Oct. 1, 2008, will be a dark day on my calendar. It was the day the Cominco name disappeared from the ranks of Canadian miners. Teck Cominco has simplified its name and rebranded as TECK.
"Cominco" has been associated with so many successful mines for over a century. The Sullivan lead-zinc deposit supported mining for 100 years. There was the Polaris lead zinc mine, probably the world's most northerly base metal mine. The Red Dog zinc mine is the world's largest. The Pine Point lead-zinc, Con gold and Vade potash mines as well as the Trail Metallurgical Complex were bywords when I began my career. Earlier there were the Pinchi Lake mercury, Red Rose tungsten, Tulsequah copper-gold, Bluebell lead-zinc, H.B. lead-zinc, the Coast Copper and Benson copper mines, the Wedge copper mine, Magmont lead, Black Angel zinc, Rubiales zinc-lead, Valley Copper, Troya lead-zinc, Snip gold, Quebrada Blanca copper what a long and illustrious list. Cominco pioneered selective flotation, a mainstay of so many base metal concentrators.
Enough of the past. Let's take a look toward the future.
Teck has also created five new strategic business units specializing in copper, metallurgical coal, zinc, gold and energy. The company says the new structure will improve its competitiveness by allowing it to quickly act on opportunities in any segment. Each autonomous business unit will be led by a senior executive with responsibility to deliver at every stepplanning, exploration, development, mining, sustainability and profit. It is a big job, and these are the men who are going to do it:
COPPER: Roger Higgins, sr VP copper
METALLURGICAL COAL: Boyd Payne, president & CEO of Elk Valley Coal
ZINC: Mike Agg, sr VP zinc
GOLD: Rob Scott, VP gold
ENERGY: Ray Reipas, VP energy
Congratulations, and CMJ wishes them future success that will keep the Teck name strong.
The legal name will remain Teck Cominco Limited until next spring's annual meeting when shareholders will be asked to approve a name change to TECK RESOURCES LIMITED. The website, www.Teck.com, has been updated to reflect the Teck brand.
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