點沒有改變。對我們來說，關鍵是確保我們在這裡做出最好的決定，而不是倉促行事。但正如我所說，我們現在處於有利位置。我們對現有的競爭水平感到滿意，我相信我們能為股東帶來良好的結果。

Okay. And just as a follow-up, you spoke to the fact that certainty of achieving separation is a key criteria here, including regulatory approval. Do you think that a partial sale would be easier from a regulatory approval perspective than a full sale?

好的。作為後續行動，您談到了實現分離的確定性是這裡的關鍵標準，包括監管部門的批准。您認為從監管批准的角度來看，部分出售會比全部出售更容易嗎？

Look, I think every different option here has its unique characteristics in terms of what that means from an approval's perspective. The overarching focus here is on the delivery of shareholder value. That has to come first and foremost. In considering that delivery of shareholder value, of course, we have to consider the certainty of execution and the risks associated with any transaction.

看，我認為這裡的每個不同選項都有其獨特的特徵，從批准的角度來看意味著什麼。這裡的首要重點是股東價值的交付。這必須是首要的。當然，在考慮股東價值的交付時，我們必須考慮執行的確定性以及與任何交易相關的風險。

The requirement for regulatory or other approvals is a function of the nature of any transaction. And ultimately, we will do what we believe is in the best interest of our shareholders having regard for those regulatory and approval requirements.

監管或其他批准的要求取決於任何交易的性質。最終，我們將在考慮這些監管和批准要求的情況下，做我們認為符合股東最佳利益的事情。

Okay. And 1 more if I could squeeze it in. Just, if you decide to do the partial sale option, would it be your goal to put control of EVR into the public market or control with an owner?

好的。如果我能把它擠進去的話，還有 1 個。只是，如果你決定進行部分出售選項，你的目標是將 EVR 的控制權放入公開市場還是由所有者控制？

Look, I won't be specific on that, Orest, at this point in time. I mean, I think -- the -- we've discussed the range of options that we have before us here with a full sale at 1 end of the spectrum in a partial sale and a spin at the other end of the spectrum with the latter providing ongoing exposure to our shareholders in respect of both the steelmaking, coal market, there the fundamentals of which look very attractive going forward. And of course, a quality, high-margin business like EVR.

聽著，奧雷斯特，目前我不會具體說明這一點。我的意思是，我認為——我們已經討論了擺在我們面前的一系列選擇，一方面是全面銷售，另一方面是部分銷售，另一端是旋轉後者為我們的股東提供了煉鋼和煤炭市場的持續敞口，這些市場的基本面未來看起來非常有吸引力。當然，還有像 EVR 這樣的優質、高利潤業務。

Ultimately, the specifics of any transaction will be subject of the conclusion of this process. So I won't say more on that now other than as I mentioned before, we're happy with the options in front of us. And we believe we're well set to drive a competitive outcome.

最終，任何交易的細節都將取決於此過程的結論。因此，除了我之前提到的之外，我現在不會對此多說，我們對擺在我們面前的選擇感到滿意。我們相信我們已經準備好推動有競爭力的結果。

The next question comes from Liam Fitzpatrick with Deutsche Bank.

下一個問題來自德意志銀行的利亞姆·菲茨帕特里克。

Just a couple on QB2. It's clearly a hefty CapEx increase given you only reguided earlier this year. And we're only talking about a 3-month delay for 2 parts of the project. So the question is, were these issues not largely known about earlier in the year? And can you outline what the major component is behind this increase?

QB2 上只有一對。鑑於您今年早些時候才進行了重新指導，這顯然是大幅的資本支出增加。我們只討論該專案的兩個部分延遲 3 個月。那麼問題是，這些問題在今年稍早還沒有被廣泛了解嗎？您能否概述一下這種成長背後的主要因素是什麼？

And the follow-up kind of linked to that and your future growth strategy because clearly, a lot of it is based around the next crop of copper projects. So what sort of changes are you making or have you made to ensure that we're not going to be faced with similar issues in the future?

後續行動與您未來的成長策略有關，因為顯然，其中許多都是基於下一批銅項目。那麼，您正在或已經做出了哪些改變來確保我們將來不會遇到類似的問題？

Thanks for the questions, Liam. I'll come back to the second question in a moment, and I'll hand off the first question to Red Conger our President and Chief Operating Officer.

謝謝你的提問，利亞姆。我稍後會回到第二個問題，然後我會將第一個問題交給我們的總裁兼營運長 Red Conger。

Just to preface that, I will say the issues that have caused us to reguide the QB2 CapEx as we have done today are issues that arose in the third quarter, and there are issues that created impacts to both schedule and costs. But I'll hand over to Red to unpack that in greater detail.

