Jonathan Price, CEO of Canada's largest diversified mining company, made the comments on Tuesday as part of an update on Teck's ongoing efforts to separate its base metals business from its steelmaking coal unit.
"An important consideration will be the certainty of achieving separation, including receipt of the required regulatory approval," Price told analysts on a conference call to discuss the company's third-quarter results. But a wrinkle was thrown into that plan earlier this year when Swiss commodities giant Glencore launched a $25-billion hostile takeover bid for Teck.
The federal government itself said at the time it was watching the situation closely, and that any takeover bid for Teck would go through a rigorous approvals process. But on Tuesday, Teck raised the cost estimates for the project, saying that due to unforeseen construction issues, it now expects the QB2 project to cost between US$8.6 billion and $8.8 billion, up from earlier guidance for between US$8.0 billion and US$8.2 billion.