Vancouver, B.C. – The University of British Columbia (“UBC”) Faculty of Applied Science and Teck Resources Limited (TSX: TECK.A and TECK.B, NYSE: TECK) (“Teck”) today announced a $4 million investment into a new professorship focused on enhancing safety and sustainability in mine tailings management. Teck’s $2 million endowment will be matched by UBC to fund a new professor and lab-based research focused on tailings management at undergraduate and graduate levels.
The new professor position will be housed within UBC Applied Science’s Norman B. Keevil Institute of Mining Engineering – a globally recognized leader in research into tailings management.
Working across different disciplines with industry experts and with world-leading consultancies, the appointed professor will build greater capacity to exchange knowledge, new ideas and innovative approaches in the safe and responsible design, operation and closure of tailings storage facilities. Tailings are produced as part of the mining process after critical metals and minerals used to support a modern world are separated from ore.
The professorship will leverage UBC’s first-class facilities and highly specialized engineering expertise. UBC’s search for an appropriate professor will begin this year. The professorship will also aim to strengthen the pipeline of highly skilled engineers to work in tailings management immediately after graduating.
By creating an endowment, UBC will have the resources needed to further education and explore new solutions and technologies in tailings management for generations to come. The professorship will be funded through the annual interest earned from the endowment, ensuring a stable and dependable form of funding.
Jonathan Price, CEO, Teck –
“Teck is proud to build on our longstanding partnership with UBC to enhance environmentally and socially responsible resource development through education and research. This investment will help to accelerate innovation in the mining sector, while supporting continued production of the critical materials needed for a modern, low-carbon world.”
James Olson, Dean, UBC Faculty of Applied Science –
“There is a global shortage of educators in this field, and an important opportunity to build capacity and knowledge retention around safe and responsible tailings management. By partnering with Teck, we can accelerate our research in this area and better educate tomorrow’s engineers, to bring about more environmentally sustainable tailings solutions.”
About Teck
As one of Canada’s leading mining companies, Teck is committed to responsible mining and mineral development with major business units focused on copper, zinc, and steelmaking coal. Copper, zinc and high-quality steelmaking coal are required for the transition to a low-carbon world. Headquartered in Vancouver, Canada, Teck’s shares are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbols TECK.A and TECK.B and the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol TECK.
About UBC Applied Science
The UBC Faculty of Applied Science comprises a unique constellation of disciplines: engineering, nursing, architecture and landscape architecture, and community and regional planning. Research and education in these professional disciplines spans the entire human-centred built environment. The faculty leverages its multidisciplinary strength to address society’s most complex challenges including climate change and human inequity. Split across UBC’s Vancouver and Okanagan campuses, the faculty comprises more than 400 world-class researchers and professors, and more 8,000 students. UBC is consistently ranked as one of the world’s best public research universities.
Teck Media Contact:
Chris Stannell
Public Relations Manager
604.699.4368
chris.stannell@teck.com
UBC Media Contact:
Lou Corpuz-Bosshart
Media Relations Specialist
604.822.2048
lou.bosshart@ubc.ca
Teck Investor Contact:
Fraser Phillips
Senior Vice President, Investor Relations & Strategic Analysis
604.699.4621
fraser.phillips@teck.com