作為序言，我要說的是，導致我們像今天所做的那樣重新指導 QB2 資本支出的問題是第三季度出現的問題，並且有些問題對進度和成本都產生了影響。但我將交給 Red 更詳細地解釋這一點。

Yes. We are focusing on delivering reliable and robust copper circuit. I mean, that is first and foremost in our actions and several unknowns presented themselves during the third quarter. Let me give you a couple of examples of those and what we have to do to address them. We commissioned the tailings return water facility early in the third quarter. And we found that all 16 of these huge tailing water return pumps had an internal manufacturing defect that evidenced only when they were operating at full load and all of the free ops testing, et cetera was unable to detect this default.

是的。我們專注於提供可靠且堅固的銅電路。我的意思是，這首先體現在我們的行動中，第三季出現了一些未知因素。讓我舉幾個例子，以及我們必須採取哪些措施來解決這些問題。我們在第三季初啟用了尾礦回水設施。我們發現所有 16 個巨大的尾礦回水泵都存在內部製造缺陷，只有在滿載運行時才會顯現出來，並且所有免費操作測試等都無法檢測到這種缺陷。

So once we got them up and running at full load, they were overheating. So we had to do discovery work to understand what that was. We had 2 responses there. We had to run them at lower rated capacity to prevent the overheating. And then once we discovered what the defect was in the original casing, we had to take out each pump, send it down to a machine shop, have it modified per design specs, then bring it back up to the site, get them installed again.

因此，一旦我們讓它們滿載運行，它們就會過熱。所以我們必須做發現工作來了解那是什麼。我們收到了 2 則回覆。我們必須以較低的額定容量來運行它們，以防止過熱。然後，一旦我們發現原始外殼有缺陷，我們就必須取出每個泵，將其發送到機械車間，根據設計規格對其進行修改，然後將其帶回現場，再次安裝。

And I'm happy to say that they're all running appropriately now. So that fits has cured the problem, but there's a major system where you essentially had to build it twice and do some of the manufacturing on the pumps that should have arrived to us in working order and ready to go. So that was a major unplanned piece of work for us.

我很高興地說它們現在都正常運作。這樣就解決了問題，但是有一個主要係統，您基本上必須建造兩次並在泵上進行一些製造，這些泵應該已按工作順序到達我們並準備就緒。所以這對我們來說是一項重大的計劃外工作。

And of course, you take resources off of other planned work that you had during the quarter to do that rework. So that's 1 example of something that we discovered and addressed and successfully completed.

當然，您將從本季其他計劃工作中抽出資源來進行返工。這就是我們發現、解決並成功完成的事情的一個例子。

Additionally, the blast jetty pile that we're drilling out in the port area, the drill bit failed subsurface in the ocean floor, took us 2 months to get that unit out of the ground and out of our way. We were unable to drill the pile in an alternate location because of the critical nature of the load-bearing requirements there. So that was just something that you have to power through and get done, no way we could forecast that or know that, that was going to occur.

此外，我們在港口區域鑽探的爆破碼頭樁，鑽頭在海底地下失效，我們花了兩個月的時間才將裝置從地下取出並讓開。由於那裡的承重要求非常嚴格，我們無法在其他位置鑽樁。所以這只是你必須克服並完成的事情，我們無法預測或知道這將會發生。

And that has delayed the port from completion from the end of this fourth quarter into the end of first quarter of next year. We've hired 2 additional contractors to work on completion of other offshore areas, mooring buoys, et cetera, offshore. So again, those are schedule delays, overhead continues. You have to hire more contractors to cover in behind and significant cost increases associated with that.

這使得該港口的竣工時間從第四季末推遲到明年第一季末。我們另外聘請了 2 位承包商來完成其他離岸區域、繫泊浮標等的離岸工程。再說一遍，這些都是計畫延誤，開銷仍在繼續。您必須僱用更多承包商來彌補與此相關的巨大成本增加。

And then we have a variety of claims that contractors have submitted that are associated with costs that they believe they've incurred due to owner-directed changes in work plans. So we've got a significant amount of work that we need to do to review all of those claims, reconcile those and determine what settlements are appropriate in order for us to be complete and truly assess the full impact of that. We've put all of those claim figures into the forecast now even though we know some of them may not be settled for exactly what was applied for.

然後，我們收到了承包商提交的各種索賠，這些索賠與他們認為由於業主主導的工作計劃變更而產生的成本相關。因此，我們需要做大量的工作來審查所有這些索賠，協調這些索賠並確定哪些解決方案是合適的，以便我們能夠完整、真實地評估其全面影響。我們現在已將所有這些索賠數據納入預測，儘管我們知道其中一些索賠數據可能無法準確解決所申請的問題。

This is -- all of this rework, et cetera, is intentionally delayed the moly plant. So that, again, in preference to the reliability of the copper circuit, and that approach has served us very well. We're seeing substantial improvements month-to-month in plant throughput and performance and really very excited about how the plant is performing and what the future holds for the performance of that plan.

