Anglo American’s planned merger with Canadian miner Tech Resources has suffered a setback after Teck admitted a series of issues with its mines that would lead to a cut in the production forecasts it had previously given shareholders.
Following what Teck described as a “comprehensive operational review,” the company has slashed the upper end of its copper production guidance at its Quebrada Blanca site by 19 per cent to 230,000 tonnes, alongside a 13.3 per cent cut in the top end of production at its Highland Valley site.
The situation was expected to deteriorate further in 2026, with copper production at Quebrada Blanca set to fall by around a quarter compared to where the company previously guided.
Issues with the Quebrada Blanca site “led to additional downtime through 2025, particularly in Q3, and is expected to result in incremental downtime in 2026,” Tech said.
FTSE 100 constituent Anglo has insisted that the setbacks do not undermine the business case for the blockbuster merger.
The firm insisted that the incident did not call into question the due diligence work the company had arranged prior to agreeing the merger.
“While the specific outcome of the operational review that Teck has announced today was not known at the time, the outcome presented by Teck is broadly consistent with Anglo American’s independent due diligence and analysis,” Anglo American said.
“On this basis, the overall strategic rationale for the merger and all synergy values and their timing, as outlined in the 9 September merger announcement, remain unchanged.”
Anglo American shares rose 1.5 per cent to 2,852p. The stock is up by 22 per cent since the start of the year.