On September 1 Teck Resources and Ridley Terminals Inc. announced the signing of a new agreement that will bring more coal through Prince Rupert for the foreseeable future.
Under the terms of the agreement, Teck will ship 2.5 million tonnes of coal per year through Ridley Terminals for a 10-year duration that runs from January 1, 2015 to December 31, 2014, with an option to extend the agreement for two years after that.
The deal is the extension of a contract currently in place that allows Teck to ship up to 1.2 million tonnes in 2011 and 2012 and up to 4.2 million tonnes in 2013 and 2014, while another agreement in place allows Teck to ship 500,000 tonnes per year through to the end of February, 2021.
“RTI’s mandate is to act commercially. That means negotiating contracts with market terms and conditions. Long term minimum guaranteed volume contracts now are the norm at Ridley,” said Ridley Terminals chair Bud Smith.
“This contract is one of several long term contracts made this year by RTI. It will support our plans to grow capacity. And this contracted capacity helps enable Teck to decide whether or not it can reopen Quintette.”
Indeed, Teck says the new agreement will provide the company with sufficient export capacity for the Quintette mine should it be re-opened.
As for the continued expansion work at Ridley Terminals, Smith said things are continuing to run smoothly.
“Prince Rupert and area clearly supports RTI’s capacity growth plans. As a result we are investing heavily in new equipment, refurbishing existing equipment, and building more storage space. Those investments will lead directly to more jobs at Prince Rupert. Growing out terminal also means more jobs at mines inland from Prince Rupert that ship bulk products through our port,” he said.
“RTI is on track for another record year of throughput volume; we have created several new jobs this year; and our worker safety record continues to be very strong. All of this worth celebrating on Labour Day.”