所有這些返工等等都是故意推遲鉬工廠的建設。因此，再次優先於銅電路的可靠性，這種方法對我們很有幫助。我們看到工廠吞吐量和性能逐月顯著改善，並且對該工廠的性能以及該計劃性能的未來前景感到非常興奮。

Yes. Thanks, Red. And just to sort of reiterate there, Liam, as we said, the only major areas of construction outstanding now at the moly plant and the port in the guidance that we provided today, we have included all known risks as Red has said, and we've included those risks pre-any mitigation. And of course, we've included some allowance in here for unknown risks. So we do believe that the guidance we've put forward today will capture all the remaining CapEx through to the completion of the project at this stage.

是的。謝謝，紅。只是為了重申一下，利亞姆，正如我們所說，在我們今天提供的指導中，鉬廠和港口目前唯一未完成的主要建設領域，我們已經包括了所有已知的風險，正如紅色所說，我們在採取任何緩解措施之前已將這些風險納入其中。當然，我們在這裡為未知風險提供了一些準備金。因此，我們確實相信，我們今天提出的指導意見將涵蓋現階段專案完成之前的所有剩餘資本支出。

To your second question on future growth and implications here. Firstly, of course, we will undertake a detailed lessons learned process from the QB2 experience and make sure that those lessons and assumptions are carried forward to future projects, both in terms of the capital assumptions we make, but also the -- how those projects are delivered.

關於您關於未來成長和影響的第二個問題。首先，當然，我們將從 QB2 的經驗中進行詳細的經驗教訓過程，並確保這些經驗教訓和假設能夠延續到未來的專案中，無論是我們所做的資本假設，還是這些專案的方式已交付。

One example that we've referenced many times through the course of this project has been the challenges we've had with labor productivity. Now some of that, of course, could be a function of COVID and the hangover from COVID and some of that, of course, could be a function of the environment in which this project has been built in 4400 meters, it's a challenging place to deliver a major project. But we will take those assumptions forward and make sure that they're reflected in future projects.

我們在這個專案過程中多次引用的一個例子是我們在勞動生產力方面遇到的挑戰。當然，其中一些可能是由於新冠病毒和新冠病毒的後遺症造成的，當然，其中一些可能是因為這個項目建在 4400 米的環境中，這是一個具有挑戰性的地方交付一個重大項目。但我們將推進這些假設並確保它們反映在未來的項目中。

Otherwise, I think if you look at the projects in our portfolio, it's worth noting that they are an order of magnitude simpler in terms of their complexity, in terms of their scale and in terms of their scope. When you look at QB2 and the full scope of that, it's really 5 or 6 major projects rolled into 1 with desal pipelines, mine concentrated tailings, all at world-class scale.

除此之外，我認為如果你看看我們投資組合中的項目，值得注意的是，它們的複雜性、規模和範圍要簡單一個數量級。當您查看 QB2 及其全部範圍時，您會發現它實際上是 5 或 6 個主要項目合併為 1 個項目，其中包括海水淡化管道、礦山濃縮尾礦，所有這些項目都具有世界一流的規模。

The other projects you see in the pipeline here, some of them with capital costs closer to $1 billion reflect a very different proposition for the company. But that said, there's a lot to learn for QB2. We'll make sure we understand those lessons well before we sanction our next project.

您在此處看到的其他項目正在醞釀中，其中一些項目的資本成本接近 10 億美元，這反映了該公司的一個非常不同的主張。但話雖如此，QB2 還有很多東西要學習。在批准下一個項目之前，我們將確保充分理解這些教訓。

Thank you for the color. If I'm allowed a very brief follow-up, just on your EVR comments, I just wanted to make sure I'm understanding it correctly, because you mentioned execution risk was key. Is kind of what's being implied here is that kind of, I guess, a spin of some form is the lower execution routes? Or are you just kind of outlining that it's basically a call between the execution risk on a spin versus a sale to a single party?

謝謝你的顏色。如果允許我對您的 EVR 評論進行非常簡短的跟進，我只是想確保我正確理解它，因為您提到執行風險是關鍵。我想，這裡隱含的意思是某種形式的旋轉是較低的執行路線嗎？或者您只是概述了這基本上是旋轉執行風險與向單一方出售之間的差異？

No. Look, I think Liam it's intended to be a general comment. It's not intended to point at anything specific here when assessing the correction of value for shareholders, you've got a sort of look at that in a broader sense. And of course, the certainty or the risk to delivery of that value is a key consideration.

不，聽著，利亞姆，我認為這只是一般性評論。在評估股東價值的修正時，它無意指出任何具體內容，您可以從更廣泛的意義上來看待這一點。當然，交付該價值的確定性或風險是關鍵考慮因素。

And risks and approvals and those sorts of things can manifest in a number of ways. So it's not intended to be a direct comment to favor 1 option over another, just to sort of give some color to the thought process here that headline price and headline value is important, but as is the certainty of the delivery of that value.

風險和批准以及諸如此類的事情可以透過多種方式體現。因此，這並不是要直接評論一種選擇而不是另一種選擇，只是為了給這裡的思考過程一些色彩，即標題價格和標題價值很重要，但交付該價值的確定性也很重要。

The next question comes from Dalton Baretto with Canaccord Genuity.

