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The mine’s employees voted 57% against the tentative agreement that was presented last Tuesday by Local 9346 of the United Steelworkers of America. The deal would have put staff back to work March 22 and would have expired October 31, 2015.
The work stoppage at the mine which commenced January 30 will now continue.
“Teck plans to recommence discussions with the Elkview union bargaining committee aimed at reaching a new collective agreement,” the company said.
The Canadian producer has a 95% interest in Elkview mine, with the balance equally held by Japan's Nippon Steel and South Korean steelmaker Posco. The mine has an annual capacity of 5.6 million tonnes.
Teck is also focused on the labor agreement at its Fording River complex, where the current deal expires April 30. The company has not yet made any official comment about the agreement at its 8Mt per annum operation.
Earlier this month, the producer announced it had cut its sales guidance for the first quarter by around half a million tonnes due to inclement weather and ongoing issues with its port and rail partnerships.
While the company has had an average 5.3Mt of sales in the first quarter of each of the last six years, it now expects first-quarter sales volumes of 4.6-4.9Mt.
“Sales have been affected by unusually difficult winter weather conditions, which have caused higher than normal rail delays due to avalanches, as well as an unusual number of locomotive power failures and train length restrictions due to cold weather,” Teck said.
“These weather-related delays, together with two recent non weather-related derailments, and other mechanical issues have affected rail transport.”
The company also cited high winds and mechanical failures at its Neptune Terminals and Westshore Terminals partner ports, which have affected the operations of both and had a cumulative impact on coal transportation and restricted sales.
Teck confirmed that the Elkview strike had not affected the projected sales reduction. While deliveries are still being made from the mine’s inventory, slower rail loading times have had an impact on rail cycle timing.
