Teck Resources (TSX:TCK.B) (NYSE:TCK) confirmed a spill of metal contaminated water at its Trail smelting and refining plant in British Columbia April 13, causing its share price to dip.
As of press time, shares of Teck were trading on the TSX at $10.76 – down 1.91%. The company has had an impressive year so far, however; its share price on this exchange has doubled since December 31, 2015, when it was trading at $5.34. In New York, shares were trading at $8.52, down 0.37% as of 9:39 EST April 14 – up almost 120% since January.
In an emailed statement late April 13, Teck said it did not know how much of the water-containing metals might have emptied into Stoney Creek, a tributary of the Columbia River.
It added the now-contained spill lasted for about 15-20 minutes and is believed to have happened when a line carrying runoff water from a landfill area to its water treatment facility broke.
Canada’s Ministry of Environment has estimated that about 90 litres of contaminated water were spilled.
This is not the first incident affecting the facility, in operations since 1896. In 2012, Teck admitted to polluting the Columbia River for decades with slag from its smelting operation.
In 2014, the Vancouver-based company said it accidentally dumped 25,000 litres of a solution containing sodium hydroxide into the river.
And, in February this year, it was hit with a $3 million fine after pleading offences under the Fisheries Act linked to the effects of effluents from its facility over about 16 months.
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