下一個問題來自 Canaccord Genuity 的 Dalton Baretto。

Jonathan, I want to stay on that separation topic of conversation there. And I guess my first question, Jonathan, is given where coal prices are as well as the implied valuation on the BHP Whitehaven Dale. Has the thinking on valuation between you and your potential buyers changed at all relative to what was on the table earlier this year?

喬納森，我想繼續討論分離話題。喬納森，我想我的第一個問題是煤炭價格以及必和必拓懷特黑文戴爾的隱含估值。相對於今年稍早的情況，您和潛在買家之間對估值的看法是否改變了？

Thanks for the question, Dalton. Look, I mean, it's fair to say that I think the view of the market has evolved since February when we announced our prior separation. The outlook for steelmaking coal has definitely improved, I think, a recognition here of the -- a favorable structure for that market. Going forward with now, I think, a greater understanding of the long-term need for the role of blast furnaces in the production of steel and limited new met coal supply expected to come to the market. And of course, the growth of blast furnace capacity in India as well is something that is particularly interesting for those structural dynamics.

謝謝你的提問，道爾頓。聽著，我的意思是，可以公平地說，自從二月我們宣布之前分拆以來，市場的看法已經改變了。我認為，煉鋼用煤的前景肯定有所改善，這是對該市場有利的結構的認可。我認為，展望未來，人們對高爐在鋼鐵生產中的作用的長期需求有更深入的了解，預計市場上將出現有限的新冶金煤供應。當然，印度高爐產能的成長對於這些結構動態也特別有趣。

So I think the view of the market has changed long term. Whilst the spot price is very encouraging, right now, we look through that and we look to the long-term assumptions here that underpin the business. I think as well, post the discussions we had earlier in the year regarding separation, the appreciation for EVR as a long-life, high-margin producer of very high-quality hard coking coal has increased in the market as well.

所以我認為從長遠來看，市場的看法已經改變了。雖然現貨價格非常令人鼓舞，但現在我們會仔細研究這一點，並專注於支撐業務的長期假設。我還認為，在我們今年早些時候就分離進行的討論之後，市場對 EVR 作為長壽命、高利潤的高品質硬焦煤生產商的讚賞也有所增加。

So look, I think there has been a move in expectations over the last 6 or 8 months as a result of those 2 factors. And of course, in discussions with our shareholders, which have been ongoing throughout that period, they convey to us their expectations here as well, and that's something, of course, we take on board as we think through the options in front of us.

所以看，我認為由於這兩個因素，過去 6 或 8 個月的預期發生了變化。當然，在整個期間與我們的股東進行的討論中，他們也向我們傳達了他們的期望，當然，我們在考慮擺在我們面前的選擇時會考慮這一點。

Great. And then just maybe as a follow-up, in terms of getting a deal done before year-end, if you do opt for a partial sale as well as SpinCo. Do you anticipate those happening together? Or could we see an announcement on a partial sale by year-end? And then just some sort of a lag on the SpinCo that will allow you to recoup some of these high coal prices?

偉大的。然後，如果您確實選擇部分出售以及分拆公司，那麼也許可以作為後續行動，在年底前完成交易。您預計這些事情會同時發生嗎？或者我們能在年底前看到部分出售的公告嗎？然後，剝離公司的某種延遲就能讓你收回部分高煤炭價格嗎？

I think, Dalton, our proposal here is if and when we step forward with a transaction, we would expect to step forward with a complete solution for the separation of EVR from the base metals business.

我認為，Dalton，我們的建議是，如果我們推進一項交易，我們預計將推出一個完整的解決方案，將 EVR 從基本金屬業務中分離出來。

Great. And just maybe 1 last one on QB2. As you wrap it up, do you -- where is the bottleneck currently? Is it at the mine? Is it at the mill? Is it at the supporting infrastructure? And what is the primary hurdle to get to full design capacity?

偉大的。也許是 QB2 上的最後一個。當您結束時，您是否—目前的瓶頸在哪裡？是在礦坑嗎？是在工廠嗎？是在配套基礎設施上嗎？達到全部設計能力的主要障礙是什麼？

Yes, Dalton, I'll hand you over to Sherhzad Bharmal, our SVP, the Copper business unit here who is responsible for the ramp-up and future operation of QB2.

是的，Dalton，我會將您交給我們的高級副總裁 Sherhzad Bharmal，他是這裡的銅業務部門，負責 QB2 的啟動和未來運營。

Thanks, Jonathan. As Red mentioned, we are very pleased with the plant design and the robustness of the design and the performance so far. And the insights and lessons from Line 1, we translated that to the Line 2. And as we started feeding Line 2 in August, we were up and making copper within -- in less than a month. So very excited about that part.

謝謝，喬納森。正如 Red 所提到的，我們對工廠設計以及設計的穩健性和迄今為止的性能非常滿意。我們將 1 號線的見解和經驗教訓轉化為 2 號線。當我們在 8 月開始為 2 號線供電時，我們在不到一個月的時間內就開始生產銅。對那部分非常興奮。

And as part of the commissioning when we took Line 2 down to retort the mills, check the gap and the air settings on the motors, we also took the opportunity to make some adjustments to the plant, conveyors and shoots and everything else. And it's that reliability of the little things that has been our focus, not the design and the throughput of each of the units in the plant.

