Teck Resources on Tuesday released its first quarter results for 2018, which included strong numbers from its copper and zinc sales and an overall increase in profits.

Teck’s first quarter gross profits were $1.4 billion – up from $1.2 billion in the first quarter of 2017 – with $759 million attributable to shareholders. The company saw a 20 per cent increase in copper sales thanks to higher grade ore at its Highland Valley Copper operation leading to increased production. Higher zinc prices also boosted profits from its Red Dog mine and Trail refining operations where production remained in line with the first three months of 2017.

The company also announced the completion of its Fort Hills oil project in Alberta’s Athabasca region, which commenced production on January 27 and is expected to ramp up production to reach full capacity by the end of the year. The company said the project has “exceeded expectations” in both product volume and quality.

The company updated its steelmaking coal numbers after logistical problems reduced first quarter sales to 6.1 million tonnes, down from the initial guidance of 6.3 to 6.5 million tonnes.

The company is sticking to its annual production guidance of 26 to 27 million tonnes of steelmaking coal after seeing a dip in first quarter sales due to repairs at its Elkview operations that put the site out of commission for two months and ongoing logistical issues at its Westshore terminal – which president and CEO Don Lindsay elaborated in a webcast were due to a “lack of reliability” in vessel loading and unloading, adding that some coal stockpiles reached capacity and some plants were forced to idle. Lindsay said the demand for steelmaking coal remained very strong and the company had orders in place to “comfortably exceed” its original sales guidance if not for the logistical setbacks.

The Elkview facility was shut down in January following an explosion in its coal dryer and did not reopen until March, resulting in approximately 200,000 tonnes of lost coal production. In a news release, the company stated it has plans in place to recover that volume over the course of the year, pointing to a robust steel economy and expected improvement in its Westshore terminal.

The company also announced results from a prefeasibility study for its NuevaUnión project, a 50/50 joint venture between Teck and Goldcorp located in central Chile. The project would link the Relincho and La Fortuna deposits as bulk open-pit operations and produce an estimated 224,000 tonnes of copper, 290,000 ounces of gold, and 1,700 tonnes of molybdenum concentrate for the first five years of mine life, with a projected 32 to 36 total extended mine life. The study estimated an initial capital cost for the first phase of development at US$3.4 to US$3.5 billion

Lindsay called NuevaUnión a “long life asset that can operate through multiple price cycles and should be a core part of our portfolio sometime in the future.”