Teck seeks more cuts despite ‘cost reduction fatigue’

Teck Resources’ (TSX: TCK.B; NYSE: TCK) chief financial officer Ron Millos said the company will continue lowering debt and improving operating costs, despite the fact further savings would be difficult to achieve. In 2012, the diversified miner began cutting costs amid the decline in commodity prices. The bulk of the savings have resulted from “productivity improvements” and labour reductions, Millos said at the Mines and Money conference in Toronto. “We have taken $800 million out and we’ve targeted $200 million or so for this year. We think we will be successful with that.” Productivity improvements include shrinking the cycle time on a truck to generate savings on labour, fuel and maintenance costs, as well as changing maintenance practices to increase equipment productivity equipment, the executive said. The senior producer of metallurgical coal, copper and zinc is working on 400 initiatives, where potential savings range from millions of dollars to thousands of dollars, Millos said, adding that they would have to be sustainable to count. Read the entire story at The Northern Miner.