作為調試的一部分，當我們關閉 2 號線以對磨機進行乾餾、檢查馬達上的間隙和空氣設定時，我們也藉此機會對設備、傳送帶和芽以及其他一切進行了一些調整。我們關注的是小事的可靠性，而不是工廠每個單元的設計和吞吐量。

So we don't see anything that prevents us from getting to design rates. And in fact, after we started up, after that shutdown, we have hit above design rates on each of the lines and of the plants together over 140,000, 143,000 tonnes a day. We have achieved that.

因此，我們沒有看到任何阻礙我們達到設計率的因素。事實上，在我們啟動後，在停工後，我們每條生產線和工廠的產量總計超過 140,000 噸，每天 143,000 噸。我們已經實現了這一點。

And so really, to answer your question, it is the reliability and making sure that the small shutdowns are avoided, and we are making great progress on that.

事實上，要回答你的問題，關鍵在於可靠性並確保避免小規模停機，我們在這方面正在取得巨大進展。

With respect to mine operations, we have hit our target numbers regularly. So really, the autonomous fleet is operating really well. The crusher is not a bottleneck at all. And as Red mentioned on the tailings side, the return water system, which is part of the water recovery and the dilution water for sands is operating really well. The sand quality, quantity is within spec and that's been derisked as well.

在礦山營運方面，我們定期達到了目標數量。事實上，自動駕駛車隊運行得非常好。破碎機根本不是瓶頸。正如 Red 在尾礦方面提到的那樣，回水系統（水回收和砂稀釋水的一部分）運作得非常好。沙子的品質、數量都在規格範圍內，也消除了風險。

So the team is really energized, hitting records. Every regularly, we make another record on our journey towards full ramp-up. And it's this reliable delivery that we hope to achieve by year-end.

所以團隊真的充滿活力，打破了紀錄。每隔一段時間，我們都會在全面提升的過程中創造另一個記錄。我們希望在年底前實現這種可靠的交付。

The next question comes from Chris LaFemina with Jefferies.

下一個問題來自 Jefferies 的 Chris LaFemina。

I just wanted to ask about -- sorry, back on QB2 on the CapEx budget there. So the $8.6 billion to $8.8 billion CapEx guidance is for the project. And then you have this ramp-up CapEx and then you also have the operating cost. And presumably, the copper sales that you're making in the normal course of business, the offsetting costs they are expensed and not capitalized.

我只是想問一下——抱歉，回到 QB2 的資本支出預算。因此，86 億至 88 億美元的資本支出指引是針對該項目的。然後你就有了資本支出的增加，然後你還有營運成本。想必，您在正常業務過程中進行的銅銷售，其抵銷成本已計入費用而非資本化。

So I'm trying to first understand exactly what is included in the ramp-up CapEx. And then secondly, do you have a guidance what that ramp-up CapEx will be before all the costs are ultimately expensed? Because I'm not sure if that ramp-up CapEx was ever guided to earlier on in the project. It seems like that's sort of came out of nowhere and it's adding to the overall CapEx for the project. So just trying to understand what comprises that and what that number should ultimately get to before it ends?

因此，我試著先準確了解上升資本支出包含哪些內容。其次，在所有成本最終支出之前，您是否有關於增加資本支出的指導？因為我不確定專案早期是否曾引導過資本支出的增加。這似乎是突然出現的，並且增加了該項目的整體資本支出。那麼，只是想了解它的組成部分以及該數字在結束之前最終應該達到什麼水平？

Yes. Thanks for the question, Chris. I'm going to hand you over to Crystal on this one, given the relation to the IFRS treatment of these costs during ramp-up. So over to you, Crystal.

是的。謝謝你的提問，克里斯。考慮到在啟動過程中與 IFRS 處理這些成本的關係，我將把這一問題交給 Crystal。那就交給你了，克里斯托。

Thanks, Chris. I think I'll take your question in a couple of pieces as you've sort of framed it. I think the first just being the change in IFRS that now requires us to obviously recognize cost through earnings as we sell products. So we've done that in the third quarter as we've had sales volume come through. So those amounts are in the P&L, and you can see what our margins are. And you can see the breakdown in our mine operations reporting that we've included in the MD&A.

謝謝，克里斯。我想我會按照你的框架來回答你的問題。我認為首先是國際財務報告準則的變化，它現在要求我們在銷售產品時透過收益明顯地確認成本。因此，我們在第三季就做到了這一點，因為我們已經實現了銷量。這些金額都在損益表中，您可以看到我們的利潤是多少。您可以看到我們已納入 MD&A 的礦山營運報告的詳細資訊。

And then in the context of the ramp-up capital. During the time where we're ramping up operational rates to designed capacity, we're trying to get to a minimum threshold. And at that time, we're incurring costs to operate the assets, but we aren't producing at the levels where we expect to be producing. And so during that time, we capitalize those costs. If we were producing at higher levels, those costs will be going into inventory and then going through the P&L.

然後是在資本增加的背景下。在我們將營運率提高到設計容量的過程中，我們正在努力達到最低閾值。那時，我們會產生營運資產的成本，但我們的生產水準卻沒有達到我們預期的水準。因此，在那段時間裡，我們將這些成本資本化。如果我們以更高的水平生產，這些成本將進入庫存，然後計入損益表。

We haven't guided to that amount, just given that, obviously, the ramp-up is ongoing, and it's a hard number to predict. But I can say that as we get to higher levels of production, the amounts that we capitalize in that ramp-up capital bucket are lower. And so I expect them to come down in the fourth quarter compared to what was capitalized in the third quarter.

我們沒有指導這個金額，只是考慮到顯然，成長仍在持續，而且這是一個很難預測的數字。但我可以說，當我們達到更高的生產水準時，我們在增加資本桶中的資本金額就會減少。因此，我預期第四季的資本總額將低於第三季的資本總額。

And as we get to the end of the year and we're at full production rates, we won't be seeing any further amounts capitalized in that bucket. So that amount has peaked, and I expect it's going to come down over the rest of the year. Does that answer your question?

當我們到年底並且我們達到滿載生產時，我們將不會看到該桶中的任何進一步資本化金額。所以這個數字已經達到頂峰，我預計它會在今年剩餘時間內下降。這是否回答你的問題？

So if you're operating in the asset and you're selling copper, I'm not sure -- I'm looking to as to why expenses would then be capitalized. If they're associated with actually operating the asset and selling copper. I mean what exactly comprises that CapEx? Is it stripping? Is an investment in the infrastructure? What exactly is going to that bucket?

因此，如果你經營該資產並出售銅，我不確定——我想知道為什麼費用會被資本化。如果他們與實際營運資產和銷售銅有關。我的意思是資本支出到底包含哪些內容？是脫衣嗎？是對基礎建設的投資嗎？那個桶子裡到底裝的是什麼？

It's all the cost of operating those assets until you reach a minimum operational threshold. So any cost associated with the products being sold is going into your cost of sales number.

這是在達到最低營運閾值之前運營這些資產的所有成本。因此，與所銷售產品相關的任何成本都將計入您的銷售成本數字。

So none of the costs associated with the sales are going -- sorry, so the costs associated with the sales are going into expense or going into CapEx?

因此，與銷售相關的成本都不會發生——抱歉，所以與銷售相關的成本都將計入費用或資本支出？

They're going into expense. That's right into cost of sales on the income statement.

他們正在支出。這正好計入損益表中的銷售成本。

Okay. Maybe I'll just try to follow up offline. I appreciate it.

好的。也許我會嘗試離線跟進。我很感激。

Thanks, Chris. Yes, the answer is accounting, I think. So we'll take the next question, please.

謝謝，克里斯。是的，我認為答案是會計。那我們將回答下一個問題。

The next question comes from Bryce Adams with CIBC.

下一個問題來自 CIBC 的布萊斯亞當斯 (Bryce Adams)。

It's 1 more on the ramp-up. So the low end of QB2 guidance for the concentrator 80,000 tonnes of copper, and we are guided to the low end. So that implies Q4 production of just under 60,000 tonnes. What from the ramp-up so far gives you confidence that, that's possible, 60,000 per quarter, it's not the full run rate, but it's getting closer to it. So just looking for some more color on your Q4 expectations for the ramp-up?

還有 1 次正在加速。因此，QB2 指導選礦廠銅產量的低端為 8 萬噸，我們被引導至低端。這意味著第四季度產量略低於 60,000 噸。到目前為止的成長讓您相信，這是可能的，每季 60,000，這不是完整的運行率，但它正在接近它。那麼，您只是想對第四季的成長預期有更多的了解嗎？

Yes. Thanks, Bryce. Back to Sherhzad on that one.

是的。謝謝，布萊斯。回到謝赫札德的話題。

Thanks, Bryce. So as I mentioned in -- early in Q4, we did the modifications, and we have been running well since then. And really, it's a ramp up from October getting closer in November and then finally getting to pretty much full range by the end of the year. And one is the throughput aspect, which we are relatively bullish on. And then the other is the recovery. Our recoveries have been pretty strong as well. And as we ramp up all our analyzers and our control systems now, which is we're in the process of doing actually this week and then moving forward, we are looking at some good gains on recovery as well.

謝謝，布萊斯。正如我在第四季度初期提到的，我們進行了修改，從那時起我們一直運作良好。事實上，這是從 10 月開始逐漸上升，到 11 月越來越近，最後到年底幾乎達到全範圍。一是吞吐量方面，我們相對看好。然後另一個是恢復。我們的復甦也相當強勁。當我們現在加強所有分析儀和控制系統時（這就是我們本周正在實際做的事情，然後繼續前進），我們也在尋找恢復方面的一些良好成果。

And of course, the last factor being great. Based on our mine sequence, we're looking in good shape there. And so with those 3 things, we think we'll be able to hit that the 59,000 tonnes.

當然，最後一個因素很棒。根據我們的礦井序列，我們看起來狀況良好。因此，有了這三件事，我們認為我們將能夠達到 59,000 噸。

Yes. I think it's also worth noting that it won't be a straight line through the next 2 months here that sort of weak on -- we'd be expecting production rates to improve into the end of the year.

是的。我認為還值得注意的是，接下來的兩個月不會是一條直線，我們預計生產力將在年底前有所改善。

Yes. Got it. Okay. Thanks for that. Looking forward to the Q4 update. I think if you get that 59,000 to 60,000 tonnes in Q4, that's a good setup for next year. So the rest of my questions are answered. That's it for me.

是的。知道了。好的。感謝那。期待第四季更新。我認為，如果第四季度產量達到 59,000 至 60,000 噸，這對明年來說是一個很好的安排。這樣我剩下的問題就得到了解答。對我來說就是這樣。

The next question comes from Bill Peterson with JPMorgan.

下一個問題來自摩根大通的比爾彼得森。

A lot of questions on QB2 and Elk Valley have been answered. But I wanted to talk more about near-term development projects. So I guess, first, when do you expect the project environmental assessment for the mine extension for Highland Valley to be approved? And I was hoping to get a bit more color on the expectations for the permitting and feasibility studies for the near-term growth projects such as San Nicolas, QBME and so forth.

關於QB2和麋鹿谷的許多問題都得到了解答。但我想多談談近期的開發項目。所以我想，首先，您預計高地谷礦山擴建工程環境評估什麼時候能獲得批准？我希望能對聖尼古拉斯、QBME 等近期成長計畫的許可和可行性研究的期望有更多的了解。

Yes. Thanks for that question, Bill. I'll just start with Sherhzad on the HVC piece, and then I'll hand you over to Tyler Mitchelson, our SVP of -- responsible for copper growth to talk a bit more about the other projects in the portfolio and their status.

是的。謝謝你提出這個問題，比爾。我將從 Sherhzad 的 HVC 部分開始，然後我將把您交給我們負責銅增長的高級副總裁泰勒·米切爾森 (Tyler Mitchelson)，以更多地談論投資組合中的其他項目及其狀態。

So Bill, on Highland Valley, as we said, we were able to submit our EA. It was a long process, and it was really quite robust. And we do expect approval by the end of 2024 -- before the end of 2024. And then, of course, there will be a decision for the Board on sanctioning that mine life extension.

因此，比爾，在高地谷，正如我們所說，我們能夠提交我們的 EA。這是一個漫長的過程，而且確實非常穩健。我們確實預計在 2024 年底之前獲得批准——2024 年底之前。當然，董事會將做出批准延長礦山壽命的決定。

Okay. Thanks, Sherhzad. Tyler, can you handle the balance of the question, please?

好的。謝謝，謝爾札德。泰勒，你能平衡一下這個問題嗎？

Sure. Look, I think the key near-term projects, if you start with San Nicolas down in Mexico, working through the feasibility study, as we speak, and we're targeting to finish that in the first half of 2024. The permit paperwork and everything has been prepared. We're just doing a lot of stakeholder engagement right now, ensuring that we've got the right things lined up before we submit the permit, we anticipate putting that permit in Q4 of 2023.

當然。看，我認為關鍵的近期項目，如果你從墨西哥的聖尼古拉斯開始，進行可行性研究，正如我們所說，我們的目標是在 2024 年上半年完成。許可文件和一切都已經準備好了。我們現在正在與利害關係人進行大量接觸，以確保在提交許可證之前做好正確的準備，我們預計會在 2023 年第四季發放許可證。

On Zafranal working through the CapEx and OpEx update with a little bit more engineering, we should have that done in first part of 2024. We do have the permit in place for that one, we got that in May of '23. Next step from a permit perspective for Zafranal probably would be the construction permit, which we need to do a bit of engineering for and the intent to, we would apply for that in mid-2024.

關於 Zafranal 透過更多工程進行資本支出和營運支出更新，我們應該在 2024 年上半年完成這項工作。我們確實已經獲得了該許可，我們在 23 年 5 月獲得了許可。從許可的角度來看，Zafranal 的下一步可能是獲得施工許可，我們需要為此做一些工程，我們的目的是在 2024 年中期申請。

And then the other near-term one is QBME progressing the feasibility study, we should be done that in the fourth quarter of this year. And still working through the permitting process there as well. So a lot of the other longer-dated projects, we're doing some of the early work on baseline work and working through some of the technical aspects of the early-stage study work on that, but those are the key near-term projects we're working through. Does that answer the question?

另外一個近期任務是 QBME 正在進行可行性研究，我們應該在今年第四季完成。並且仍在辦理那裡的許可程序。因此，對於許多其他較長期的項目，我們正在做一些有關基線工作的早期工作，並完成早期研究工作的一些技術方面的工作，但這些是關鍵的近期項目我們正在努力解決。這能回答問題嗎？

Yes, thanks for the update. I guess more on the near-term working capital. So how should we think about the cadence through the remainder of this year and into next year as QB2 ramps more meaningfully. I guess are you still expecting to build for the year?

是的，感謝您的更新。我想更多的是關於近期營運資金。那麼，隨著 QB2 的進展更有意義，我們應該如何考慮今年剩餘時間和明年的節奏。我猜你還期待今年的建設嗎？

Crystal, can you pick up that one, please, on working capital for QB2?

Crystal，您能幫我拿一下關於 QB2 營運資金的內容嗎？

Yes, sure. Thanks, Bill. I think we are at the working capital levels we expect to be. Obviously, we're building some inventories on site as we produce and we move things into sales, but I don't expect there to be a material change in working capital outside of our normal sort of timing of sales and accounts payable. I think we're looking to kind of achieve about a $400 million level there.

是的，當然。謝謝，比爾。我認為我們處於預期的營運資金水準。顯然，我們在生產時會在現場建立一些庫存，並將產品轉入銷售，但我預計在我們正常的銷售和應付帳款時間安排之外，營運資金不會發生重大變化。我認為我們希望在那裡達到 4 億美元左右的水平。

The next question comes from Brian MacArthur with Raymond James.

下一個問題來自布萊恩·麥克阿瑟和雷蒙德·詹姆斯。

My 2 questions, I apologize are in QB2 and QB as well. So just my first one was sort of the last question. Just Crystal, that increase in CapEx for all the accounting. Does that include some of that working capital? Because originally, there was a capital cost investment and then there was going to be the $400 million working capital. Is that working capital on top of the new guidance? Or how do I think about that? And I guess it gets a little bit back to Chris' point.

我的兩個問題，抱歉，也在 QB2 和 QB 。所以我的第一個問題就是最後一個問題。只是水晶，所有會計的資本支出都增加了。這包括部分營運資金嗎？因為最初有資本成本投資，然後還有 4 億美元的營運資金。該營運資金是否在新指導方針之上？或者說我怎麼看待這個問題？我想這又回到了克里斯的觀點。

It's -- so the $400 million of working capital is not included in ramp-up capital. And it's always been the amount that we've communicated. So there isn't a change in that amount based on what we've communicated today.

所以 4 億美元的營運資金不包括在啟動資金中。這一直是我們溝通的金額。因此，根據我們今天通報的情況，這筆金額並沒有改變。

Okay. Great. And my second question was back, Jonathan, you talked about permitting being a challenge, and we talked a little bit about QBME expansion -- there was a report, I think, earlier this week in the Tarapaca region, sort of recommending against the expansion. Does that -- can that impact the timing of your feasibility for that expected in Q4? Or I don't know what you can comment on that situation?

好的。偉大的。我的第二個問題又回來了，喬納森，你談到了允許成為一個挑戰，我們討論了一些關於QBME 擴張的問題——我想，本週早些時候在塔拉帕卡地區有一份報告，建議反對擴張。這是否會影響第四季預期可行性的時間安排？或者我不知道你對這種情況有何評論？

Yes. Thanks for that question, Brian. Yes, there was a report issued recently with respect to the permitting process. That process is ongoing. There hasn't been a decision taken yet. I would say that, as I mentioned before, is sort of the normal course of the permitting of major projects. Your question around the feasibility, no, it won't impact that. We continue to progress the feasibility study and expect to have that done in the current quarter.

是的。謝謝你提出這個問題，布萊恩。是的，最近發布了一份有關許可程序的報告。這個過程正在進行中。目前尚未做出決定。我想說，正如我之前提到的，這是重大專案許可的正常過程。你關於可行性的問題，不，它不會影響這一點。我們將繼續推進可行性研究，並預計在本季完成。

I will now hand the call back over to Jonathan Price for closing remarks.

現在我將把電話轉回給喬納森·普萊斯 (Jonathan Price) 作結束語。

Thank you, operator, and thanks to everyone for joining us on the call today. As I mentioned, we're thrilled to be in Chile and officially open in QB2 this week, which is a momentous event for Teck. We look forward to doubling our consolidated copper production as it ramps up to design throughput and recovery rates as well as to our next phase of copper growth beyond QB2.

謝謝接線員，也謝謝大家今天加入我們的電話會議。正如我所提到的，我們很高興能夠來到智利並在本週的 QB2 中正式開業，這對 Teck 來說是一個重大事件。隨著設計產量和回收率的提高，以及 QB2 之後下一階段的銅增長，我們期待將我們的綜合銅產量翻一番。

As always, please reach out to Fraser on our IR team if you have any further questions. Thank you all very much, and have a good day.

與往常一樣，如果您有任何其他問題，請聯絡我們 IR 團隊的 Fraser。非常感謝大家，祝您有美好的一天。

This concludes today's conference call.

今天的電話會議到此結束。